Hillside drops Southeast

Hornets' defense forces three turnovers to advance to Eastern 4-A final

RALEIGH -- Corey Gattis passed for two touchdowns and ran for another to propel Durham Hillside to its first NCHSAA 4-A Eastern final appearance with a 30-12 win over Southeast Raleigh on Friday night.

"Big players make big plays and I cam in with that mentality," Gattis said.

Hillside will host Fayetteville Byrd, a 30-27 winner over Fayetteville Cape Fear, in the Eastern 4-A final on Friday.

Durham Hillside's defense kept a potent Southeast Raleigh offense in check forcing three turnovers.

The last, an interception by Cody McEachin, led to a 35-yard field goal by Narcisse Mwanza for a 17-6 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Southeast Raleigh (11-3) answered with a 69-yard drive resulting in Gabe Henderson's 4-yard TD pass to Tristan Walker. The pass conversion failed leaving Hillside with a 17-12 margin with 7:43 left.

Hillside responded with Desmond Scott's longest run of the game with a 35-yard touchdown for a 24-12 lead with 5:27 left in the game.

Scott, a Duke recruit, finished with 137 yards on 27 carries. Scott has rushed for over 2,000 yards this year.

Southeast moved the ball to its 46-yard line, but a crucial 17-yard holding penalty wiped out a first down and an 11-yard sack of Henderson forced the Bulldogs back to their own 18. A 7-yard pass play followed by an incompletion on 4th-and-31 dashed their hopes at a comeback.

"In the playoffs you have to play a perfect game," Southeast Raleigh head coach Daniel Finn said. "You can't turn the ball over. We missed assignments on offense. We missed assignments on defense."

Hillside finished off the scoring on the ensuing possession. Gattis found favorite target Vad Lee for a 17-yard score.

The pass gave Lee more than 900 receiving yards.

"It's big," Harrison said of the win. "I told myself I wanted to play in December."

"I'm really don't know. I'm still coming down off the win," Gattis said.

Gattis finished 15-for-28 passing for 196 yards. Gattis also ran for 112 yards.

Southeast opened the scoring in the first period with an 80-yard drive that Kevin Howell capped with a 10-yard run. The Bulldogs' missed the extra point for a 6-0 lead.

The Hornets came back with their own 80-yard march.

Hillside's Gattis capped the drive with a 10-yard run, but the Hornets missed their point after, also.

But with 33 seconds left in the half, Gattis hit Lee with a 24-yard touchdown pass, completing a 60-yard drive.

Hillside forced a Howell fumble and recovered at its own 40-yard line.

Howell finished with 93-yards in the game and more than 1,700 yards rushing for the season.

The turnover helped set up a TD score when Gattis passed to Devonte Knox for the two-point conversion.

"They did a couple things we didn't adjust well to," Finn said.

"The O-line did an excellent job," Harrison said.

Hillside used the no-huddle offense effectively to keep the Bulldogs' defense on its heels.