THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 19, 1995 TAG: 9511170893
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 30 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Edenton-Holmes has been a team of streaks this year, sometimes good and sometimes bad. Nov. 10, the Aces picked the right night to have their best game of the season.
Edenton held North Johnston to just 24 total yards and two first downs as the Aces routed the Panthers 33-0 in the first round of the North Carolina 2A state playoffs.
Edenton ran its winning streak up to four games and forced a second round playoff game with league rival Plymouth.
Coming into the game, North Johnston was ranked 10th in the state among 2A schools according to the Associated Press. The Panthers were riding high as the champs of the Capital Area Conference and many in Kenly felt the Aces, the third seed from the Northeastern Conference, shouldn't have bothered to show up.
``Many people didn't even give us credit to win this ball game,'' said Jay Swicegood, Edenton head coach. ``There was a lot of trash talk out there about us not needing to be on the field with them.''
The Panthers were held to just 12 yards rushing and 12 yards passing.
Edenton opened the scoring with 14 seconds to play in the first quarter when Mitchell Stanley, who rushed for 113 yards, scored on a two-yard run. Later in the half, Stanley scored again on a one-yard run.
The Aces defense came through with a score in the second half. With four minutes to play in the third quarter, Aaron Simpson blocked a punt and David Elliott fell on it in the end zone for an Edenton touchdown. Later in the quarter, Clifton Hudson ran eight yards for a score. The last score came with 7:30 to play when Kendrick Armstead caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Hudson.
Swicegood said the complete shutdown of North Johnston's offense was a surprise.
``By no means did we think we could handle them like that. They had some strong running backs and we were apprehensive about stopping them,'' he said. ``Also, they threw 15 times and had only three completions. All of them were for short yardage.''
Swicegood said that the punting game was also a big difference.
``We punted for an average of 36 yards and they punted for an averaging of 19 yards. We had them pushed back all night,'' he said.
With two strong running backs in Mitchell Stanley and Shelton White, Edenton has not thrown the ball much this year. But Hudson was 4-for-4 passing in critical situations against the Panthers.
It appears the Aces have picked the right time to peak. Swicegood said the team hit rock bottom in a 33-6 loss to Roanoke, a 1A school.
``We played about as sorry and as sloppy as you can play against Roanoke,'' he said. ``That was the worst of the year.''
The current team atmosphere was built around a huge win over Roanoke Rapids in October.
``We said that when we were 3-5 that we were a better team,'' Swicegood said. ``We've been jelling since the Roanoke Rapids game. Since then we have gradually been getting better.'' by CNB