Catching on: Why NC 4A state football game could be in the hands of Rolesville’s receivers

Postseason football ghosts hover over high school programs capable of accumulating a wealth of deep runs. The highs are celebrated, but the lows can haunt them.

This season the NC High School Athletic Association playoffs have extended to a week before Christmas, and with Rolesville High playing for the 4A state title, Charles Dickens’ ghosts would have loved Jaeden Alford’s story.

The Rams’ fleet-footed wide receiver has been haunted the past 12 months by the ghosts of playoffs past. His fourth-quarter fumble in a fourth-round game against Cardinal Gibbons opened the door to the Crusaders’ comeback victory.

“I was in tears after the game,” he said. “It was a terrible moment.”

Alford had caught a pass, fought for extra yards and fumbled when the ball was punched out.

“I should have gone down,” Alford said. “I knew I let the team down.”

But the ghosts of playoff present smiled upon Alford last week when he scored two touchdowns to help Rolesville beat Gibbons in the 4A East Regional final, 38-31.

Fifth-seeded Rolesville (14-1) advanced to face Greensboro Grimsley (15-0), the top-seeded 4A West Region champion, at 7 p.m. Friday at Kenan Stadium. The showdown is a rematch of Grimsley’s 35-20 victory the second week of the regular season at Rolesville.

But this Scrooge story includes an ironic twist before arriving at a Dickensian ending.

On Alford’s first touchdown, a 75-yard catch-and-run, he ignored the ghost of postseason past telling him to “go down.” Alford was 15 yards down field when he caught a ball near the left hashmark, turned to run and was swarmed by four Gibbons’ defenders.

“They were missing tackles because they were trying to punch the ball out, but something inside me told me to keep running,” Alford said. “I even heard our running back, Devon Thomas, who came up to make a block, yell, ‘Go down!’

“But I was a running back when I played Little League, and I could hear in my head coaches saying, ‘Keep your legs moving.’ And then I was suddenly running all alone.”

Although Alford’s tale might sound a simple twist of fate, his full story began two years ago with hard work and perseverance while teamed side-by-side with Gavin Waddell, the Rams’ junior wide receiver.

Alford and Waddell evolved into a dynamic duo the past two seasons, but there were question marks when Rolesville entered 2023 season. The Rams needed two new receivers to replace a pair of graduated Division I recruits — Noah Rogers (NC State by way of Ohio State) and Tamarcus Cooley (NC State by way of Maryland).

At the time, Alford was a junior who only played a half season of JV ball in 2022 due to injury. Waddell was a sophomore on the 2022 JV team who was moved up to varsity.

“We knew we had big shoes to fill, but that didn’t stop us from working hard,” Alford said. “Our coaches tell us, ‘Hard works beats talent when talent fails to work hard.”

Alford and Waddell picked up their production with quarterback Braden Atkinson where 2022 left off with Rogers and Cooley. Alford finished his junior year with 92 catches for 1,815 yards and 21 touchdowns. Waddell numbered 66 receptions for 1,005 yards and nine touchdowns.

Waddell, who also scored a touchdown last week, added, “We knew we had a lot of work to do, and we worked hard with Braden in the offseason. We would run routes and go over plays. That’s why we can read each other so well.”

Their productive 2024 numbers are down from 2023 but that has to do with backups finishing one-sided games and the additional productive threat of sophomore Anthony Roberts (43-849, 10 TDs).

Alford, who committed to Elon University over Group of Five offers, has 53 catches for 812 yards and 16 touchdowns. Waddell, who has offers from Miami of Florida and Group of Five schools, numbers 58 for 912 and 11 TDs.

But in addition to the numbers, what has stood out this year has been an uncanny nature of Alford, Waddell and Atkinson to read each adjusting routes.

On Alford’s first TD, the original play call was for him to run a deep pattern. But when he saw the defenders split off him, he sat down in an open window. Atkinson spotted him and delivered the ball.

On Waddell’s 54-yard touchdown when he caught on the run over the shoulder, he had the option to run a post or bend it. The focus in practice had been on bending the route, but when Waddell had a step on his defender, he broke straight up the hashmark. Atkinson read the adjustment and dropped the pass into his hands on the run.

Alford finished the Gibbons game with four catches for 123 yards and two TDs and Waddell five for 102 and one TD. Atkinson was 11 of 21 for 304 yards and four TDs.

“Jaedon doesn’t give up and Gavin is a kid who tries his best to outwork anybody,” Rolesville head coach Ranier Rackley said. “They put in the work and are doing things I knew they could. It’s a blessing to see these guys work so hard together with Braden for two years.”