Gryphons punch playoff ticket with win over Northern Nash

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)