Trojans smash Tigers

SHALLOTTE, N.C. -- When a post-touchdown kickoff inadvertently turned into an onside kick for West Brunswick (N.C.), the Trojans had to know Friday was going to turn out just right.

West Brunswick ran through Chapel Hill consistently, taking a five-touchdown lead into halftime before walking away from its first-round playoff game with a 34-0 victory at M.H. Rourk Stadium.

After Trojans freshman running back Markel Jones scored the team's first touchdown of the game five minutes in, kicker Corey Bell was attempting a squib kick to avoid windy conditions. However, the ball hit a Chapel Hill player in the helmet and became a live ball.

West Brunswick's Alfy Hill jumped out of the ensuing scrum with the ball, leading to another touchdown run, this time by quarterback Quan Bates.

"We definitely didn't plan that," West Brunswick coach Jimmy Fletcher said. "It was just one of those nights. We jumped up 14-0 and played good defense."

By the time Chapel Hill ran its fifth play from scrimmage, the Trojans were up 14-0 and showed no signs of slowing down.

The rest of the first half was pretty much the same story. West Brunswick's running game tallied 278 yards on the ground before the break and the Trojans went into the locker room with a 34-0 lead. It mattered little that the Trojans were flagged seven times for 57 yards or that they twice nearly lost fumbles.

Simply, they overmatched the smaller Tigers.

Five backs - Jones (89 yards), Van Cobb (88), Bates (81), Mavrick Pate (53) and Bradley Bell (52) - topped 50 yards rushing each.

"We're just a running team," Pate said after he and the rest of the stable of backs gashed the Tigers. "We have a great offensive line and we have great runners. ... Their team really isn't all that good. All we had to do was smash it down because they're not a smashmouth team."

Meanwhile, the defense - led by Hill - did everything possible to stop Chapel Hill's passing game. The Tigers used two quarterbacks, Stephen Wister and Winston Washington. Yet, neither was able to do much.

Wister was able to complete a handful of passes, but every time he looked downfield, the ball sailed out of reach.

The second half turned into a practice in running out the clock for West Brunswick.

The result ended Chapel Hill's season at 5-6, while West Brunswick (8-3) advanced to the second round, where it will face the Westover-Douglas Byrd winner next Friday at Rourk Stadium.

Then, the Trojans would love nothing more than to continue to do what they were able to accomplish on Friday against Chapel Hill.

Run the ball with authority.

"We're triple option, have been triple option and will continue to be triple option," Fletcher said. "It's a tough offense to simulate."