East Wake football holds off gutsy Rolesville football for homecoming win

East Wake survived two gutsy, last-ditch attempts by Rolesville and the Warriors escaped with a 34-31 victory on homecoming Friday.

Trailing by the final score, the Rams began the game’s final drive with 28 seconds to play and marched to the East Wake 8-yard line. Rolesville opted to go for the win – rather than the field goal that would have tied the game – with 7.6 seconds to play, and then again with a second on the clock. Neither pass found its intended target.

The loss marked the first in the Greater Neuse River 4A Conference for Rolesville (4-3, 2-1) while East Wake (4-3, 2-1) got back in the conference title conversation, rebounding from a loss at West Johnston the week before.

Turning point

Rolesville went silent on offense after scoring on the first possession of the second half. East Wake got back within one touchdown (31-27) and then took the lead on a pair of quarterback keepers by Tripp Harrington and extra-point kicks by Jake Clement.

Three who mattered

Tripp Harrington, East Wake: The senior QB had four rushing touchdowns among his 17 carries for 92 yards, and finished 12-for-21 for 130 passing.

Josh Branch, Rolesville: The Rams RB managed 164 yards on 28 carries and finished with two rushing TDs of 6 and 10 yards.

E.J. Hicks, Rolesville: The junior had seven catches for 107 yards, including a 35-yard TD pass from Carnaji Andrews that gave the Rams the halftime lead.

By the numbers

8: The number of penalties against Rolesville, totaling 83 yards.

21: Unanswered points for Rolesville from near the end of the second quarter until Harrington’s keeper near the end of the third.

25: The distance of the field goal that the Rams could have attempted twice, and would have tied the game if made.

This story was originally published October 9, 2015 at 10:53 PM with the headline "East Wake football holds off gutsy Rolesville football for homecoming win."