Rocky Mount High School | Archive | November, 2017

There wasn’t any ambiguity to the task at hand for Rocky Mount football on Friday. A win against host Northern Nash would mean the playoffs; a loss would mean an end to a season and a record well below .500.

For the Gryphons (4-6, 3-2), there was no interest in that second option. They stifled the Knights from the get-go, entering the half with a 34-0 lead on the way to a convincing 40-12 win over Northern Nash (1-10, 1-4).

It’s their sixth straight year in the playoffs.

“We just went in knowing the only option was to win this game,” Rocky Mount quarterback Jaquan Lynch said. “We came in, had fun, my receivers came up with some good catches. It’s fun to play like that, especially when I have the time to throw.”

Lynch and the offense was pass-happy from the beginning of the game. After a stop by the Gryphons defense to start the game, the Knights punted the possession to the Rocky Mount 35 yard-line.

On the first offensive play from scrimmage, Lynch threw an ambitious incompletion. The second was a 65-yard touchdown to receiver Shyheim Battle, who caught the ball with about 30 yards to go and made the final stretch happen with his feet.

That play came to be a good embodiment of how the rest of the half would go. Lynch finished with four touchdown passes — all in the first 24 minutes — and 240 yards through the air.

“Those are things that he’s done all year,” Gryphons coach Jason Battle said. “Tonight he find a rhythm. He felt good about his play and he went for it.”

Following the first touchdown, the Knights fumbled and turned the ball over on the ensuing onside kickoff. Three minutes later, the Gryphons scored again.

Northern Nash went three-and-out on its next possession, then forced a fumble of their own, then almost immediately fumbled the ball back to the Gryphons at midfield.

The next play for Rocky Mount was a perfectly executed end-around reverse run, with Detrell Revis taking the ball 49 yards to the end zone for a 20-0 lead.

That was all before the first quarter had ended.

“We needed to make sure that we grabbed momentum early,” Battle said. “We wanted to get in a good rhythm and feel good as early as we could. We did that.”

In front of a sizable senior night crowd, Northern Nash had few answers for the Rocky Mount defense. The best offensive chance for them in the first half was a 50-yard pass by quarterback Davontae Wiggins that just slipped through the hands of his receiver, who was camped out in the end zone.

After falling behind 40-0 early in the second half, the Knights responded nicely with two touchdown drives of their own. Wiggins hooked up with Bryce Miles for a three-yard touchdown and later Trevor Sledge for a six-yard score, making it 40-12. But by then, it was all over but the final buzzer.

“We’ve got to get ready for next week. We know we’ll be playing a top-seeded team,” Lynch said. “But now we have a chance at least to repeat the success we’ve had in previous years.”

Rocky Mount 20 14 6 0

N. Nash 0 0 6 6

First Quarter

RM – Shyheim Battle 6 pass From Jaquan Lynch (kick fail)

RM – 10 pass from Lynch (kick fail)

RM – Detrall Revis 49 run (run converted)

Second Quarter

RM – Rajah McCowan 47 pass from Lynch (Saylor Newton kick)

RM – Javeon Jones 15 pass from Lynch (Newton kick)

Third Quarter

RM – Jalen Watson 1 run (kick fail)

NN – Bryce Miles 3 pass from Davontae Wiggins (kick fail)

Fourth Quarter

NN – Trevor Sledge 6 pass from Wiggins (kick fail)

The Rocky Mount High girls tennis team’s season came to an end on Monday in the third round of the NCHSAA Class 3-A dual team playoffs.

The Gryphons lost, 5-1, to New Hanover in Wilmington. The match was decided after the six singles matches, and the two teams opted not to play doubles.

“My girls were extremely upbeat despite the loss,” coach Wayne Holloman said. “They were very upbeat because they realized what they did. They are literally one of the best eight tennis teams in the state. And as much as we hated to lose, they’re a group that can see the bigger picture.”

That wide-angled view is possible because the team will largely remain intact next season as the Gryphons will lose just one player — Lauryn Clark — from their lineup due to graduation.

Clark finished her career as a winner as she managed to win at No. 4 singles. The team’s lone senior earned a victory to give her teammates a chance at forcing doubles. RMH was competitive in a couple other matches, and for a moment looked as if they would be able to extend the match.

In a close decision at No. 2, Katie Moss fell, 6-4, 6-3. Elsewhere, Caroline Land forced a pair of tiebreakers at No. 6 before losing 7-6, 7-5.

“I was very proud of Lauryn,” Holloman said. “She got to go out and finish her four-year career with a win.”

The Gryphons finished second in the Big East Conference, before rattling off a pair of victories to advance into the third round of the postseason. It was the second consecutive season the Gryphons were knocked out in the third round.

