Good night for Alamance teams – whether at home or on the road; 6 of 7 win
By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
It was a big night for Alamance County football teams, with two coaches securing their first victories at their alma maters and a long-time coach escaping with a triumph as well.
Teams from the county went a combined 6-1 on Friday night.
Here’s a look at six of the games (see separate story on Southeast Alamance’s victory):
Southern Alamance 42, Southeast Guilford 21: At Greensboro, Sincere Thompson rushed for 364 yards and four touchdowns as the visiting Patriots notched their first victory under coach Jonathan Hester.
Thompson, a sophomore, carried 30 times.
The Patriots (1-2) had a long first-quarter drive that ended with Thompson’s 3-yard touchdown run. Then the Patriots produced drives of 72, 62, and 75 yards for a 28-0 lead, with Thompson finishing each of those marches with a touchdown.
Southeast Guilford (2-1) closed within 28-21 courtesy of Caleb Jackson’s 13-yard run.
Fourth-quarter touchdown runs by Nathan McNeal from 21 yards out and Tustin Johnson for 7 yards sealed the outcome.
Cummings 23, Eden Morehead 10: Luke Hadley caught two touchdown passes from Ja’Kori McNair as Cummings won for the first time under interim coach Terrance Alford, claiming the home victory.
Hadley made five catches and accounted for half of McNair’s 120 passing yards. Jaidyn Briskey scored on a 5-yard run for the Cavaliers (1-2). Cummings also scored on defense with a second-quarter quarterback sack in the end zone for a safety.
Eden Morehead, under former Southern Alamance coach Tony McCants, dropped to 0-3.
Eastern Alamance 32, Central Davidson 31: At Lexington, Zack Merchel threw two of his three touchdown passes to Devonita Clark, while Kasen McGinnis scored on defense as the Eagles won for the first time this season under interim coach John Kirby.
Following a Central Davidson touchdown with 20 seconds left, the Eagles stopped a two-point conversion run to hold on.
It marked the Eagles’ first victory under Kirby, the longtime coach who spent the 2024 season retired before returning in June, in 679 days since an October 27, 2023, triumph at Orange.
Central Davidson (2-1) led 15-12 at halftime.
McGinnis’ 60-yard return with a fumble gave the Eagles (1-2) a 25-15 edge and the spread reached 32-18 when Douglas Kittrells, Jr. scored on a long sprint after taking a flip from Merchel for an 80-yard play late in the third quarter.
Merchel finished 16-for-21 for 322 yards, with Kittrells picking up 179 of those and Clark racking up 106.
Western Alamance 28, Rockingham County 8: At Elon, Jordan Hall gained 108 rushing yards and scored a touchdown as the Warriors won their home opener.
Ethan Oakley completed 10 of 15 passes for 138 yards and ran for a touchdown.
The Warriors (2-1) also had touchdowns on Amir Cummings’ 2-yard run and Marqua Sims’ 30-yard run. Those were part of Western’s 325 yards of total offense.
Western’s Riley Poteat, Kaiden Hatfield, and Dawson Boysel intercepted passes for the Warriors. Western held the Cougars (1-2) to 6 rushing yards.
Hall, who had 18 carries, opened the scoring on a touchdown run with 7:32 left in the second quarter. Cummings’ run added to the lead before Rockingham County closed within 14-8 before halftime. Oakley scored in the third quarter before Sims’ fourth-quarter scoring run.
Williams 47, Orange 8: Amarion Richmond ran for four touchdowns and 150 yards as the host Bulldogs rolled in their home opener at Burlington Memorial Stadium.
Williams (2-1) needed only four offensive plays to build a 20-0 lead and soon had a 27-0 advantage with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter.
Richmond did his work on six carries. Kyrian Fuller threw for two touchdowns and Kylen Crisp made a touchdown throw. Zach Powell, Braeden Vetter, and Jayvyn Yellock had the TD receptions.
Orange (0-3) is in its first season under former Southern Alamance coach Fritz Hessenthaler.
East Chapel Hill 53, Graham 14: At Chapel Hill, the Red Devils fell to 0-3 with the road loss.
Graham scored on Jayden Hilton’s kickoff return and Ja’den Hamlet’s touchdown catch.
East Chapel Hill, in its first season under former Eastern Alamance assistant coach Ricky Morton, is 2-1.
