Published: September 23, 2008 05:30 pm            

South Granville nips Eastern Randolph

CREEDMOOR — That first win of the season is still escaping the Eastern Randolph High School varsity football squad, as hosting South Granville scored late to post a 20-13 win last week.

The Wildcats saw their record dip to 0-4 after battling the Vikings in a defensive struggle. S. Granville scored a late third-quarter touchdown to improve to 4-0.

Nonconference competition comes to a close this Friday night when Eastern Randolph plays host to Victory Christian, a private school of the Charlotte area. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.

After falling to High Point Central in five overtimes last week, the Wildcats were looking to fire a spark in their offense. ER struck first against S. Granville when QB Tucker Coward closed out a drive with a 53-yard race to paydirt. The PAT attempt failed.

Minutes later the Vikings responded, as quarterback Tony Byrd clicked on a 14-yard scoring strike to Chris Riley. SG converted the PAT kick to lead 7-6.

Still in the opening period, South Granville scored again when Tawon Gregory took a pass from Riley and rambled 47 yards to the endzone. The PAT kick failed but the Vikings had a 13-6 advantage.

In the second stanza, the Wildcats pulled even, as Bill Stanley capped off a ER drive by slicing into the endzone from three yards out. Rasmus Rabin kicked the PAT for the 13-13 standoff, which held at halftime.

The defenses took control in the second half before S. Granville went ahead late in the third quarter. Ian Bosley raced around end, escaped tackles and sprinted downfield on a 77-yard run. The PAT kick gave the Vikings a 20-13 lead and they relied on a strong defense and ball-control offense to keep the Wildcats at bay.

On the night, Eastern Randolph featured a balanced attack with 232 yards of total offense, 120 from the airways. Coward connected on 16 of 32 passes, one for a TD. He also led the ground attack with 48 yards on eight carries.

Bosley paced the Vikings with 163 rushing yards on 22 attempts as South Granville rolled up 223 yards on the ground. Eastern Randolph opens competition in the Mid-Piedmont 3A Conference on Sept. 26 when they host Southwestern Randolph.

        

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