Last year’s team made a run with two talented seniors atop the lineup. RMH didn’t miss a beat this season, and turned in a remarkable year. The young team features three sophomores, a pair of juniors and a senior.

“Any time you lose your top two players you’re supposed to drop off,” Holloman said. “So to make it as far as last year’s upperclassmen-laden team is one heck of an accomplishment. It was refreshing to see.

“What the girls have done isn’t lost on them. They all understand that it’s pretty impressive.”

Clark will be the only player lost to graduation, and Holloman said he is already thinking about next season. The first-year coach plans to make arrangements for a tough nonconference schedule that he hopes will include all of this season’s three playoff opponents.

RMH beat Clayton in the first round, then edged Greenville Conley to reach New Hanover in the third round. All three teams have shown interest in adding the Gryphons to their schedule next season as well.

Holloman is trying to beef up the competition his players will see in order to be better prepared for a future postseason run. Wilson Fike, the Big East Conference winner, joined the Gryphons as the only teams in the conference to finish with winning records.

“For us to be able to play high level teams will be such a benefit to these girls,” Holloman said. “We got beat by a better team today, there’s no way around that. And hopefully, having this experience, seeing what it takes to play at the level, will drive them next year.

“But I couldn’t be any more proud with what they’ve done. It was fun.”

The net in the middle of a tennis court is a three-foot barrier between opponents. But for some players like Rocky Mount High’s Caroline Land, that barrier can represent so much more.

Land spent much of the season sending shots and returning balls over the net, and did so from where she was most comfortable — far away from the net. Rarely did Land play up close. She liked having more time to react to shots.

“At the beginning of the season I wasn’t confident at the net,” the sophomore said. “I didn’t have experience there so I sort of stayed away. I just played how I was used to playing.”

All of that changed a few weeks ago when Gryphons first-year coach Wayne Holloman’s teaching finally hit home. Holloman, a former tennis player himself, knew that if his players could add a net presence to their respective games, the Gryphons would turn into a formidable team.

Mission accomplished.

The Gryphons find themselves still playing tennis as one of eight teams remaining in the state playoffs. RMH continues its strong season today as it plays New Hanover in Wilmington in the third round of the NCHSAA Class 3-A dual team playoffs.

“For us to be here is a testament to the hard work the girls put in all season,” Holloman said. “We graduated our top two players from last year’s team, and the girls slotted up and stepped right in and performed great.”

The Gryphons, who finished second in the Big East Conference behind Wilson Fike, cruised in the first round of the postseason with a 6-3 win over Clayton. But the team needed a heroic effort from Land and No. 3 doubles partner Mary Katherine Broderick in the second round in order to get past Greenville Conley.

Trailing 4-2 after being outplayed in the singles matches, the Gryphons needed to sweep all three doubles matches to extend their season. It was an unfamiliar situation for the Gryphons, who rarely counted on doubles because of a talented singles lineup.

But here they were, needing some magic.

The top two doubles pairing won easily, 10-2, and 10-1, respectively. That left Land and Broderick needing to pull out a win to move on. And what Holloman saw made him smile. There was Land standing near the net, punishing her opponent volley after volley.

“Caroline started to stay after practice to work on her play at the net,” Holloman said. “We worked on stance, form, approach, everything. In that match, the angles she was hitting were incredible. She looked comfortable like she had been dominating at the net all season.”

Land and Broderick picked up a 10-6 win to seal the victory and send the Gryphons into the third round. No tennis RMH tennis team has advanced past the third round in duals, and this young team with just one senior is aiming to do just that.

And the credit goes to a revamped style of play, and a talented young core that never once looked overmatched all season.

Caroline Broderick, a sophomore who played at No. 3 and 4 singles last year, is the Gryphons’ top player. She only lost two matches this season while guiding the Gryphons to a 10-2 season. Junior Katie Moss, at No. 2 singles, finished the season 13-1. Sophomore Carson Browder lost only three matches all season, while Mary Katherine Broderick went 13-0 at No. 5 singles, with Land going 12-1 in singles.

Holloman said that many teams can count on several players to secure wins in a given match. But what has made his team so successful this season, Holloman said, is that the players at the low singles and doubles positions have worked on employing a skillset that overmatches teams.

Players like Land working toward being a force at the net can make the difference between a loss, and a trip to the third round of the playoffs. Playing near the net opens up a wide range of shots, and forces the opponent to be aware of that player looming just across the net.

“I’ve learned that if you can do well at the net it’s huge,” Land said. “For me, I know it’s intimidating for the other team because they know you’re right up on them. They’re going to try to avoid hitting it to you because they might be scared that you might crush the ball.

“If you are good at the net, it is advantageous. It took some work to be comfortable playing there, but it’s worth it.”