Gryphons beat Havelock in triple overtime to punch return trip to state

Rocky Mount’s Gabriel Bynum celebrates their victory over Havelock on Friday at Havelock.

Chase Miller and his right leg will have a place in Rocky Mount High School football lore when the stories are told and re-told of this Gryphons team.

The senior kicker was perfect on all six tries on Friday, including two field goals and four extra-point tries, but none were bigger than his line drive PAT in triple overtime that vaulted the Gryphons into their second state championship game in as many seasons with a 34-33 win over host Havelock in the Regional Finals of the NCHSAA 3-A playoffs.

Miller, who sealed the state title last season with an overtime game-winner, paced the sideline to keep his leg warm on a night when the temperature hovered around 30 degrees. Throughout the season, he could be found with bandages soothing a sore right thigh. He was even run into during last week’s third-round win and injured his hamstring.

But none of that mattered when he trotted out for the game-winning kick.

“Adrenaline is what has kept me going,” Miller said. “It’s the same feeling as last year, and nothing is going to top it. These are the moments, man.”

These are the moments, indeed.

Gryphons coach Jason Battle said he never had a doubt about Miller’s abilities.

“He lives for these moments,” Battle said. “That’s what he thrives on. There’s no fear in him.”

Cornerback Shyheim Battle, who returned an interception for a touchdown earlier in the game, said he knew the game was won once Miller came on for the kick.

“We’re always getting on each other in practice to make us better,” Shyheim Battle said. “We even run up to Chase and get in his face when he’s kicking and he still makes them. He came up huge again.”

Before Miller ended the game, and before three overtime sessions of each team scoring at will, the Rams looked poised to win the game. The Rams took a 17-10 lead with 5 minutes to play when Destin Flloyd strip-sacked RMH quarterback Shabois Lynch in the endzone.

The Gryphons gave up the ball soon after on a turnover on downs to set up Havelock at the RMH 28. Rams quarterback Corey Cooper led a drive that went all the way to the 1-yard line, but the Gryphons stuffed Cooper’s sneak try on fourth-and-goal.

So, backed up at their own 1-yard line with no timeouts and around 30 seconds left in the game, the Gryphons’ Detrelle Revis made the play of the season. The senior lined up in the slot on offense, and hauled in a 99-yard touchdown pass from Lynch to force overtime.

There was some magic left in the tank, after all.

“(Revis) stepped up, and the blocks came at the right time,” said Lynch, who was under heavy pressure from the Rams defense in the second half. “Once I threw it up, I knew he was going to catch it. He’s the fastest dude on the field, so I knew he was gone.

RMH assistant coach Jermaine Jones had a feeling before the game. He told Revis to be ready for any situation, including maybe catching a season-saving touchdown pass. Revis didn’t have any receptions this season, and instead spent the season terrorizing opposing offenses from his safety position.

He made the pass-happy Rams offense pay for catching passes over the middle with jarring hits. But his biggest blow came with the ball. He ran up the seam, beat a safety, and won a race to the end zone.

“I was told to always be ready and to believe in myself and this team,” Revis said. “I was housing that ball as soon as I caught it. All you have to do is let us hang around too long, and it’s over.”.

“He’s a playmaker,” Coach Battle said of Revis. “It’s what he does. All we need is a chance.”

The Gryphons took that chance and turned it into a return trip to the state title game.

By PATRICK MASON

Sports Writer for Rocky Mount Telegram

Saturday, December 10, 2016