West Bladen’s Hezekiah Adams and Xavier Spaulding makes a tackle during a game with East Bladen.
2023 Fall Sports Recap
BLADEN COUNTY — The 2023 Fall Season had plenty of great matches, performances and memories along the way. East and West Bladen also had some memorable clashes between each other on the soccer field, volleyball court, and the gridiron throughout the fall months. East Bladen’s football team started the season with some tough losses but caught fire at the right time and made a lengthy run in this year’s playoffs. West Bladen’s volleyball team put in work over the summer and it showed on the court with their first winning season in conference play in the last two years. West Bladen junior Demon’tre Love was one of the most consistent runners in the Southeastern Conference as he secured top-2 finishes in all six conference races this season.
East Bladen Head Coach Jay Raynor and the Eagles finished their first season in the Waccamaw Conference with a record of 10-2. The Eagles were led by senior midfielder Jamie Delgado, who received the conference Co-Player of The Year for his outstanding performances on the pitch. He had 31 assists and 14 goals to his name this season as the catalyst for a young squad.
The Eagles were able to finish their season with an overall record of 14-7 and they lost in the second round of 1A Playoffs against the eventual Eastern Regional Champions, Hobbton. Coach Raynor’s team were balanced from front-to-back as they scored 57 goals and conceded 30 goals on the season. Attacking players like junior Chace Butler and sophomore Tevin McClean improved throughout the season to be serious threats in front of goal, and they’ll be players to watch for next season.
The Eagles clashed with West Bladen on the soccer pitch for a dramtic 1-nil victory away from home with a late winner from McClean to seal things. The West Bladen Knights finished their soccer season with a 5-16 overall record and they finished fifth in the Southeastern Conference. The Knights had two of their own selected for the SAC 6 All-Conference Team; senior center-back Daniel Gustafson and junior winger Christopher Ramirez Labra. Gustafson anchored the Knights backline with a team leading 71 steals, while Ramirez Labra used his creativity up front for 8 goal involvements(7 g, 2 a) and he finished the year with 65 steals on the season.
The West Bladen Knights had a positive start to the year on the gridiron after beating South Columbus 29-22 away from home but the season didn’t turn out how they hoped as they finished the year with an overall record of 2-8. Despite the tough losses in the early months of the season, the Knights still had an outside chance to make the 2A playoffs come October if they could scrape some wins together in Conference play. Turnovers and fatigue in the fourth quarter against Fairmont saw them lose 26-14 after leading much of the game in a must-win situation.
Then a scrappy matchup away to Red Springs for the final regular-season game of the year ended in a loss for the Knights. Red Springs would take the final playoff spot with the victory and the Knights would leave empty handed. The Knights were led on both sides of the ball by junior athlete Hezekiah Adams and his improvement on the gridiron was a positive they could take away from the season.
East Bladen retained the “Battle of the Bell” for the 22nd straight time when they defeated their cross-county rivals 49-0 back in August. They went on to lose two straight games to bring their overall record to 1-3 in their first four games but they transformed into a juggernaut once Waccamaw Conference play rolled around. The Eagles trounced their first four conference opponents by a score of 179-67 for a perfect 4-0 start in a competitive conference.
Senior running-back Masion Brooks led the Eagles in scoring(41 TD) and rushing yards this season with over 2,000 yards on the ground. Brooks smashed the single-game touchdown record with seven touchdowns against Pender during their four game run. East Bladen would go-on to lose their final two regular-season games against West Columbus and Whiteville to finish third in the conference standings.
They earned a spot in the playoffs as the number-13 seed in the 1A East Region and the Eagles grew into their full-potential with each passing round. The Eagles coasted their first round game against North Edgecombe and survived a nailbiter against Northside-Pinetown to book a trip to the third round in Goldsboro. East Bladen faced a Rosewood squad with a high-power offense on paper but made them look like an average team once the game started to nab a 47-14 win on the road.
They played the number-one seeded Tarboro Vikings in the Eastern semis but fell short in the end for a 20-13 defeat. East Bladen would conclude their year with an overall record of 8-6 and named five players to the All-Conference team–Masion Brooks, Na’Toren Corbett, Rodney Lacewell, J’marius Smith, and Jadon Pridgen.
The West Bladen Lady Knights finished the 2022 volleyball season with a 5-14 record but this season was different as they went 11-12 overall to book a trip to the 2A playoffs. They beat their rivals East Bladen for the first time in three years and they got a signature victory against Lakewood. They were led by seniors Trinity Meares, Kiera Lewis, Jenna McClean, and Maddie Walters. Lewis finished the year with 54 blocks and Walters smashed 27 aces for the Lady Knights this season.
East Bladen’s volleyball team finished the year with an overall record of 4-17 and they had a rough Fall season as they were forced to rebuild their team from scratch after losing some key players from the year prior. Seniors Molly Evans and Karly Ross were selected for the 2023 Waccamaw All-Conference Team for stellar years.
Evans’ led the Lady Eagles with 60 assists on the year, while smashing 13 aces, seven kills and seven digs. Ross showed her defensive capabilities throughout the season as she finished with 28 digs and she had 29 assists to go along with three kills on the attacking side of the game.
The West Bladen Lady Knights had two of their own selected to the All-SAC 6 Team for their outstanding play on the tennis court. Senior Yari Santana and junior Yuri Santana teamed up for a 7-9 record in doubles matches to earn their names on the list. Together, they picked up key wins against Clinton and St. Pauls in the SAC 6 Conference Tournament to advance themselves to the doubles final.
The Santana’s would go on to lose against Fairmount in the finals but their effort in the tournament and throughout the season qualified them for the 2A NCHSAA Mid-East Regional for pairs. Yari Santana was also the Lady Knights no. 1 in singles and she posted an individual record of 5-8. Yuri Santana was no. 2 in the pecking order for singles and she posted an individual record of 6-7.
The East Bladen Lady Eagles had three of their own selected to the All-Waccamaw Team for their outstanding play on the tennis court. Senior Reese Hester, junior Chandler Bordeaux, and junior Leah McGill were the three names to make the All-Conference list. Hester was crowned the singles champion at the Waccamaw tournament where she defeated her teammate Bordeaux in the final round.
Bordeaux and Hester also teamed up throughout the season as the Lady Eagles number-1 double team. Hester claimed three victories in singles as well to conclude her senior season. Bordeaux grabbed three individual wins as the number-2 in singles for the Lady Eagles. McGill was also one-half of the Lady Eagles semi final doubles-team and she won six matches as the number-3 in singles.
East Bladen senior offensive-linemen Rodney Lacewell and Brooks were both selcted to All-Star games at the end of the football season. Lacewell participated in the East-West All-Star game as an offensive-linemen and he played a role in the East team taking the win for bragging rights in NC. Brooks was selected to the Shrine Bowl and he played as a defensive-linemen for Team NC.