Nine times against the Jackets and 10 times against the Warriors, Patriot defenders shot into the backfield to nail the opponent runner for losses.
“It’s just our philosophy,” Pinecrest defensive coordinator Bill Maczko said. “We are going to come after you, attack and run to the ball. That’s what we do.”
Linebacker John Fowler, who had a sack, a fumble recovery and four tackles for losses among his total of six against West Montgomery, felt Maczko prepared the defense well for the game.
“He gets a scouting report every week and we study them and he quizzes us on them,” Fowler said. “He just pounds it into us and he has us in the right places at the right times.”
“Everybody executed their responsibilities so the opportunities came to make the tackles,” said senior linebacker Lammon Ringgold, who totaled 19 tackles, 13 of them solo. “We worked hard in practice to keep the intensity up. We deserved the win.”
West Montgomery coach B.W. Holt was disappointed with the play of his team and with a call by the officials on the last play of the game.
With Pinecrest leading 29-20, Warrior quarterback Daniel Bruton completed a pass to Shamal Lilly who was ruled out of bounds inside the five-yard line just before he hit the goal line pylon. Holt’s position was that if the ball carrier hit the pylon, it should by rule be a touchdown.
In a similar play Saturday, UNC’s Darian Durant completed a pass to wide receiver Sam Aiken who dove and landed on the pylon for the first touchdown against Florida State. But observers close to the play Friday, said that Lilly clearly stepped out of bounds before hitting the marker.
Overall, Holt had this to say.
“They have a good quarterback and they throw and catch it well,” he said. “We made some mistakes and they took advantage of them. We missed tackles, we didn’t break on the ball well and we were very inconsistent on offense. But we are going to be okay.”
Although the extra-point team of the Patriots had a tough night with one attempt blocked and another aborted by a bad snap, senior kicker Mike Madden helped give his team good field position with one kickoff into the end zone and two others taken at the five-yard line.
He also kicked his first field goal, a 32-yarder, and made an open field tackle on a kickoff saving at least a long gain and possibly a touchdown.
Pinecrest did not run the ball often, but enough for Kent Murphy to gain 102 yards in 13 carries and one touchdown. He also had a 50-yard fourth-quarter touchdown called back due to a block in the back by a teammate trailing the run.
Christopher Logan, the Boys and Girls Club of the Sandhills 2001-2002 Youth of the Year, joined the team captains and officials for the pre-game coin toss.
The 14-year old Pinecrest freshman will represent the club in the State Youth of the Year competition to be held in Wilmington next spring. Logan is a member of the Keystone Club a group of teens that focuses on creating and maintaining high standards of health, education, character and citizenship in order for teens to develop into responsible and productive adults.
Many other club members and club director Wayne Moore attended the game.
