RICHMOND COUNTY — The Hamlet Middle School football team blew out its opponent in Week 1, but the story was a little different on Wednesday. On the road at Sandy Grove Middle School, Hamlet mounted a 14-point comeback in what head coach John Ware called a “tough road win.”
Trailing by eight points at the half, Hamlet battered its way to a 26-20 win. The Red Rams’ defense pitched a shutout in the second half, and the offense erased a 20-12 deficit.
“It was our defense that significantly contributed to the win,” Ware said. “Guys like Jacoby Martin, Cameron Bowden, Jayvion Morgan, Jayvion Smith, Fred Isaac, Gabriel Harrington, Larease Swinnie, JV Drake, Jordan Bostick, Tristan Wall and Philip Hailey were the reason for us keeping the streak alive.”
On the offensive side of the ball, Drake had two rushing scores and one passing touchdown to Isaac. Teammate David McNair also added a rushing score. Hamlet will travel to Cordova next Wednesday for a game against the Cavaliers at 4 p.m.
Cordova faces tough Carver team in season opener
Opening their season a week after their two RCS counterparts, the Cordova Cavaliers fell at home 26-0 against Carver Middle School, which won the conference championship last season.
The Cavs’ defense played “stingy” at times against the Eagles, but a couple of miscues on that side of the ball led to an early-season loss. A fumble by the Cavs on the opening kickoff led to a Carver rushing touchdown on the right side.
After the teams traded punts on the next three possessions, the Eagles struck again with a long rushing score. The Cavs stuffed the two-point conversion attempt, and Carver took the 12-0 lead into the half.
The second half saw Carver return the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and the Eagles scored their final score on a partially blocked punt that was returned to the end zone.
The best offensive play for Cordova was an Isaiah Lockheart pass to Jamison Jones, which went for a 25-yard completion. Facing a tough defense, the Cavs only managed to earn three first downs in the game.
Tykeem Ellerbe and Mike McDonald had several positive carries for Cordova. Linebackers Lockheart, Marquan Martin and Eric Greene made numerous tackles for the Cavs. Ellerbe also made an open field tackle to keep a touchdown off the board at the end of the first half.
On the defensive line, Konner Carter, Johnny Lunceford, Karson Thomas and Adam Simpson teamed up to make a handful of team tackles at the line of scrimmage.
“Carver’s offensive and defensive lines out-matched our’s today,” head coach Richard Kerekes said. “Our offense struggled, but now we know what we need to work on. And we can move forward and rid ourselves of the first-game jitters.”
Cordova (0-1) will host Hamlet (2-0) next Wednesday, Oct. 9, at home at 4 p.m. Coaches Allen Adeimy, Richard Kerekes and John Ware contributed to this article.
