WARSAW — East Bladen lost the lead twice in the fourth quarter and was eliminated 41-34 by James Kenan on Friday night in the state 2-A high school football playoffs.
The Eagles took and lost the lead five times, thrice after intermission when the score was deadlocked at 14. Andrew Pender’s 2-yard scoring run with 14 seconds left, his fifth touchdown of the night, lifted the Tigers into the second round at Whiteville, a 56-0 winner over Camden County.
Senior Javius Brooks’ third touchdown run and Blaine Pope’s kick put the Southeastern Athletic Conference guests ahead 28-21 less than two minutes into the final period. The East Central Conference Tigers answered immediately with Andrew Pender’s 60-yard catch-and-run touchdown reception from Slayden Smith but missed the extra point to trail 28-27.
Smith’s 1-yard run with 4:43 to go sent the hosts ahead 33-28. The Eagles marched to sophomore Masion Brooks’ 18-yard scoring run, his second of the night, with just 84 seconds left to regain a 34-33 lead.
The Eagles of 10th-year head coach Robby Priest had garnered the No. 20 seed after finishing third in the SAC-7. They ended the year 4-7, going 0-6 away from the friendly confines of Lenon Fisher Stadium.
James Kenan, the No. 13 seed, has won six of seven and is 6-3 this season.
This story authored by the Bladen Journal.