East Bladen’s Masion Brooks makes a carry Friday against North Edgecombe.
Alex Brooks | Bladen Journal
ELIZABETHTOWN — The 13th-seeded East Bladen Eagles steamrolled the 20th-seeded North Edgecombe Warriors in the first round of the NCHSAA 1A State Playoffs on Friday night.
The Eagles were led by senior running-back Masion Brooks with 128 yards on the ground and four touchdowns to help his team secure victory. Brooks accomplished all of this during the first half and it only took him four touches to do it.
He opened the scoring for the Eagles in the first quarter with a 20-yard touchdown run after going virtually untouched at the line-of-scrimmage. North Edgecomb started their first possession from their own 28-yard line but quickly went 3-and-out and were forced into punting the ball back to the host. Junior running-back Xavier Allen returned the ensuing punt to around the 57-yard line for a solid return through traffic.
The Warrior defense was able to hold their opponents to a 4th-and-4 situation from their own 24 but the Eagles decided to keep their offense on the field. Brooks got the ball in his hand and not only picked up the first down but waltzed into the endzone to extend the Eagles lead with 6:35 remaining in the first quarter. North Edgecombe’s struggles on offense continued on their next possession and they were fortunate to not turn the ball over after an Eagle DB dropped an easy pick.
East Bladen took over on the 45-yard line after their opponents turned the ball over on downs but handed possession right back after throwing an interception on the first play of the drive. North Edgecombe freshman defensive-back Isaiah Day ran the interception back to the 27-yard line to help set-up his offense with a short field. The Warriors were bailed out on 3rd-and-5 after a pass interference call gave them 15 yards and placed the ball within striking distance of the endzone.
Junior quarterback Zyquarius Cherry threw a dart to his senior fullback Jaheim Knight for the Warrior first score of the night with 23 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The Eagles started the second quarter with another big run from Brooks resulting in a touchdown. The Warriors would attempt to convert a fourth down from their own end of the field to no avail and their opponents would make them pay.
East Bladen sophomore quarterback Matthew Kemp came into the game towards the beginning of the second quarter and he gave his team efficiency at the position. Kemp completed his pass to wideout Malaki Moore to get the host inside the redzone and Brooks did the rest with his fourth touchdown of the night.
The host would go-on to score again with Kemp tossing a touchdown pass to senior Jadon Pridgen from 29 yards out. East Bladen would recover the onside kick at the kickoff to swipe an extra possession from their opponents and Kemp would toss a deep ball to Moore for a 35-yard touchdown pass to help extend the lead to 43-6 after the extra point. The Eagles defense thought they turned a Warrior turnover into six points after senior Jamarius Smith scooped up a fumble and returned it for a touchdown but the score was wiped off the board because of a block in the back during the return.
Nevertheless, the Eagle offense took over with good field position with less than two minutes remaining in the first half and were able to march down the field to score on an Allen touchdown run. The first half concluded at 51-6 and the Eagles kept the same intensity coming out for the third quarter. Senior running-back Jayden Daily scored the Eagles final touchdown of the night on a short run into the endzone.
East Bladen advances to the next round of the NCHSAA 1A State Playoffs where they’ll take on the number-four seeded Northside-Pinetown Panthers next Friday.