By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Southern Alamance finished the regular season on a high note and the Patriots unleashed new forms of production in the process.
Southern’s 27-7 victory against visiting Western Alamance on Friday night in Mt. Hermon broke a second-place tie in the Mid-Carolina Conference.
Sincere Thompson scored on three touchdown runs and was one of three Southern players with more than 80 rushing yards as the Patriots (7-3 overall, 6-1 Mid Carolina Conference) racked up their fourth victory in a row.
“Just bowing your neck when things get tough,” Southern coach Jonathan Hester said of the late-season success.
Western (7-3, 5-2), which lost for the second week in a row following a seven-game winning streak, was held to 113 yards of offense.
This marked the closest result for the Patriots since a loss at conference champion Williams.
“Everybody doing their job,” Southern lineman Brantley Messick said. “Focus is the biggest thing.”
Perhaps the biggest breakthrough came from quarterback Tustin Johnson, who rushed for 82 yards and threw for 56 yards. The junior said it was unquestionably his best game.
“Big rival, really wanted to win this game,” Johnson said. “This is the game I wanted to win the most. Senior Night, had to do it for my seniors . . . We’re feeling good going into playoffs.”
Jacob Alexander ran for 93 yards on 12 carries, Thompson posted 87 yards on 20 carries and Johnson picked up 82 yards on 11 carries.
Western’s Carson White recovered a Southern fumble to end the first possession of the second half. Despite taking over on the Patriots’ 30, the Warriors gave the ball back on downs after losing 2 yards and still trailed 14-7.
“I thought, ‘OK, we can go make it 14-14 and we’ll be OK,’ ” Western coach Jeff Snuffer said. “The offense didn’t get it done. We’ve got to get that fixed.”
Instead, Southern drove 68 yards on an adventurous 12 plays, with Thomspon scoring on a 6-yard run. The march included back-to-back completed passes, with Johnson throwing 6 yards to Eli Gilley, who made a diving catch, before a well-executed fourth-and-5 play that resulted in Thompson’s 23-yard reception.
Some games the Patriots barely attempt a pass, with Johnson throwing two times in the three previous weeks combined. So this was different.
“I hear the play-call, I look at my (playlist on the wrist) band, I’m like, ‘Let’s go. I’m getting my opportunity.’ I just got to make sure I make it count.”
Western had only three second-half possessions. The last one ended in Southern territory, where Garrett Ledbetter intercepted Ethan Oakley’s pass.
Southern had a strong opening stretch, scoring on its first possession by driving 81 yards. That drive included consecutive unsportsmanlike penalties and the ejection of Western defensive back Collin Moylan prior to Thompson’s 1-yard touchdown run.
The Patriots went 55 yards on their next possession, with Jvan Hamby scoring from 1 yard out.
Western matched that with a 55-yard drive on the ensuing possession, with Jordan Hall accounting for most of the yards with a 13-yard reception and 26 yards on the ground before Riley Poteat scored on a 3-yard run.
Around the county. . .
In other action involving local teams, Williams finished with an undefeated record in league play for the second year in a row, whipping Roxboro Person 56-12 on Friday night in the Mid-Carolina Conference finale in Roxboro.
The league champion Bulldogs (9-1 overall, 7-0 Mid-Carolina Conference) have rattled off eight consecutive victories.
Roxboro Person fell to 4-6, 2-5.
Southeast Alamance 24, Eastern Alamance 13: At Haw River, the host Stallions ended in fourth place in the Mid-Carolina Conference by defeating the Eagles for the second year in a row.
There was a good start for Eastern (4-6, 3-4), which has its first losing record in conference play in 21 years, after recovering a fumble on the opening kickoff. Jamez Cochran converted on a 1-yard scoring run.
Southeast (7-3, 4-3), buoyed by Tyler Jackson’s 1-yard sneak, was up 10-7 by halftime and stretched that to 17-7 entering the fourth quarter. Samuel Raphael’s 33-yard run for Eastern tightened the score before the Stallions answered with the final touchdown.
Cummings 63, Graham 0: At Graham, the visiting Cavaliers beat neighboring Graham for the eight straight time, including the fourth consecutive shutout in the series.
The Cavaliers (3-7, 1-6) snapped a five-game losing streak. Graham (0-10, 0-7) is winless for the first time since 2019.
In other action. . .
Eastern Randolph 49, Jordan-Matthews 0: Thursday night at Siler City, James Combs scored four touchdowns as the visiting Wildcats wrapped up another unbeaten mark in league play under veteran coach Burton Cates, rolling in the Four Rivers Conference finale.
Cates, who’s from Graham, has directed the Wildcats to five straight conference titles without losing against a league opponent. Eastern Randolph (8-2, 4-0 Four Rivers Conference) led 28-0 after Combs returned a punt for a touchdown early in the second quarter. Jordan-Matthews is 5-5, 1-3.
