–Roberson avenges last year’s loss to Enka
13 October 2007By Zachary Colburn
SKYLAND- Coming off a bye week, the last team that Enka wanted to face was Roberson. Especially without a full roster. Roberson built a 22-point halftime lead and never looked back en route to a 36-7 win over a depleted Enka team. The win avenged last year’s loss at Enka, which eventaully cost them a chance at the MAC conference championship.
"We had alot of goals that we wanted to tackle tonight and had to put last week’s loss behind us." Said Roberson coach Jim Beatty on how he got his team ready after losing their first game of the season to Asheville last week.
Within the first six minutes of the first quarter, Roberson had already built a 15-0 lead. The first two points of the game came courtesy of a bad snap on a punt attempt by the Jets that sailed out of the end zone for a safety.
Roberson added to that score after recovering a fumble on the one-yard line, and Justin Wynn plunged into the end zone on the very next play. Failed two-point conversion made it an 8-0 lead.
The Rams took advantage on the next possession by forcing a fumble deep in Enka territory where Quarterback Tripp Weaver found Matt Judge for an 8-yard gain. Wynn took care of business from there, scrambling for the touchdown from 26 yards out. Walker Smith’s extra point made it a 15-0 game with 6:03 left in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Roberson picked off right where it left off in the first quarter as Weaver completed a pair of passes to Chris Morgan and Artis Gilmore, with the latter going for 34 yards that turned a 3-and-10 into a first down on the five-yard line. From there, Wynn did all the rest, scoring his third touchdown of the night. Smith’s extra point made it 22-0 with 10:03 left before halftime.
After Dennis Moore picked off Enka Quarterback Trevor Sawyer’s pass, the Rams were just outside the redzone. Roberson needed just one play to capitalize on Enka’s mistake as Weaver dumped off a screen pass to Tyler Milner. After the completed pass, Milner pulled off a couple of nice cuts and jukes en route to goaline for the touchdown. Smith’s third extra point of the night gave them a 29-0 advantage with 4:05 left in the second quarter.
On the next Enka drive, Sawyer, filling in under center for Adam King, redeemed himself by completing his first and only pass of the first half and it was a big one: a 68-yard pass to Daniel Davis. Jordan Horrell’s extra point made it a 29-7 game as the buzzer sounded for halftime.
After a scoreless third quarter, Roberson forced their third fumble of the game and put themselves on the 17-yard line at the beginning of the fourth quarter. After a 13-yard run by Wynn, he found the endzone on the next play from four yards out. Smith’s extra point gave the Rams a 29-point lead with 9:44 left in the game, 36-7.
Enka’s final drive of the game showed promise despite a pair of runs from Brian Lane that either went for a loss or a minimal gain. A pass interference penalty from Roberson, gave the Jets new life with a 1-and-10. A pair of passes from Sawyer of nine and 13 yards put Enka on the 35-yard line with less than two minutes left in the game. Unfortunately the next pass that Sawyer threw ended up turning into his third interception of the night.
After that pick by Gilmore, Roberson and Enka brought in their second stringers as both teams ran out the clock as the Rams improved to 7-1 on the season, 36-7.
"We had alot of inexperienced players out there tonight." Said Enka coach Dickie Williams on being without seven starters due to injuries for this big game. "I thought our kids played hard despite giving up 15 points in the first 5 minutes of the game."
Wynn did the job for Roberson with his legs, rushing 24 times for 129 yards and 4 touchdowns and Weaver took care of business with his arm while nursing a bad left leg, going 8-for-15 for 98 yards and one touchdown despite throwing an interception in the first half.
Enka’s lone bright spot was Sawyer, who converted from Tight end to quarterback for the game and completed five passes for 111 yards and a touchdown.
"If we can get all our starters healthy and win the last three games, we can make the playoffs." Said Coach Williams on what Enka needs to do make a run at the playoffs. The Jets (2-6, 0-3 MAC) host Buncombe County rival Erwin High School next week.
"We have to control our own destiny, win our games and not worry about what Asheville does." Said Coach Beatty as his team trails Asheville by only a game for first place in the MAC. The Rams are off next Friday before traveling to Leicester to face Erwin on October 26th.
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