Both teams had a lot of fan support in the stands even though the game had been postponed since Friday. And Albemarle had a few extra fans because they were celebrating the US military and all of the branches of the armed forces were represented in the stands.
The first quarter was full of hard hits by defenses and two offenses feeling each other out. Scoreless after the first period, Albemarle lit up the scoreboard on an 88 yard touchdown pass from Deon Christian to Desi Dockery on their first play of the second quarter. Dockery added three more catches to end with 141 yards receiving.
Not wanting to be outdone, West Montgomery’s super athletic quarterback Jaquil Capel ran for a 78 yard touchdown making it 7-7 a minute and a half later. The ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, but Albemarle was unable to take advantage of the good field position.
West Montgomery was forced to punt it away to Albemarle on the following possession, but Martinus Crump caught the ball on his own 15 and scooted up the sideline for another Bulldog score. Adding another score before halftime, Albemarle quarterback Deon Christian kept the ball on a keeper and ran for a 9 yard score.
In the third quarter, West Montgomery refused to quit and kept fighting back to make it a game. Warrior QB Jaquil Capel was able to convert on a 4th and 6 from the Albemarle 28 yard line, but ultimately the Albemarle defense stiffened up and the Warriors were not able to take away any points.
The Bulldogs were able to get back on the scoreboard again in the fourth quarter on a 61 yard touchdown run on a pitch to running back Daquan Ellis. The resulting PAT was no good, and the score sat at 27-7. Ellis finished the game with 102 yards on 10 carries.
Jaquil Capel was able to get in another score for West Montgomery with a 1 yard run TD run, but it was not enough as the final score ended up 27-14 in favor of the hometown Bulldogs. On offense, quarterback Deon Christian led the Bulldogs to two scores, one in the air and another on the ground, finishing with 8 of 14 passing and 188 yards.
Defensively, Deonta Drake led the Bulldogs with 5 tackles and 2 sacks. Yakeem Carpenter added 8 tackles and Lee Autry 7 tackles to help keep the West Montgomery offense in check. Preseason All-Gridiron defensive back Tevin Collins kept the Warrior offense from passing to one side of the field.
After the game, Albemarle head coach Danny Akins commented on playing on a Monday night. “Game time is game time, no matter the day…and we were ready to play tonight. And we were focused.” “We got a big play and after that it opened our eyes and we were on the ball the rest of the night.”
Scoring Summary
Albemarle 0 21 0 6 27
West Montgomery 0 7 0 7 14
Check back with Carolina Gridiron for future games of the week.
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