Six area players on N.C. Shrine squad

Six area players have been chosen to play on the North Carolina squad in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas all-star football game in December.

Offensive tackle Rob Crisp of Athens Drive, outside linebacker Anthony Johnson of Harnett Central, defensive back A.J. Marshall and linebacker teammate T.J. Ross of Southern Durham, runner Josh Snead of Smithfield-Selma and wide receiver Dee Williams of South Johnston were selected to the squad by coach Jim Oddo of Charlotte Catholic High.

Crisp, 6 feet 8 and 290 pounds, is ranked among the top offensive linemen in the country. He has committed to N.C. State.

Johnson (6-2, 245) has helped Central to a 10-0 record. The Trojans will try to complete a perfect regular season at home on Friday against Garner.

Marshall (5-7, 170) and Ross (6-0, 205) play on a 9-1 Southern Durham team that lost to undefeated Wake Forest-Rolesville 10-0.

Snead (5-9, 170) leads area rushers with 1,832 yards. He also has returned three kickoffs for touchdowns and can play defensive back.

Williams (5-11, 185) has more than 1,000 yards in receptions for a 9-1 South Johnston team.

The 73rd annual Shrine Bowl is scheduled for Dec. 19 at 1 p.m. at Wofford College's Gibbs Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C.

Ravens seeded fourth: Ravenscroft is seeded fourth in the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association Division I playoffs that begin Friday. The Ravens will be at home against Charlotte Providence Day.

If the Ravens win, they will play top-seeded Charlotte Christian in the second round

Charlotte Christian (8-2), Charlotte Latin (9-1) and Charlotte Country Day (9-1) are the top three seeds.

During the regular season, Christian beat Latin 38-35; Country Day beat Christian 20-3 and Latin beat Country Day 28-17.

"It was almost impossible to seed between the three," Ravens coach Ned Gonet said, "because they beat each other. The committee did the best it could. I think any of the three could beat either of the others on a given night.

"They are three very good, very deserving teams."

The Ravens have been improving, Gonet said.

One concern early in the year was unproven sophomore quarterback Quinn Billerman.

"He had been running our system since the seventh grade, but it was a big step up to the varsity," Gonet said. "Early in the season, we tried to keep things simple and ran to set up the passing game. He concentrated on throwing short passes.

"Now, we can throw to set up the run and we're stretching the field some. He has improved along with our entire team."

Billerman has compiled 105 of 201 passes for 1,663 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Wake Forest defenders: After holding Millbrook to 39 yards rushing in a 48-0 victory over Millbrook, the WF-R defenders are giving up only 45.1 yards rushing per game and only 1.7 yards per rush.

Clayton ran for 127 yards against the Cougars, and Sanderson managed 94. The other eight opponents averaged 28.75 yards per game.

Triton sets up showdown: Erwin Triton set up a Friday night Eastern Carolina 3-A showdown with South Johnston when the Hawks slipped past Pikeville Aycock 22-21 on Friday.

South Johnston, which defeated North Lenoir 84-6 last week, is 9-1-0 overall, including a 28-20 loss to Clayton.

Triton is 8-2 with losses to Harnett Central (34-0) and Pittsboro Northwood (22-15).

Triton and South Johnston are 4-0 in the league.

Panthers coach: Daniel Finn of Southeast Raleigh was chosen the Carolina Panthers' high school coach of the week last week.

The award recognizes coaches who are successful in building programs and creating community support.

Broughton reserves: Broughton coach Chris Martin said the Caps got great play from some former reserves in a 34-14 win over Wakefield this past Thursday.

"It was a total team effort on defense," Martin said. "We had some new people really step in and play really well. All of sudden we're getting a lot of confidence."

Martin said reserves Shamell Smith and Anthony Colon stepped in and played well at safety and Jake Ardoin was outstanding.

Proud Warriors: East Wake coach Jimmy Williams said he could not have asked for much more from his players in a 30-27 overtime loss to Garner.

East Wake trailed 27-6 with 3:40 left but scored three touchdowns, two after successful onside kicks, to force overtime.

"I couldn't be prouder of these kids," Williams said. "We kept battling against a very good football team. And we played great defense all night. We just gave them too many points."

Garner got its points after starting possessions at the East Wake 22 (fumbled punt), 40 (bad punt snap), 9 (interception return), an interception return for a touchdown and at the 3 (interception).

Latest Comment View all comments

Related Content

• Story:
  North Carolina Shrine Bowl roster