Arendell Parrott Academy's Blake Smith (2) runs the ball while Cary Christian's Luke Jacobsen (8) during Friday's game. Photo by William 'Bud' Hardy / Neuse News

By Scott Cole

A week after enjoying winning their first 11-man football game in nearly 30 years, the Arendell Parrott Academy Patriots returned to their 8-man football on Friday night. The Pats hosted the winless Cary Christian Knights, losers of their last 16 games. APA has owned the Knights in recent years, winning the last six contests between the rivals.

Friday night was business as usual for the Patriots as they continued that dominating streak over the Knights. APA took total control of the game with 532 yards of total offense as they steamrolled Cary Christian, 58-0.

After playing some tight contests with lots of turnovers, APA coach Matt Beaman was happy to have an error-free game. Beaman reflected on his team’s win.

“We put a lot of emphasis on that in practice this week," he said. "We wanted to make sure we were in full control of the ball early on. As a result, we looked sharp tonight. We wanted to get off to a good start and keep going all game.”

After the Knights turned the ball over on downs, Zach Vendemia broke out on a 24-yard quarterback keeper. That carry set up a 46-yard touchdown run down the sidelines by Shyire Thompson for the game’s first score. Two minutes later, the Patriots struck again when Vendemia hit Matthew Huntley for a 54-yard touchdown on a first down pass.

“This game feels like how it should,” Thompson said. “We played as we know we can. But we can always improve. We had a turnover free game. The defense played well.”

Thompson finished the night with 137 yards rushing.

“Thompson is a great player,” Beaman said. "He is probably the most dynamic player in this conference. When he gets open, he is hard to handle.”

After the touchdown, the Patriots recovered an onside kick. Three plays later, Vendemia rolled out to the right and scampered down the field for a 31-yard run. APA finished the first quarter up 29-0 on the Knights.

”This was fun to go back to 8-on-8 with a game like this,” Vendemia said. “We were really relaxed. We didn’t make the turnovers that we’ve been having lately. Everyone did their job and when everyone executes, we can have a game like this.”

Vendemia threw for 99 yards with three touchdowns in the game, all to Huntley. He also ran for 93 yards with two touchdowns.

“Zack looked very sharp tonight,” Beaman said. “He looked relaxed and was in command of the offense. When he is on like that, the other teams have to look out.”

The Patriots scored 12 seconds into the second quarter with Huntley scoring on a 15 yard reception. On their next possession, Vendemia was hit for an apparent sack. He broke the tackle, broke two more, and the escaped through the middle for a 43 yard run for a touchdown. The score gave APA a 43-0 lead. 

The Knights struck back with a deep pass to receiver Scott Schinn, who was hit and the ball popped up. It was recovered by the Patriots, who  took advantage of the turnover when backup quarterback Barringer Reynolds scored on a 17-yard run.

“Huntley is a great playmaker,” Beaman said. “He is probably the best receiver I have ever had. He can do so much on this field.

A running clock was called after Reynolds scored near the end of the first half. APA received the ball to start the second half of the game and continued to roll all over the Knights. George Cobb scored on a 16-yard run in the third quarter and finished the night with 72 yards on four carries. 

In the fourth quarter, the Knights marched down to the 1 yard line, but the Patriot defense would not yield ground when John Stocks deflected a touchdown worthy pass.

“I knew what play they were going to run because they kept running that route,” Stocks said.” I was ready for the pass and knocked it out of the way.”

APA is off next week. Their next game is on Friday, Sept. 27 as they travel to Southampton Academy in Courtland, Va.

Scoring Summary
                                                1ST          2ND         3RD            4TH              Final
Cary Christian                            0               0              0                0                    0
APA                                          29              22              7                0                  58

1Q
APA: Shyire Thompson 46 yd run (Matthew Huntley 2 pt conversion good)
APA:  Huntley 54 yd reception (Kolby Jones kick good)
APA: Vendemia 31 yd run (Jones kick good)
APA: Huntley 30 yd reception (Jones kick good)

Second Quarter Scoring
APA: Huntley 15 yd reception (Jones kick good)
APA: Vendemia 43 yd run (Jones kick good)
APA: Barringer Reynolds 17 yd run (Blake Smith 2 pt conversion good)

Third Quarter Scorin
APA: George Cobb 16 yd runn (Jones kick good)

Team Stats
                                                                     CC                                   APA
First Downs                                                   11                                        13
Rushes-Yards                                          26-95                               35-433
Passing-Attempts                                     9-26                                     3-4
Passing Yards                                               98                                       99
Total Yards                                                  193                                      532
Fumbles-Lost                                              2-2                                      0-0
Penalties                                                      1-10                                    4-45
Punt-Avg                                                   3-102                                     0-0

Individual Stats

RUSHING
CC: H. Shriver 16-84, Jacobsen 5-6, McLaughlin 1-2, Hernandez 1-2, Schinn 1-2, J. Shriver 1- -2
APA: Thompson 4-137, Vendemia 4-93, Cobb 4-72, McPhaul 6-45, Reynolds 3-36, Braswell 1-5, Acree 1- -3

PASSING
CC: Voight 9-26 98
APA: Vendemia 3-4 99

RECEIVING
CC: McLaughlin 3-37, Jacobsen 3-28, Schinn 2-24, H. Shriver 1- -5
APA: Huntley 3-99