PILOT MOUNTAIN — In the battle of the defending 1AA and 2A state champions, Reidsville rammed East Surry 48-14 to stay perfect on the 2021 season.
The win marks Reidsville’s first-ever victory over East Surry. When the teams first met on September 29, 2019, the Cardinals handed the Rams their first regular season loss in nearly four years by a score of 55-49.
It was the Rams’ turn to play spoiler inside David H. Diamont Stadium on Friday. Reidsville’s win ends East Surry’s longest winning streak in school history at 16 games.
“Hats off to Reidsville,” said Cardinal coach Trent Lowman. “They are always a phenomenal team and tonight they played that way.”
Reidsville (2-0), ranked No. 2 in the state’s 2A division by MaxPreps, suffocated East Surry right out of the gate with four-consecutive touchdowns on the Rams first four possessions.
The Cardinals finished the first quarter with -6 yards of total offense.
“We got a slow start, and I don’t know if we were a little wide-eyed or what,” Lowman said. “I told the team after the game that’s on me for not having been the level of prepared we needed to be.”
Lowman knew his team was in for an uphill battle after graduating so many starters from team that defeated Reidsville back in 2019. Eight of the East Surry players that helped lead the team to the 2019 1AA State Championship are now playing collegiate football; five are members of Division-I programs.
Reidsville, meanwhile, returned its dynamic quarterback that accounted for more than 3,400 total yards in 2019, its top receiver who had 42 grabs last season and three of its top four rushers.
“We knew going in that we were playing one of the best teams in the state,” Lowman said. “We were the bullseye for them after beating them last year. We had some young guys last year that didn’t experience that game other than watching from the sidelines.”
Reidsville’s offense finished with 36 carries for 133 yards and three rushing touchdowns, as well as 15-of-22 passing for 197 yards and two TDs. Quarterback Kyle Pinnix completed 14-of-21 passes for 181 yards and two passing TDs. Pinnix also had 11 carries for 53 yards and one rushing TD.
Top receiver Breon Pass had six catches for 98 yards and a TD. Placekicker Anthony Franson hit seven-of-seven PATs and two field goals.
After failing to record a first down in the first quarter, East Surry utilized its ground game to move into Reidsville territory in the second. Luke Bullington, Benji Gosnell and Trey Armstrong each had their number called as East moved the chains slowly but surely.
East Surry’s Colby Johnson took over as QB after starter Folger Boaz left the game with an injury. When faced with second-and-9 at midfield, Johnson completed the Cards’ first pass in a 19-yard completion to Gosnell.
The Cardinals sat just outside the red zone when Bullington fumbled, but the ball was recovered by teammate Victor Flores. Then, Johnson was sacked for a 9-yard loss to set up fourth-and-13.
Instead of attempting a 50-yard field goal, East kept the offense on the field for fourth down. Johnson handed off to Bullington, who flipped the pigskin to Carson Hawks on a reverse. Hawks connected with Gosnell for an 18-yard gain.
Bullington plowed into the end zone two plays later to get the Cardinals on the board. Derek Sutterby hit the PAT to make it 28-7.
Reidsville punted for the first time with 3:23 left in the first half, but got the ball back with 87 seconds still on the clock. At the 30-second mark, Pinnex connected with Pass on a 49-yard gain. After spiking the ball, Pinnex found Pass again for the 21-yard TD.
East Surry’s revitalized defense kept Reidsville’s offense at bay during the third quarter. The Rams had the ball five times in the quarter and recorded just one first down.
“I felt like we came out in the second half and Coach [Randy] Marion and the defensive staff did a good job of getting stops,” Lowman said. “They gave us some short fields and unfortunately we weren’t able to do much with it.”
After Stevion Harrison began the third quarter with a big run, East’s Kaleb Tilley forced Pinnix to scramble out-of-bounds for a 2-yard loss. Then, Tilley sacked Pinnix on the next down. Bullington slapped a Pinnix pass into the grass to set up fourth and long.
Reidsville snapped the ball over Franson’s head when attempting to punt, resulting in a 20-yard loss that started East on the Rams’ 11. Four plays later, East turned the ball over on downs.
Gosnell and the Cardinal defense continued to pressure Pinnix. The senior QB went 3-of-7 for 15 yards passing in the third after recording nearly 150 yards passing in the first half.
“Our defense came up big getting several stops in a row,” Lowman said. “They did a phenomenal job and we just couldn’t make it count for us as much as we could have.”
East was finally able to take advantage of great starting field position after another bad Reidsville snap put the Cards on the Rams’ 5. Bullington ran through the path cleared for him by the Fat Cowboys for the 5-yard TD.
Bullington finished the night with 13 carries for 44 yards rushing and 2 TDs.
“I was extremely proud of our guys for how they played in the second half,” Lowman said. “At halftime, there was no talk about winning or losing: we talked about growing up. What we tell our guys all the time is to do your job individually the best you can and good things will come.”
After East’s touchdown, Reidsville’s Cam Peoples ran back the ensuing kickoff for the final TD of the night. The teams combined for just five completed passes in the fourth quarter, instead opting to keep the ball on the ground most of the time.
East Surry’s QBs combined for 7-of-17 passing for 47 yards. Boaz went 0-of-4, Johnson 6-of-12 for 29 yards and 1 interception and Hawks 1-of-1 for 18 yards.
“Tonight was the first night where we learned a lot about who we are as a football team,” Lowman said. “I think last week [vs. North Davidson], I don’t think we learned much of anything about our team other than they could compete. With the awful weather we couldn’t execute any of our normal things.”
“I do think we are a much better football team than we were two weeks ago, and it’s all about moving forward from here.”
East Surry (1-1) begins conference play next week by traveling to Bishop McGuinness (0-2). Reidsville hosts Ragsdale (1-1) next week before beginning conference play against Carrboro the following week.
Scoring
East Surry – 0, 7, 7, 0 = 14
Reidsville – 21, 14, 7, 6 = 48
1Q
9:18 REID 0-7 – Stevion Harrison 1-yard rush TD, Anthony Franson PAT
5:59 REID 0-14 – Kyle Pinnix 16-yard rush TD, Anthony Franson PAT
3:29 REID 0-21 – Kyle Pinnix pass to Jaden Robinson 18-yard TD reception, Anthony Franson PAT
2Q
11:31 REID 0-28 – Jaden Robinson 2-yard rush TD, Anthony Franson PAT
6:00 ESHS 7-28 – Luke Bullington 4-yard rush TD, Derek Sutterby PAT
0:08 REID 7-35 – Kyle Pinnix pass to Breon Pass 21-yard TD reception, Anthony Franson PAT
3Q
3:31 ESHS 14-35 – Luke Bullington 5-yard rush TD, Derek Sutterby PAT
3:11 REID 14-42 – Cam Peoples 86-yard kickoff return TD, Anthony Franson PAT
4Q
10:04 REID 14-45 – Anthony Franson 28-yard field goal
3:41 REID 14-48 – Anthony Franson 32-yard field goal
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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