CARRBORO — Carrboro’s explosive offense combined with a stingy red zone defense to lead the Jaguars

to a 37-8 win over Randleman in the second round of the NCHSAA 2AA Mideast football playoffs.

--Carrboro’s explosive offense combined with a stingy red zone defense to lead the Jaguars

to a 37-8 win over Randleman in the second round of the NCHSAA 2AA Mideast football playoffs.

Carrboro, ranked No. 8 in the News and Observer Poll, is now 13-0 overall. The Jaguars, ranked

No. 5 by the Associated Press, advance to play either St. Paul’s or Reidsville in the third round next

week. The Tigers finish the season 8-5 overall.

Randleman moved the ball deep into Carrboro territory on its first four possessions, but the

Jaguar defense held the Tigers scoreless. Randleman missed two field goal attempts, threw an

interception, and turned the ball over on downs while Carrboro scored touchdowns on three of its first

four possessions.

“It squeezed the field a little bit because they were dinking and dunking their way down the

field,” said Carrboro head coach Jason Tudryn. “The field became compressed and our guys could get

on their heels a bit and drive forward on the football. Our defense did a great job of rising up and

finishing down there.”

Trai Sharp rushed for 284 yards and scored three touchdowns.

Carrboro quarterback Alex McVeigh fired a deep pass to Marlin Johnson for a 49-yard touchdown pass to break a 0-0 tie in the second period..

Randleman drove to the Carrboro 37-yard line on the next possession before cornerback

Shamek Dolby picked off a deep pass from Randleman quarterback Zach Dunbar, giving Carrboro the

ball at its own 13-yard line. McVeigh hit Johnson on a quick slant, and Johnson turned upfield before

racing untouched for a 79-yard touchdown catch. The extra point by McPeak gave Carrboro a 14-0 lead

with 6:08 left in the second period.

“Marlin had a great first half,” Tudryn said. “He made two great catches. He is a good football

player.”

Randleman reached the Carrboro 15-yard line on the next possession before turning the ball

over on downs when a pass fell incomplete. On first down, Sharp took

the handoff up the middle, bounced off some tackles before bouncing outside and sprinting down

the sideline for an 80-yard touchdown run. With the extra point, Carrboro led 21-0 with 2:30 left in

the second period. After forcing a Randleman punt, Carrboro took a 24-0 lead into intermission after

McPeak booted an 18-yard field goal with three second left.

After a scoreless third period, Randleman scored its first points after Alex Rebolledo recovered a

Sharp fumble. Bobby Gibbs scored on a broken play by scrambling for an eight-yard touchdown run.

Randleman quarterback Zach Dunbar completed the two-point conversion pass to Henry Vasquez to

bring Randleman within 24-8 with 5:20 left in the fourth period.

Carrboro’s Malik Carrington recovered the onside kick attempt to set up Sharp’s 55-yard

touchdown run. The extra point failed after a bobbled snap to give Carrboro a 30-8 lead. After a

Randleman punt, Sharp added a 60-yard touchdown run to give the final score of 37-8.

Dunbar completed 24 of 47 pass attempts for 242 yard with one interception for Randleman.