Neuse News

View Original

A-G shuts out Farmville Central, 22-0

Ayden-Grifton's Micheal Webb, top, jumps over teammate Ray Darden as Farmville Central's Walter Cherry, right, looks to tackle during a game. Photo courtesy Greenville Daily Reflector

AYDEN -- Two-way stars Micheal Webb and Ray Darden led the Ayden-Grifton Chargers to a 22-0 shutout home victory over rival Farmville Central on Friday night.

Webb, a junior first-team all-county selection with five interceptions last season, was an all-around standout with two picks in the first half, a 23-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter and several impressive returns. Darden helped stifle the struggling Jags’ offense at middle linebacker and contributed hard-nosed running in short-yardage situations to the offense.

Brothers Sam and David Barrett were unable to break off any long runs against the Chargers’ defense, picking up just 21 yards on nine plays in the final three quarters.

Senior A-G quarterback Blake McLawhorn connected with Jeffrey Gunter for a 36-yard TD with 5:17 left in the second quarter to make the score 15-0. The following Jags’ drive ended in Webb’s second interception on a third-and-13.

The second half of the game was full of Jaguar injuries. Dontavious Short was helped off the field with 7 minutes left in the third quarter after being hit on a short kickoff return. David Barrett was injured with about a minute left in the third after a short pass play by the Jags.

With 5:42 left in the fourth quarter, Tavyon Suggs was helped off the field after a quarterback keeper. Quintaye Reid was carried off the field in the fourth after sustaining an injury in the end zone on an FC pass play. None of these players returned to the game.

ECU commit Keziah Everett was busy, generally making stops on A-G run plays around the line of scrimmage.

The Jags are a young squad, having lost a number of starters from last season. Sophomores Suggs and Short have assumed key roles. As with past years, Farmville Central’s offense is markedly run-centric. In their first three games, the Jaguars ran the ball on 105 plays while passing on just 32.

-- Matthew Edwards, Greenville Daily Reflector