Brooks’ best performances & games of fall ‘22

BLADEN COUNTY — Bladen County’s stars competed with the best athletes around the area and shined from the gridiron to the court with some memorable performances and games. East and West Bladen went toe-to-toe with some formidable opponents throughout southeastern NC and held their own in the postseason as well. There were plenty of standout performances; from East Bladen’s Masion Brooks and Zamar Lewis rushing for a combined 323 yards against St. Pauls, to the West Bladen duo of Kaden Thurman and Lainey Autry winning doubles at conference, or East Bladen Johnny Alvardo finishing third in the SAC 7 in the conference championship.

Today we take a moment and highlight some of the best performances from the ‘22 Fall season before looking ahead to the new school year. The landscape of next season will be different with East Bladen going down to 1A classification and West Bladen staying in the SAC 7 but the rivalry between the two schools will stay intact with non-conference matchups.

The first memorable performance to be highlighted is on the gridiron with West Bladen’s shutout victory in the early days of the season. West Bladen’s running back Tydrick Stewart showed his versatility against East Columbus with an all-around performance in front of a packed house. Stewart broke free for some big runs and his 32-yard touchdown carry down the heart of the Gators’ defense helped secure his team’s victory. The former Knights running back will pursue his education and play football at Methodist University next season.

East Bladen’s volleyball team had a great season with a second-place finish in the SAC 7 and they had plenty of dominant displays throughout the ‘22 season. East Bladen’s AnnaGrey Heustess smashed seven kills, served two aces, and she had two blocks in a sweeping victory against St. Pauls in late October. Heustess was a tall presence in front of the net and helped the Eagles dominate their opponents in straight sets. Karli Priest also had 17 assists and four aces in the same game.

East Bladen went up against Fairmont in an exciting matchup with the Eagles coming out on top in the end for a 42-26 victory. East Bladen’s running back Masion Brooks and Fairmont’s dual-threat quarterback Gabriel Washington stole the show with great offensive performances and had 355 yards in total offense. Brooks spearheaded the Eagles’ offense with 230 yards on the ground and four touchdowns. Washington did everything for the Golden Tornadoes and his athleticism in the pocket was a handful for opposing defenders to score the bulk of his team’s touchdowns. Both teams traded blows in the red zone but Brooks’ physicality while carrying the ball was East Bladen’s trump card in the end.

Clinton’s running back Josiah McLaurin scored four total touchdowns against East Bladen in a 55-7 victory. He did everything from rushing to receiving and kick-returning for the Darkhorses on a dominant night away from home. The Darkhorses’ had a total of 436 yards of offense on 47 plays and McLaurin accounted for 128 yards on the ground. Brooks scored the Eagles’ lone touchdown of the night on a 77-yard run around the edge.

East Bladen forward Malcolm Bolden scored over 30 goals last year and he had plenty of hat tricks in between to complete a stellar senior season. Bolden scored one of his many hat tricks against county rivals West Bladen for a 4-2 victory at home. Jamie Delgado made his presence felt with a cracking goal from a corner kick to give the Eagles momentum at 1-nil. Bolden scored his first goal of the evening after wiggling free from three defenders before burying a 1v1 chance in front of goal. The Eagles were put under pressure in the last few moments of the match but Bolden solidified the victory with his third goal.