Talk about payback.
For a team which lost by 30 to Raleigh Word of God last year, Arendell Parrott Academy returned the favor last Friday — and the Patriots did it without their starting quarterback.
Sophomore Charlie King suffered a season-ending meniscus tear last week. He’s since had surgery and is expecting a full recovery. His injury left the Patriots in the hands of junior quarterback Jack Huddle as they faced Word of God (0-3) in Week 3.
Huddle was perfect on eight passes for 151 yards and he added 40 yards on eight carries in the statement-making 72-28 win over WOG. The Holy Rams previously topped Parrott in five games the last three years. The last time Parrott defeated WOG before Friday was in a 24-20 win on Sept. 4, 2009.
“When one person goes down, everybody just kind of steps up,” said Huddle, who competed with King for the starting QB position at the beginning of the season. “When he went down, coach Beaman sent me a text and said, ‘The offense isn’t going to miss a beat.’ “
Huddle, who is also a starting linebacker, said the Patriots (3-0) accomplished well-rounded execution in one of the “best games we’ve played all year.”
Coach Matt Beaman said last Friday’s win was one of Huddle’s top performances since the junior’s been on the team. Huddle completed four TD passes and rushed in one of his own.
“He really played a perfect game. He made good decisions when he was supposed to. … I couldn’t ask for more,” Beaman said. “A lot of kids lose the starting position and kind of hang their heads, but Jack hasn’t done that. He’s kept a really positive attitude and that really helped us when Charlie went down.”
In the blowout, the Patriots gained 490 yards over the Rams. Though Parrott tallied 72 points, the game was closer in some moments than the final score indicated. The Patriots were only up 24-20 until the last three minutes of the second quarter. They scored twice to go up 38-20 at halftime.
Beaman used his second string on the defense for most of the third quarter, when WOG fumbled twice resulting in a pair of Parrott touchdowns, respectively.
“(I was) very pleased,” Beaman said about the victory. “(Word of God) is not as talented as they’ve been, but they do have a lot of really good athletes. Just to show we can put those types of points up and hold an explosive offense down like that, I think it just sends a message.”
And the memo came at just the right time.
Friday, defending NCISAA Colonial Carolina champion Southampton Academy out of Courtland, Va., will pay Parrott a visit. Both teams are undefeated.
“They’re strong,” Beaman said of a team that only lost two seniors and have so far only given up six points in 2013. “I’ll be very disappointed if we don’t score but six.”
When the teams met a year ago, the Raiders came out with a 52-40 success.
“It’ll be a huge showdown,” Beaman said. “We’re going to have to play our best game because they are a strong, they’re a veteran team and we’re a younger team. We have nothing to lose; they’re supposed to come out and beat us.
“If the guys come out and give it everything they’ve got, I think we’ve got a chance.”
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.