West Johnston denies Knightdale football on final play
West Johnston wrapped up second place in the Greater Neuse River Conference with a 19-14 heart pounding victory over Knightdale Friday night.
On the final play of the game on the West Johnston seven-yard line, Knightdale quarterback Andre Willis looked for Jaelen Williams near the goal line but Gordon Curry jumped the route and knocked the ball down to preserve the victory.
The Wildcats (6-5, 5-2) had taken the lead in the fourth quarter on Tony Mack’s third touchdown of the night and looked to have sealed the game in picking up a first down with little more than one minute to play and the Knights down to one timeout.
West Johnston fumbled the ball, however, on the ensuing play and Willis led his team down the field with a chance to grab the victory before being stopped on final play, which subsequently dropped Knightdale to a fifth-place finish in the GNRC.
Turning point
With Knightdale (6-5, 3-4) driving midway through the third quarter trying to add to its 14-13 lead, Deandre Blevins came up with a momentum-turning interception in the end zone as Knightdale’s Andre Willis looked for Malik Branch. The Wildcats responded with a nine-play, 80-yard scoring drive to retake the lead for good.
They said it
“All we had to do was go down with the ball; the game’s getting ready to be over and all of a sudden, a sudden change hits,” West Johnston coach Jimmy Williams said. “It’s a tremendous credit to our coaching staff and our kids for rising up and finding a way to win it.”
Three who mattered
Tony Mack, West Johnston: The Wildcats’ unquestioned workhorse was at it again as the junior running back finished with 140 yards rushing on the night while collecting three scores, two on the ground and one on a screen pass.
Andre Willis, Knightdale: The Knightdale quarterback’s ability to break containment whenever he dropped back to pass gave the Wildcats defense fits on night long. He ended the game with 105 yards rushing.
Deandre Blevins, West Johnston: Blevins was instrumental in slowing down the Knightdale passing attack as he provided blanket coverage, with two pass break-ups and two interceptions.
By the numbers
1,303: Yards rushing on the season for Tony Mack.
8: Number of 100-plus yard rushing games turned in by Mack this season.
11: Seconds it took for Knightdale’s Jaelen Williams to travel 65 yards for his touchdown run to open up the second half that gave the visitors the 14-13 advantage.
This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 10:28 PM with the headline "West Johnston denies Knightdale football on final play."