Gryphons' strong second half pushes them into 3-A third round

Telegram photo / Abbi O’Leary /
Rocky Mount High School’s Nick Bynum celebrates after running into the endzone for a touchdown Friday during their game against South Johnston High School at Rocky Mount High School.

Telegram photo / Abbi O’Leary /
Rocky Mount High School’s B.J. Sanders runs the ball through the South Johnston High School defense Friday during their game at Rocky Mount High School.

Rocky Mount High, for better or worse, has been a second-half football team all season, and especially in recent weeks.

The Gryphons have managed to overcome their first-half struggles all year, and while it might not be the ideal way to handle business, Rocky Mount High just keeps winning.

That was the case again on Friday night in the second round of the 3-A playoffs, as the Gryphons led South Johnston by three at halftime but pulled away from the 11th-seeded Trojans after the break for a 34-20 victory and a berth in the third round.

Rocky Mount High will host No. 10 seed Eden Morehead, which upset second-seeded Havelock, 42-35, on Friday night.

“We need to come out and start much faster than we’ve been doing,” Gryphons coach Jason Battle said. “But, we did a great job of competing (Friday) even after we made mistakes, and we did what we had to do in the second half.”

Rocky Mount High intercepted South Johnston quarterbacks Deparis Patterson and Landen Lockamy three times – Detrell Revis notched two and Aaron Parker intercepted a deep ball, his third in two weeks – to stymie a Trojans offense that had been effective in moving the football both through the air and on the ground.

The Gryphons’ defense came up with two crucial stops in the second half, each time forcing a turnover on downs after they had been put in difficult spots by the Rocky Mount High offense.

First, after the Gryphons went for a 4th-and-10 from their own 32 and had a screen pass batted down, the Trojans went backward with a holding penalty and could not convert on a 4th-and-11 pass.

One possession later, though, Gryphons quarterback Forrest Bell was intercepted, and the Trojans returned the ball inside Rocky Mount High territory, but Lockamy threw three incompletions to give it right back.

“That’s the difference between a good and a great defense,” Gryphons linebacker Alex Henderson said. “The ones who can get off the field in spots like that and pick their offense up are what help us win games like that.”

Rocky Mount High’s passing offense awoke from its weeks-long slumber. Bell was able to connect on several deep passes and had one more erased by a drop, and the Gryphons’ screen passing game clicked. Bell’s lone touchdown pass of the night, on the opening drive of the second half, was on a screen to Jaclayton Freeman.

“I think the balance definitely helped us (on offense) (Friday),” Gryphons running back Nick Bynum said.

At this point, it’s survive-and-advance, and the Gryphons will play past Thanksgiving.

“I want the kids to enjoy this moment,” Battle said.

Rocky Mount High 34
South Johnston 20
SJ       0     7   7   6   –   20
RM     7     3   14   10   –   34
First Quarter
RM – Nick Bynum 34 run (Chase Miller kick), 2:35
Second Quarter
RM – Miller 25 FG, 9:15
SJ – Caeleb Robinson 4 run (Yovani Herrera kick), 4:26
Third Quarter
RM – Jaclayton Freeman 33 pass from Forrest Bell (Miller kick), 10:54
SJ – Deparis Patterson 12 run (Herrera kick), 6:02
RM – B.J. Sanders 4 run (Miller kick), 5:14
Fourth Quarter
RM – Bynum 7 run (Miller kick), 4:49
RM – Miller 27 FG, 1:23
SJ – Kavante Johnson 89 run (run failed), 1:04
SJRM
13   First downs…………14
34–196   Rushes-yards…36–188
164   Passing yards………159
11–27–3   Passes…………..7–12–1
360   Total offense……….347
1–1   Fumbles-Lost…….2–2
11–105   Penalties-Yards…8–65
Individual Statistics
Rushing – SJ: Kavante Johnson 22–170; Deparis Patterson 5–16; Caeleb Robinson 4–6; Landen Lockamy 2–11; Fabian McDonald 1–(-7). RM: Nick Bynum 15–109; B.J. Sanders 9–33; Tyrell Forbes 6–27; Deangelo Collins 3–15; Sherrod Greene 2–12; Forrest Bell 1–(-8).
Passing – SJ: Patterson 7–13–0, 103; Lockamy 4–14–0, 61. RM: Bell 7–12–1, 159.
Receiving – SJ: Javonte Smith 3–74; McDonald 3–40; Sharod Bailey 3–25; Patterson 1–6; Johnson 1–29. RM: KK Edwards 2–68; Jaclayton Freeman 2–43; Chris Richardson 2–35; Bynum 1–13.