ROCKINGHAM – For the second time in the past two seasons, the Carver Middle School football team (Laurinburg, N.C.) knocked off a Richmond County middle school to claim the Southeastern Middle School Athletic Conference title.
The Eagles made the trip west to Rockingham on Wednesday, and despite a valiant attempt by head coach Phillip Waddell and the Rockets, Carver picked up its second-straight SEMSAC crown. Rockingham was shut out for the first time all season, falling to the Eagles by a final score of 28-0.
Last year, Carver defeated Hamlet Middle School in the conference championship game.
What has been the Rockets’ bread and butter this season has been their running game led by a trio of players in Camron Medley, Jaden Jenks and Brandon Askins. Last week, the three combined for 205 rushing yards and three scores in Rockingham’s win over Anson Middle School for the western division title.
But the Eagles’ defense had an answer for the Rocket trio, limiting Medley to just 65 yards on six carries, while Askins gained 70 yards on nine carries, and neither was able to find the end zone. A bright spot on the Rockingham defense was Emerson Wall, who finished the championship game with a team-high seven tackles.
“I’m proud of this football team,” Waddell said of his players. “The team truly overachieved this season.”
The Rockets finished the year with a 4-3 overall record, having won four straight games after getting off to a slow start. The Eagles finished the year undefeated, as they claimed the eastern division title last week in a 56-6 blowout win over West Hoke Middle School en route to Wednesday’s win over the Rockets.
ROSports encourages middle school coaches and athletic directors to submit local sports scores to sports editor Kyle Pillar at kpillar@richmondobserver.com.
