Clayton wins on final play

After losing two games on the final play of the game earlier this season, Clayton won one the same way when it stopped a two-point conversion attempt by West Johnston to preserve a 28-27 Greater Neuse victory.

West Johnston scored with 13 seconds left and went for two. Clayton, which had lost to Wake Forest-

Rolesville 16-14 and to Garner 14-13 on final plays, stopped C.J. Frederick's run to claim the victory over its Johnston County rival.

"What's that old saying about things coming in threes," said Clayton coach Gary Fowler. "It wasn't a very good feeling when they scored."

West had driven the length of the field to score. Fowler called timeout and sent in offensive lineman Kendrick Ray for the conversion attempt.

West came out with three additional linemen in the backfield and no quarterback. The ball was snapped directly to Frederick.

"It was a play that South Carolina ran against us in the Shrine Bowl when I was the head coach for North Carolina and [West coach] Bennett Jones was my assistant," Fowler said. "Ray just made a heck of a play."

Montrelle Sanders rushed for 144 yards in the win.

Middle Creek takes lead: Middle Creek took over first place in the Tri-Nine with a 38-35 win over Lee County.

Garrett Leatham completed 29 of 39 passes for 418 yards and four touchdowns. Stephen Sladek caught three touchdown passes and rushed for another.

Athens nips Cary: Athens Drive scored all of its points in the second half to overcome a two-touchdown deficit and defeat Cary 34-28 in a Tri-Nine 4-A game.

Ben Snotherly provided the winning score with a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Athens, No. 12 in the N&O rankings, is now 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the league. Cary fell to 2-3 and 4-4.

Catamounts defeat Falcons: Kameron Bryant passed for 220 yards and four touchdowns to lead Panther Creek to a 34-7 victory over Green Hope.

Kel Jackson rushed for 77 yards and caught six passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns for Panther Creek (2-2 in the Tri-Nine 4-A and 4-3 overall). Green Hope's Ronnie Peoples rushed for 60 yards.

SSS stops Garner: Smithfield-Selma ended a two-game losing streak and evened its record in the Greater Neuse with a 21-12 victory over Garner. SSS is now 3-5 overall.

Duke recruit Josh Snead rushed 30 times for 165 yards and scored three touchdowns.

Garner, which was on a two-game winning streak, fell to 2-2 in the league and 4-4 overall.

The victory was the first by SSS coach Anthony Barbour over his alma mater.

The Spartans' last victory in the series is believed to have been in 1996.

Harnett Central wins: Harnett Central, No. 2 in the N&O rankings, defeated Knightdale 35-7 in a Greater Neuse game.

Brian Taylor passed for 263 yards and Brian Baker rushed for 134.

Billerman leads Ravens: Quinn Billerman completed 8 of 9 passes for 240 yards in leading Ravenscroft to a 57-26 victory over Wake Christian. Billerman tossed three touchdown passes and ran for two touchdowns.

Conner Gonet added a pair of rushing touchdowns and 109 yards rushing.

Cary Christian wins: Matthew Daum rushed for 133 yards in leading Cary Christian to a 45-8 eight-man football victory over Raleigh Word of God.

Bosley dashes: Ian Bosley rushed for 226 yards in leading South Granville to a 55-7 victory over Carrboro.

Northwood cruises: Pittsboro Northwood, 8-0 and No. 8 in the N&O rankings, cruised past Granville Central 53-8.

Sam Griffin completed 8 of 9 passes for 187 yards while Harold Baldwin hauled in five passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns.Griffin has passed for 1,033 yards this season.

The Chargers' defense is allowing only 6.2 points per game.

Louisburg tops Rams: Louisburg sneaked past Franklinton 10-3 in a Northern Carolina 2-A game.

The Warriors (6-1, 1-1) led 10-0 at the half and kept the shutout until the fourth period. Franklinton is 3-5, 1-2.

Gurganus leads Princeton: David Gurganus completed 20 of 29 passes for 236 yards and four touchdowns in a 48-20.

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