Anthony Pitts must have worn the right socks Friday night.
After Vikings quarterback Tiquan Canady suffered an ankle injury last week, the coaching staff told Pitts he would have to step in and play QB, something he hasn’t done since the he played in recreation league.
The 5-foot-11 senior completed six passes for 117 yards and ran for another 59 — sporting a pair of bright blue Superman socks — as the Vikings downed Franklinton 31-27 in the first round of NCHSAA 2AA state playoffs.
“The coaches came to me and said, ‘Look, you’re going to have to go to quarterback, Tiquan’s down,’ ” Pitts said. “I accepted the challenge. I already knew the plays, but I had to get that experience in at practice.”
The Red Rams (8-4 overall, 4-1 conference) jumped to an early lead in scoring on their first two possessions. Kinston trailed Franklinton until the last scoring play of the game — a fumble returned for a touchdown by junior Daequan Carr.
Franklinton was facing a fourth-and-2 with 2:33 left in the ball game, as senior linebacker Donathan Bryant pressured FHS quarterback Daquan Neal with a big hit, knocking the ball loose. Carr — who runs track — was there to pick up the fumble and race 50 yards to the end zone.
Kinston (7-5, 4-1)went up 31-27 for its first lead of the night. Will Deters, who’d been kicking relatively short returns all game, finally nailed a touchback with 2 minutes left in the game.
The Red Rams were able to use their strong air attack to convert a fourth-and-10 and eventually enter Kinston territory. But the Vikings’ defense sacked the QB twice for loss and Neal threw his most incompletions of the game on the possession, including a 50 yard attempt to receiver Mike Waverly who couldn’t hold on to it just a couple yards outside of the end zone.
Neal and Waverly were a threatening pair all night. Waverly had 132 receiving yards, while Neal went 11-of-23 for 243 yards.
Although there were no passing TDs from Fairmont, the Red Rams succeeded in several long throws early to move the ball quickly.
Kinston changed its personnel on defense by adding an extra back and removing a defensive lineman to adjust coverage, which paid off in the end as Fairmont didn’t score in the final quarter.
“I’ve said it all year long, these kids never quit,” first-year Kinston coach Ryan Gieselman said. “Some of these kids went to the state championship two years ago, and they’re not going to quit.”
Although Pitts admitted he needs to work on the passing facet of his quarterbacking, he was able to throw three TD passes for the Vikings.
After the Red Rams extended their lead to 13 toward the end of the first half, Pitts found sophomore receiver Anthony Berry for a 29-yard strike.Pitts shook off defenders before releasing the ball to Berry, who had an open path to the end zone.
Pitts found Berry again at the end of the third quarter for a 38-yard TD pass, which made the score 27-21 before the quarter ended. Berry finished with 104 receiving yards, as Kinston’s Tavon Herns led all rushers with 96 yards.
The next ten points would earn the Vikings a ticket to the second round of the playoffs, where they’ll travel to Currituck County (10-2, 5-1) next week. The Knights defeated East Duplin 21-19 Friday to advance themselves.
Last year, Kinston fell to eventual state champion Tarboro, 48-14, in the second round. In 2011,Kinston advanced to the 2AA state championship game, but West Stokes went on to win the game, 21-14.
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.
KINSTON 31, FRANKLINTON 27
Kinston 7 7 7 10 — 31
Franklinton 10 10 7 0 — 27
First Quarter
F: Jacob Woodburn 15 kick, 6:30
F: Daquan Neal 6 run (Woodburn kick), 4:16
K: Tavon Herns 5 run (Will Deters kick), 2:00
Second Quarter
F: Derryan Henderson 1 run (Woodburn kick), 11:56
F: Woodburn kick, 2:44
K: Tavon Herns 29 pass from Anthony Pitts (Deters kick), 1:17
Third Quarter
F: Neal 17 rush (Woodburn kick), 8:14
K: Anthony Berry 38 pass from Pitts (Deters kick), 2:06
Fourth Quarter
K: Deters kick, 9:17
K: Daequan Carr 50 fumble recovery return (Deters kick), 1:52
K F
First Downs 9 17
Rushes-yards 28-155 37-141
Passing 6-15-1 12-23-1
Passing yards 117 275
Total yards 272 416
Punts-avg. 3-65 3-84
Fumbles-lost 3-1 1-1
INDIVIUDAL STATISTICS:
RUSHING — K: Tavon Herns 12-96, Pitts 14-59, Carr 1-50, Qwarri Ham 2-0. F: Neal 17-73, Waverly 1-4, Jordan Durham 2-4, Derryan Henderson 3-1, J.C. Henderson 3-0.
PASSING — K: Pitts 6-14-0 117 yards, Thomas Vermillion 0-1-1. F: Neal 11-23-1 243 yards, Trevor Hill 1-1-0 32 yards.
RECEIVING — K: Anthony Berry 4-104, Ham 2-13. F: Waverly 4-132, D. Henderson 1-45, Jackson Hooten 11-39, Travon Judkins 11-23, Durham 1-17, Jordan Wolz 1-19.