Published: 12:40 AM, Sat Sep 04, 2010
Seventy-First runs over Hoke County, 44-13
By Jaclyn Shambaugh
Staff writer
Anyone who came to Loyd E. Auman Field on Friday expecting to see a rushing show down between premier running backs Maurice Scruggs and Christian Russell was in for a surprise.
It's true that each scored a pair of touchdowns, but neither rushed for a hundred yards nor managed 20 carries.
Instead, the game was a display of the depth of the Falcons ground game in a decidely one-sided event that gave Seventy-First a 44-13 confidence-building victory over Hoke County.
The Falcons (2-1) came out crashing through the Bucks defense, scoring 24 points in the first quarter. Devin Carter led the charge, breaking through Hoke's defensive line on a 1st-and-10 from his own 35 and carrying the ball 63 yards to the Buck 2-yard line.
Carter ended the night with a game-high 121 yards on 11 carries.
From the 2, Kendall Lindsey pushed the ball through on a quarterback sneak to put the Falcons on the board 6-0 before handing the ball to Tyrel Bryant-Dove on a conversion play that gave Seventy-First an 8-0 lead.
Scruggs then scored twice in the quarter, first on a 61-yard reception from Lindsey. Scruggs caught the pass in space at the Hoke 35-yard line, beating a single defender on the right sideline before crossing the goal line.
Two minutes later, Scruggs struck again on a five-yard carry into the end zone. Lindsey carried the ball in for the two-point conversion and a 28-0 Falcon lead.
Scruggs rushed for 77 yards on 18 carries.
Lindsey scored again on a one-yard sneak in the second quarter to give the Falcons a 30-0 lead at halftime.
On the other side of the ball, Seventy-First smothered the Bucks (0-3) on offense, taking Russell down for a loss on three of his first five carries. The Falcons held the senior to 46 yards on 13 carries
Coach Bob Paroli said his team had spent the week preparing for the rusher, who accumulated 1,728 yards at Westover last season to finish as the third-highest rusher in Cumberland County.
"We lived in fear of him all week," Paroli said. "You have to hit him with more than one person. If you don't do that, Christian Russell will kill you."
With no production from the ground game, Hoke County attempted to utilize the strong arm of sophomore quarterback David Walrath. Walrath connected on seven of 19 attempts for 68 yards, but a pair of interceptions and poor gains by receivers after catching the ball left the offense floundering.
Hoke County scored both of its touchdowns in the fourth quarter on short runs by Russell against Seventy-First's second-string defense.
Staff writer Jaclyn Shambaugh can be reached at 609-0651 or at shambaughj@fayobserver.com.