Wildcats rally to win wild affair over rival Patriots in playoff opener

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RAMSEUR — Carter Moore’s point-after kick following Cade Snotherly’s third touchdown toss of the day with 1:12 to play gave Eastern Randolph the lead for good before Kaemen Marley’s interception return for a score less than 30 seconds later sealed the win as the Wildcats rallied late to overcome PAC 7 Conference rival Providence Grove 40-33 in first-round action of the NCHSAA 2A West gridiron playoffs on a brisk Saturday afternoon at Burton Cates Stadium.

With its hard-earned victory fifth-seed Eastern Randolph climbed to 10-2 for the year and now travels to King for a second-round matchup against fourth-seed West Stokes (9-3) next Friday night, while the 12th-seed Patriots closed out their season with a final record of 8-4.

Defeating Providence Grove for the fifth straight time and for the tenth time in their last 11 meetings, the Wildcats improved to 11-3 in their series that began in 2009.

However, the Patriots entered the playoffs riding a four-game win streak and wanting to prove they were a different team than the one which lost 47-0 to Eastern Randolph during the regular season.

“I think we let ER know we were for real this afternoon and gave them everything they wanted,” remarked Providence Grove coach Calvin Brown following the outcome. “I’m very proud of our guys. They fought to the end and left it all on the field.”

Wildcats’ coach Burton Cates stated the Patriots’ effort was just what he expected from a big rival. “They weren’t about to give up,” said Cates. “They played hard for four quarters and competed to the final horn.”

“Momentum was a big factor today,” continued Cates. “We had it at the start and let it get away before we finally got it back with seven minutes to go.

“I thought our quarterback had a good game on a wet field and was able to see open receivers to complete some long passes,” Cates said, “while we made adjustments in our defensive alignment at halftime that allowed us to do a better job controlling the line of scrimmage in short-yardage situations.”

Brown commented Eastern Randolph managed to get behind Providence Grove defenders early to register three first-quarter touchdowns before his team battled back to pull even at intermission.

“We came out in the third quarter and wanted to attack them, and we had some success until they made changes late in the game to shut us down,” related Brown. “If we could have picked up a few more first downs in the closing minutes we could have sealed it, but miscues down the stretch proved costly.”

The Wildcats received the opening kickoff and on the second play from scrimmage at the Patriots’ 45 Snotherly connected with Marley open in the right flat prior to the receiver eluding three tacklers on a sprint down the sideline to the end zone before Moore’s extra point gave the winners a 7-0 advantage just 29 seconds into the game.

Providence Grove answered with a seven-play, 61-yard scoring drive highlighted by a 47-yard hook-and-lateral play when Luke Thomas passed to Jacob Marcrum on the left side before the latter pitched the ball to a trailing Caleb Rogers, who carried it to the two.

One play later Drew Needham burst up the middle to the goal line prior to Bryan Villagomez splitting the uprights to tie the score at 7-all with 8:28 to go in the initial period.

Eastern Randolph came right back with a three-play scoring drive capped by Snotherly’s 47-yard touchdown strike to Osiris Ross, who made the catch at the 15 before dragging a defender across the goal line to put the Wildcats ahead 13-7 with exactly seven minutes left in the first quarter.

Jayln Patterson’s recovery of a Rogers bobble at the Patriots’ 27 with 1:05 remaining in the opening stanza set up another Eastern Randolph score nine seconds later when Ross took a pitch from Snotherly and fired a 27-yard pass to J.B. Farrish wide open in the end zone to increase the Wildcats’ lead to 20-7 following Moore’s PAT.

But Providence Grove dug into its bag of tricks again to close the gap to 20-13 three snaps later when Thomas hooked up once more with Marcrum and Rogers on a hook-and-lateral that resulted in a 55-yard TD play with 11:49 to go in the second period.

Regaining possession of the pigskin at its own 25 with 8:29 left until halftime, the Patriots moved 75 yards in 11 plays to forge a 20-all stalemate when Rogers culminated the march with a four-yard dash over right tackle prior to Villagomez booting the point-after with 3:26 remaining before the break.

Providence Grove received the second-half kickoff and seized its first advantage of the afternoon three plays later when Thomas completed a 60-yard scoring toss to Marcrum prior to Villagomez’s extra point that put the Patriots in front 27-20 with 10:30 left in the third quarter.

Cam Way’s recovery of a Marley fumble at the Eastern Randolph 22 with just under five minutes to go in the third stanza set in motion a four-play scoring drive culminating in Needham’s one-yard plunge over left guard that expanded Providence Grove’s lead to 33-20 with 3:27 remaining in the period.

The Wildcats responded by marching 65 yards in four plays to trim the margin to 33-27 when Tavis McAdoo finished off the drive with an eight-yard run through a gaping hole up the middle before Moore added the point-after with 2:06 to go in the quarter.

Eastern Randolph then got a huge break with under a minute-and-a-half to play when a Needham punt attempt glanced off the back of a Patriot lineman, allowing the Wildcats to gain possession at the Providence Grove 15.

On the next play from scrimmage Snotherly found Marley open in the left flat for a touchdown toss prior to Moore’s all-important conversion that put the Wildcats up 34-33 with 1;12 showing on the clock.

Twenty-three seconds later Marley intercepted a Thomas aerial at the Patriots’ 49 and returned his theft for a score to account for the final spread.

The junior defensive back then managed to deflect a Thomas pass thrown to a waiting Questin Overman in the end zone in the closing seconds to rob Providence Grove of a potential game-tying touchdown.

Snotherly completed 10-of-16 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns, while Ross connected on his only throw for 27 yards and a score, with Marley completing one-of-two aerials for 50 yards. McAdoo led Eastern Randolph ground gainers with 98 yards on 17carries.

Thomas completed 14-of-21 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown with one interception, while Rogers rushed for a game-high 153 yards on 27 totes.