Reidsville's Jeremiah Redd (left) and Trey Poteat are comforted on the Rams' sideline after their 24-21 loss to East Duplin on Saturday in the NCHSAA Class 2-A football championship game at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill.
Reidsville’s bid for a 23rd state football championship falls short as East Duplin holds on to win the NCHSAA Class 2-A football championship game 24-21 on Saturday at Kenan Stadium.
Why the Rams lost
Reidsville’s defense wasn’t able to get off the field often enough against East Duplin’s methodical wing-T offense, and coach Jimmy Teague’s Rams were unable to overcome miscues on their first two possessions of the second half.
After tying the score at 7 on a 1-yard pass from Al Lee to freshman Dionte Neal on the last play of the first half and the extra-point kick, Reidsville appeared poised to take control of the game when they received the second-half kickoff. But an eight-play, 63-yard drive stalled at the East Duplin 10, and Ivar De Jong’s 27-yard field-goal attempt was blocked by the Panthers’ Rodrigo Sanchez.
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That’s when things went from bad to worse for the Rams. The kick had never crossed the line of scrimmage, so when it bounced to Neal it was a live ball. Neal mistakenly thought the play was dead, as it would have been on a blocked extra-point try under high school rules, and East Duplin’s Elam Moore pulled the football away from him and raced 70 yards for a touchdown.
“I saw he wasn’t going anywhere with it, so I took it from him,” Moore said.
“That killed us, obviously,” Teague said. “We go from potentially being up 10-7 to going down 14-7, and they got momentum there, too.”
On Reidsville’s next possession, a Lee pass intended for a wide-open Kendre Harrison was tipped at the line and intercepted by the Panthers’ Brecken Bowles and returned to the Rams’ 21. Reidsville kept East Duplin out of the end zone, but the 2-A East champions kicked a 26-yard field goal to make it a two-possession game at 17-7. The Rams’ cut their deficit to three points twice, but ran out of time after an onside kick failed to go the required 10 yards with 2: 03 to play.
Afterward, Teague couldn’t help but be emotional sitting with four of his seniors, adding: “I can’t say enough what an honor it is to sit beside these guys and be able to coach them.”
Why the Panthers won
Coach Battle Holley’s team played keep-away for most of the game, running the ball on 61 of its 63 plays and finishing with 31 minutes, 24 seconds of possession to Reidsville’s 16:36. Senior running back Avery Gaby was the MVP after rushing for 184 hard yards and a touchdown, and the East Duplin defense never let a potentially explosive Rams offense get into a rhythm.
“(Gaby) is a really good back, a tough guy to bring down, and he got a lot of yards after contact,” Teague said, noting how Gaby always seemed to be falling ahead for extra yards. “Other than on their first drive we made him earn everything he got, but he just kept getting 3, 4, 5 yards every time, which is what we knew they wanted to do.”
The Panthers didn’t want to have to sweat the ending, but that was exactly what happened. After QB Zack Brown threw his only completed pass of the day to Kade Kennedy, seemingly icing the game with 2:16 to play, they gave up an 83-yard kickoff return by Neal for a touchdown.
Stars
Reidsville — QB Al Lee 15-of-26 passing, 195 yards, 2 TDs, INT; RB Jeremiah Redd 9 carries, 39 yards; WR/DB Que’shyne Flippen 4 catches, 37 yards; DB/WR Dionte Neal 4 catches, 23 yards, TD, 4 rushes, 23 yards, kickoff-return TD; LB/RB Paul Widerman 12 tackles, TFL, 5 carries, 37 yards.
East Duplin — QB Zack Brown 1-of-2 passing, 5 yards, TD, 6 yards rushing; RB Avery Gaby 37 carries, 184 yards, TD; RB Nizaya Hall 14 carries, 94 yards; S Brecken Bowles 7 tackles, sack, TFL, INT; DL Rodrigo Sanchez 3 tackles, blocked field-goal attempt.
Three things we learned
1. Old school again. For the second time in as many days, a run-first football team won a NCHSAA championship in Chapel Hill. After New Bern beat Grimsley 40-28 on Friday night without attempting a pass from its triple-option attack, East Duplin only threw twice from the wing-T against Reidsville, although the Panthers’ one completion was a 5-yard TD for what proved to be the deciding score. After a move to spread offenses by most high school teams in North Carolina, there's still something to be said for wearing teams down with a physical, disciplined running game.
2. Feels like the first time. In only its second NCHSAA football championship game appearance, East Duplin won its first title. “We got to do something that had never been done before,” Holley said. It meant even more to Holley because he was following in the family business. His father, Jack, who died of cancer in 2013 at the age of 74, was the winningest high school football coach in state history, with 412 victories. "It runs deep," Battle Holley said, "and it's extra special to get it done, because I know the work he put in and and we put in. I know he'd be proud."
3. Looking ahead. Most of Reidsville’s yards and tackles Saturday were accounted for by players who should be back next season for the Rams. Freshmen Dionte Neal (2 TDs) and Kendre Harrison (3 catches, 63 yards, 3½ tackles) are just two of the underclassmen who should help Reidsville pursue another state title in 2023, but that’s not what Teague wanted to talk about afterward. “We’ll worry about next year in a few weeks,” the Rams’ longtime coach said. “I just want these guys to know how proud I am of them and how grateful I am to be their coach.”
What they said
“Coming out of Reidsville it’s just football, football, football since you were a baby. The dream is to play football for Reidsville, so this meant a whole lot.” –Reidsville senior receiver and defensive back Jaden McCain, who was named the Rams’ outstanding defensive player
“This is kind of surreal. These guys have had a lot of faith all year and they believed in each other. We’ve had some great teams at East Duplin, but this was probably the best team.” – Battle Holley, East Duplin coach
“These seniors have done such a great job for us. It’s always bittersweet when it doesn’t end the way you want to end it for them. They’re such a great bunch of guys. I couldn’t have asked for a better group to coach, and I’m just so proud of them.” – Jimmy Teague, Reidsville coach, choking up with emotion after the Rams’ loss
Records
Reidsville: 14-2.
East Duplin: 15-1.
