St. David's gives Arendell Parrott its worst football loss since 2013

RALEIGH | A matchup between the state’s finest turned into another spotlight for Tai Goode.

The St. David’s running back was stellar in the Warriors’ 60-22 victory over Arendell Parrott Friday in a game between the top two teams in the NCISAA. St. David’s (5-0) was tested early, but the team eventually broke out, led by Goode’s 349 yards of offense and seven touchdowns.

This was Arendell Parrott’s (3-2) worst loss since a 46-6 defeat to Southampton Academy on Nov. 8, 2013. Since then, the Patriots hadn’t lost a game by more than 22 points when St. David’s picked up a 50-28 win on Sept. 4, 2015.

“We push each other in the weight room and the practice field to be the best we can be,” Goode said. “We want to keep the same energy every game. It was the St. David’s Warriors show.

St. David’s scored on its opening drive, converting on a fourth down in the process, but Arendell Parrott (3-2) immediately countered as Matthew Huntley took a reverse on the Patriots’ first offensive play for a 50-yard score to cut the deficit to 8-6. The teams would trade possessions before the Warriors struck again on a fourth-down play with James Talton finding Robert Batchelder for a 40-yard touchdown connection.

Arendell Parrott would answer quickly as Zach Vendemia found William Hill for a 50-yard gain, setting up Vendemia’s 1-yard quarterback sneak to close the gap to 16-14. Goode would score on a 61-yard reception on the next drive and after the Patriots lost a fumble, Goode would convert on a third-and-12 with a 34-yard touchdown to put St. David’s ahead 28-14.

The Patriots went on a drive lasting 7:01 in the second quarter, but didn’t put points on the board after a turnover on downs. Three plays later, Reynolds Barringer picked off a Talton pass and the Patriots would score on the ensuing drive with Gabe Braswell punching it in from 4 yards out to cut the deficit to 28-22 with 1:27 in the second. The Warriors — who converted on a trio of fourth downs in the contest — would get a touchdown on a fourth-and-6 as Goode caught a screen pass and went 42 yards to snatch momentum back heading into halftime as St. David’s led 36-22.

Arendell Parrott punted on its first drive of the third quarter and one play later, Goode scored from 81 yards out. St. David’s would recover the onside kick and on a third-and-29, Goode had a 64-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 48-22. The Patriots would lose a fumble on their next drive and Goode would get a 30-yard touchdown to effectively end it.

Although the Patriots never fell behind by more than 40 points, the fourth quarter was played under a running clock. Cole Deihl scored on the first play of the final frame to provide the final margin.

Arendell Parrott coach Matt Beaman said the team will look at film and rectify mistakes in preparation for the next game.

“The biggest thing is we’ve got to make tackles in open space,” Beaman said. “We dropped passes in the end zone, fumbled the ball, gave up onside kicks, and against great teams we can’t let that happen. We didn’t play our best game today.”

The Patriots will head back to Hodges Field Oct. 5 to host Rocky Mount Academy  with hopes of getting revenge for the season opener. The Eagles won the first meeting 58-48 on Aug. 17.

ST. DAVID’S  60, ARENDELL PARROTT 22

APA       14           8              0              0 — 22

SD           28           8              18           6 — 60

First Quarter

SD — Tai Goode 20 run (Houston Walker run), 10:05

APA — Matthew Huntley 50 run (pass failed), 9:48

SD — Robert Batchelder 40 pass from James Talton (Goode from Talton), 4:41

APA — Zach Vendemia 1 run (Huntley from Vendemia), 4:11

SD — Goode 61 pass from Talton (pass failed), 3:01

SD — Goode 34 run (run failed), 1:06    

Second Quarter

APA — Gabe Braswell 5 run (Vendemia run), 1:27

SD — Goode 42 pass from Talton (Goode run), :44

Third Quarter

SD — Goode 81 run (run failed), 9:47

SD — Goode 64 pass from Talton (run failed), 8:30

SD — Goode 30 run (run failed), 5:12

Fourth Quarter  

SD — Cole Diehl 1 run (run failed), 11:46

APA                       SD

First Downs                                        12                           17

Rushes                                                 38-158                   38-272

Passing                                                 6-11-0                   9-15-1

Passing Yards                                     89                           314

Total yards                                          247                         586

Punts                                                    3-29.0                    3-39.3

Fumbles                                               3-2                          2-0

Penalties                                             5-50                       13-142

Individual statistics

RUSHING—Arendell Parrott: Matthew Huntley 1-50, Zach Vendemia 13-34, Gabe Braswell 9-34, Reynolds Barringer 2-20, Blake Smith 3-18, Dallas Hill 10-2. St. David’s: Tai Goode 15-182, Cole Deihl 8-60, Houston Walker 7-26, Paxton Williams 2-14, James Talton 6-minus 10.

PASSING—Arendell Parrott: Vendemia 5-10-0, 82. Barringer 1-1-0, 7. St. David’s: Talton 9-15-1, 314.

RECEIVING—Arendell Parrott: William Hill 1-50, Barringer 2-33, D. Hill 1-7, Braswell 0-0, Huntley 1-minus 1. St. David’s: Goode 3-167, Robert Batchelder 4-118, Deihl 1-14, Walker 1-15.