Dupree, Rams rally past Farmville Central
FARMVILLE—Now you can add quarterback to A.J. Dupree’s job description.
The all-everything senior from Greene Central rushed for 164 yards, including the go-ahead 55-yard burst from the wildcat after starting signal-caller B.J. Corbitt went down with an injury, and the Rams rallied to defeat rival Farmville Central 20-16 in a rare Tuesday night affair rescheduled due to Hurricane Florence.
“I say it every week, but A.J.’s the best two-way player in our conference,” said GC coach Allen Wooten, whose team improved to 4-2 with the win. “He’s special, and tonight he showed why. Great players make great plays.”
Pressed into the quarterback position after Corbitt suffered a possible concussion late in the third quarter, and with backup QB Cole Dawson already unavailable due to injury, Dupree simply lined up in the shotgun formation and dared the Jaguar defense to stop him.
With his team down 16-14, Dupree took a direct snap on the first play of the fourth quarter, exploded through the line and then turned on the jets, outracing everyone to pay dirt and a 20-16 lead GC would never relinquish.
The Rams defense held up its end of the bargain after Farmville took over at the GC 30 following a bad punt snap with 1:05 remaining.
The Jaguars’ Tayvon Suggs threw a first-down incomplete pass, and then unleashed a second-down heave that was intercepted by GC’s Cornelius Smith in the end zone.
The Rams ran out the clock from there.
“It wasn’t pretty, but at the end of the day we’re 4-2,” Wooten said. “We were able to overcome some injuries, get some key stops, and make some big plays offensively when we needed to. Rivalry games like this are never easy. It feels good to get out of here with a win.”
GC seemed to be in trouble in the first quarter.
The Jaguars (1-5) took the opening kickoff and marched 62 yards on six running plays for a quick 8-0 lead.
On its next possession, Farmville made it from its own 25 to the GC 34 before coughing up a fumble.
The Jaguars rushed for 87 yards in the first quarter alone but managed just 96 more over the next three frames.
“We made some defensive adjustments that helped slow down their running game,” Wooten said. “We brought in a little more speed at linebacker, but mostly our defensive line started getting low and clogging up the middle. On their first drive, our line was standing up and getting pushed around.”
Dupree, who entered the game with 683 rushing yards, started slow, gaining just 9 yards on his first five carries.
He finally started to find some seams, however, and ended the half with 79 yards on 9 attempts, including a 42-yard spurt that helped set up Corbitt’s 1-yard TD plunge late in the first half.
Corbitt ran for 63 yards before leaving the game. He also completed a 33-yard pass to Quaheem Giggetts that keyed GC’s first scoring possession.
The Rams have a short turnaround as they are scheduled to visit North Lenoir on Friday.
