RALEIGH -- Just when Broughton was threatening to make things very interesting, Leesville Road safety Gordon Martin came up with his second interception of the game Friday night to halt a late Caps drive and send the Pride to the second round of the state 4-AA playoffs with a 20-13 win.
Leesville (9-3), using a strong running attack on a sloppy field, built a 20-0 lead entering the final period. But then Broughton (5-7), sparked by the play of quarterback Jeff Moore, got its first two touchdowns of the night. Moore was trying to lead his team to another score, but Martin's clutch interception ended the threat with just 1:08 left in the game.
Martin's first interception came in the end zone during the first quarter, turning back another Caps scoring opportunity. They were his first two interceptions of the year. He broke a foot before the season started, and this was just his third game.
"Yes, he had a nice one in the end zone and then the big one at the end of the game," Leesville coach David Green said.
"It was good to get him back. Gordon's never played defense before, but he's learning fast. Ryan Mangum missed some games with an injury, and we had him out there for a few plays at corner, too."
Leesville has also lost two quarterbacks to injuries, but sophomore Austin Berrios rushed for 162 yards with touchdown runs of 14 and 51 yards, at times looking like he was on a fast, dry field, while everyone else was in the mud.
"He made some big plays, and the more he plays the better he reads the defense," Green said.
Powerful Dylan Edward, whose primary position is linebacker, scored the Pride's other touchdown on a 1-yard run.
"Dylan made big plays on both sides of the ball," Green said.
"He had some nice tackles for losses."
Moore directed the Caps on a 75-yard drive, and he scored from the 4-yard line early in the fourth quarter.
On Broughton's next possession, Moore ended a 64-yard drive with a 17-yard scoring strike to Jamal Kirton to cut the lead to 20-13 with 5:37 to play.
"Leesville did a good job defensively, shutting down our running game," Broughton coach Chris Martin said.
Chris Mangus, who rushed for over 400 yards in the last two games, was held to 84 yards.
"Jeff [Moore] is a spunky kid, who came in, made some plays and got the others fired up. We just couldn't get that last score," Martin said.
Leesville next plays Fayetteville Britt.
