I looked at our schedule this summer and when I saw Holmes, I got worried. This is a team that has gone 20-7 over the past two seasons, including a 3rd round, 11-3 campaign last year. This is a team that had 3 backs average over 1,300 yards last season. Granted, they graduated, but that type of production starts up front. And, it was not just an away game, but essentially a road trip for us. I saw so many W's on the schedule, but I was comfortable putting an L next to this one. Felt as if we don't go 11-0, we'll go 10-1, with this being the 1. But SWE flexed its muscles early and often and came away from the northeast with a solid 37-27 victory, and if u were there, you would know that it wasn't even that close.
Edenton got the ball first, and my nephew and Grimsley tranfer, starting OLB #22 Raquan White, (FYI, I will be bragging on him all season...suck it up) opened the game with the tackle. Add two more team TFL, and the Aces punt away. My Cougars then drove 65 yards in businesslike fashion for the season's first score. 7-0. After another three and out by Holmes, which included two more TFL, we have have our own three and out. An excellent punt to the ten is called back and the second punt hits a lineman and is recovered by the Aces at our 25. They make us pay for the mistake with a touchdown. 7-7. That's the score to end the first.
The first play of the second sees SWE's stud rb Marcus Williams take it in from 45 out, but holding brings it back. We stall and have to settle for a 35 yard fg. Edenton gets the ball at their 37, but after a three and out, their punt attempt is thwarted by a high snap, which they fall on in the end zone for a SWE safety. 12-7. On the ensuing possession happened perhaps the play of the season already. Cougar qb Tucker Pridgen drops back for a pass at the Holmes 40, scrambles backwards, takes a clean hit, in which several Holmes players stop playing because they thought they had the sack, but Pridgen keeps his balance and dumps it off to Williams, who rides a convoy of blockers to the 5. It was awesome to see! However, the Ace's goal line defense says "not so fast" and keeps the Cougars at bay, forcing another fg. 15-7. Riding the momentum of the defense, the Aces take the ensuing possession 70 yards to punch it in right before halftime. Blocked PAT. Would have been nice to not give them that confidence going into the locker room, but this team is coming off an 11-3 season for a reason. They are good. The half is SWE 15 Holmes 13.
At this point, we are clearly dominating. Our d line is racking up no gain and TFL and we are efficiently reaching the red zone. The problem is, the scoreboard doesn't reflect it.
We get the ball to open the half and run 44 yards on the first play to the Ace 29. Before you can come back from the bathroom, we score from 4 yard out to up the numbers to 22-13. On the kick off, we boot it short and high, meeting the ball. It takes one bounce on the turf and it caught in stride by SWE. Had the rules allowed for advancement, we would have scored. Unfortunately, holding kills this drive and we punt. Another three and out by Edenton forces them to punt, where they promptly snap it out of the end zone for another safety. 24-13. We get the ball, chunk off two huge runs, and Williams takes it in from 3 to make it 31-13. End of third.
If you quit, you've already lost, and Edenton did not quit. They tack on a 50 yard TD run to make it 31-19, and then force us to punt. After they receive the ball, my nephew forces a fumble which is recovered by us at our 40. Marcus Williams then runs it for 50, down to the 10. On the next play, he carries it in.....nooooo, he fumbles at the 1, and Holmes recovers it for the touchback. They fight and score on a 45 yard scamper and tack on the two, and it's now 31-27! Fortunately, SWE puts the game away with a 25 yard Williams TD run and an int to close it out.
We played an excellent opponent and won at their place. It was by ten, but we left 5 tds on the field....the two fgs where they stopped us near the 10, the Williams TD that was called back, the Williams fumble near the one, and there was even a defensive TD in which everyone except the refs saw that the offensive player was not down first. Take those two fgs away and and the five tds, and we showed that we could have hung over 60 on them. The offense will NOT be a problem this season. And if the defense plays like they did today against the rest of the schedule, 11-0 is very possible. Edenton was a top tier opponent and was very much so one of the two or three toughest ones we will face. We still have Washington and Tarboro.
