Williams, Southeast Alamance can’t hold second-half leads as seasons end
By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
The Williams football team needed one more touchdown or one more defensive stop in the second half Friday night.
The Bulldogs got neither, falling 30-24 to Jacksonville in the second round of the Class 3-A state playoffs at Burlington Memorial Stadium.
The Cardinals (10-1), who are seeded No. 12 in the East Region, completed a comeback from 17 points down, scoring on Eric Griffin’s 3-yard run with 58 seconds left and tacking on a two-point conversion.
It marked the end of a 10-game winning streak for fifth-seeded Williams (10-2).
Bulldogs quarterback Dan Mahan missed a large chunk of the middle of the game after absorbing a big hit early in the second quarter.
“We really just struggled to perform in the second half,” Williams safety Vince Coker said. “After Dan went out, we weren’t the same. We just didn’t finish the game.”
Jacksonville scored the game’s final 23 points.
“They were able to take advantage of some of the weak spots because of some of the things we needed to take away,” Williams coach Patrick Stokes said.
The Cardinals moved at least 50 yards on three of their four second-half possessions.
“We just got worn down and lost the momentum,” Coker said.
Yet the Bulldogs appeared in good shape when Williams’ Charlie Smith blocked a field goal attempt and returned the ball into Jacksonville territory after the Cardinals used more than six minutes on the first possession of the second half. A 12-play Williams drive ended at the Jacksonville 9 on the first play of the fourth quarter.
A turnover gave the ball back to the Bulldogs at the 16-yard line. But after a first down, a Williams fumble thwarted that threat.
Then Jacksonville turned it on with a 94-yard drive in barely two minutes followed by the winning drive that covered 66 yards.
Williams gained three first downs and got to the Jacksonville 33 before a failed fourth down with less than 10 seconds left.
“We had some guys out there fighting through some tough things, and I’m sure they probably did, too,” Stokes said. “I was glad Dan got back out there at the end even though it didn’t work out.”
Mahan finished 13-for-21 for 172 yards in the air and rushed for 120 yards on 14 carries.
“We made some big plays in the first half,” Stokes said. “We just couldn’t get drives going.”
The opening stretch of the game was bizarre in that Williams led 17-7 before Jacksonville took its first snap.
The Bulldogs scored three plays into the game on Mahan’s flip to Andrews Cruz that went for 69 yards. Jacksonville’s Amaree Betton returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown.
Williams then used eight plays for a 74-yard TD drive, with Mahan running in from 14 yards out. The Cardinals were flagged for a 15-yard penalty on the extra-point kick, so the Bulldogs opted to have that applied to the kickoff and they tried a successful onside kick.
Cole Brinskelle’s 25-yard field goal provided the next points. The Bulldogs were back in the end zone on Mahan’s 72-yard run for a 24-7 lead with 2:18 to play in the first quarter.
After Williams’ Elijah Kimber recovered a fumble, the Bulldogs moved to the Jacksonville 24 before Mahan exited. The drive stalled and a 38-yard field goal was off the mark.
Jacksonville’s next possession ended with Coker’s interception.
The Cardinals got going with a touchdown with 1:26 left in the half and following a Williams turnover nearly scored again. But Demon June was stopped at the Bulldogs’ 1-yard line as time expired.
Havelock 49, Western Alamance 6: In Class 3-A at Havelock, the top-seeded Rams ran away from No. 16 seed Western.
The Warriors (8-4) scored on James Newton’s touchdown in the third quarter.
Class 2-A
At Haw River, Southeast Alamance suffered its first loss of the season with a 26-13 second-round defeat to visiting Kinston.
The Stallions (11-1) pulled within 20-13 in the fourth quarter, but the Vikings answered quickly.
No. 19 seed Kinston (8-4) overcame a 7-6 halftime deficit with 14 points in the third quarter.
