West Bladen Hunter Hester(right) and Hezikiah Adams(left) during warm-up before a game.
WEST BLADEN
TABOR CITY—The West Bladen Knights defeated the South Columbus Stallions for a 29-22 victory on Friday night in a non-conference match-up. Sophomore quarter-back Hunter Hester threw three touchdowns, for 176 yards on 7-for-11 passing to overcome the Stallions in a back-and-forth contest. Senior wideout Travis Baxley, senior running-back Messyah Whitted, and junior wideout Hezikiah Adams were all on the receiving end of Hester’s passing touchdowns.
The Knights defense ended the Stallions final drive with a turnover and they held their opponents scoreless in the fourth quarter to secure the opening day win. The Knights haven’t beaten the Stallions since 2001 and this is the schools first opening week victory since 2017. West Bladen will take on East Bladen away from home in their next game this Friday.
EAST BLADEN
LELAND—The North Brunswick Scorpions defeated the East Bladen Eagles for a 59-19 victory on Friday night in a non-conference match-up. The Scorpions jumped out in front with a 31-0 lead in the first half with a combination of ground and air attacks.
North Brunswick kicked the ball off to the Eagles to start the second half and forced them into punting the ball away. The Scorpions would go-on to block the punt for a 25-yard return to get on the board in the second half. The Eagles finally got their first score of the game in the third quarter with senior running-back Masion Brooks rushing the ball through the endzone on a 80-yard run. East Bladen went for two instead of the extra point and failed to convert, which left things at 38-6.
North Brunswick senior running-back Eric Mosley would waltz into the endzone from three yards out to stretch the host lead to 44-6 with eight minutes remaining in the third quarter. East Bladen recovered a fumble to set themselves up on their opponents 10-yard line before senior running-back Matthew Kemp punched the ball into the endzone from six-yards out.
The Scorpions found a ton of success on the ground and they got their final touchdown of the night on a 50-yard run from Calvin Webb. East Bladen sophomore quarterback Keyshawn Kemp connected on a 12-yard pass to junior wideout Malaki Moore for the Eagles final touchdown of the night in the fourth quarter.
Mosley finished the game with 133 yards on 14 carries to lead the Scorpion offense in the win. Brooks led the Eagles in rushing with 107 yards on 7 carries to stand out for his team on the offensive side of the ball. The Eagles next game will be against the West Bladen Knights next friday at home for a non-conference match-up.
OTHER GAMES IN SAC 6
West Bladen 29, South Columbus 22
Clinton 40, Northside-Jacksonville 7
Fairmont 14, Lumberton 12
Midway 46, Hobbton 36
Red Springs 26, Douglas Byrd 22
Westover 12, St. Pauls 9
OTHER GAMES IN WACCAMAW
North Brunswick 59, East Bladen 19
West Bladen 29, South Columbus 22
East Columbus 62, Jones Senior 0
Heide Trask 42, Rocky Mount Prep 0
Pender 88, Lejeune 34
West Columbus 59, Union 0
Whiteville 57, Bunn 14