It wasn’t easy, but they made it out alive.
Arendell Parrott Academy defeated Raleigh St. David’s School, 30-22, in its season-opener Friday night. The Patriots and Warriors battled throughout in a hard-fought offensive showdown. While Parrott won by eight points, it was a victory that was tough to earn.
St. David’s (0-1) put up the first points after sophomore kicker Jack Hensley nailed a 25-yard field goal. Referees originally signaled for a Warriors touchdown when junior quarterback William Wamper and senior wide receiver Matt Stahl hooked up for what appeared to be a 46-yarder, but the team wound up at the Parrott 6-yard line and scored the field goal two plays later.
The Patriots (1-0) answered with a touchdown on their first possession. After gaining 60 yards on more than a dozen plays, starting quarterback Jack Huddle ran it in from a yard to score. The Patriots extra point was blocked, but they made up for it later on a two-point conversion that put them up 14-10 in the second quarter.
Huddle played the first quarter, going 2 for 5 with 27 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore quarterback Charlie King came early in the second quarter and immediately made a difference. Parrott gained 100 yards on King’s first possession, including a 44-yard pass to junior wide receiver Devin Cregan and a pitch to junior running back Chase Howard, who rushed for 36 yards.
“We’d been working both of them, and it was kind of a tossup, but the passing game was there a little more in (Charlie),” said Parrott coach Matt Beaman. “He’s probably our best passer, so we decided to go with him in the game.”
King finished 12-of-19 with 198 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Late in the second, sophomore linebacker Braxton Montague picked off a King pass on the Patriots’ 24-yard line. He rushed it down to his own 9. Next, Wamper passed 9 yards to junior running back Reef Ivey to score as the Warriors went up 16-14 after a blocked kick.
The Patriots fumbled once more early in the third, and the opener was showered by penalties from both teams.
“I think that’s just first-game jitters, and that’s something we’ll iron out,” Beaman said. “I’m just happy we were able to overcome those. It shows a lot of heart. Like I’ve been saying all along, this team’s got a lot of heart and some good things are going to happen.”
The Patriots may have previewed those good things in a few explosive plays they executed Friday night, especially once King got into his zone.
He launched an immaculate 46-yard pass to Cregan right after halftime. They later connected again for a 15-yard touchdown play. On the game’s final scoring play at the end of the third quarter, King handed off to sophomore running back Davis Basden who burst down field for a big 66 yards into the end zone.
“It’s a good feeling to win the season-opener,” King said. “I think we work good on both (running and passing). We can run the ball and get a couple of yards and then thrown it up for the long pass and get a big gain.”
Howard rushed for 88 yards on 25 carries and Cregan tallied 135 receiving yards, while the Patriots outgained the Warriors 493-319.
Beaman hopes to see his team capitalize more on late-game possessions. The Patriots had the ball with about five minutes left Friday night, and while making 10 plays, they allowed the Warriors back on the field.
“We just have to cut out the costly penalties, (and) when we get the ball late in the game … we have to find a way to grind it out and not let the defense back on the field,” Beaman said. “Last year, we lost a nail-bitter in the season opener, and it kind of hurt our momentum. I think in close games, this team’s going to come out on top most of the time.”
Parrott travels to Merry Hill Lawrence Academy next Friday.
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.