Ayden-Grifton uses its "Jet" to soar past league foe South Lenoir
Ayden-Grifton head coach Paul Cornwell, left, talks with his team after the Chargers snapped a two-game losing streak with a 45-point win over South Lenoir on Friday evening. Rudy Coggins / NeuseNews
DEEP RUN — It's called "Jet" in the playbook.
The carrier?
None other than Michael Webb.
The sure-handed senior broke free for a 59-yard touchdown on Ayden-Grifton's first offensive play of the game, a welcome sight for his teammates and head coach Paul Cornwell on Friday evening.
"It's always a big lift when one of your leaders comes back from a tough situation, the first time he touches it, he scores," Cornwell said. "I told the whole team before we ever walked out the first play would be 'Jet' tonight, and he knew it...they all knew it.
"I think they went after it hard to get him into the end zone. It kind of set the tone for us."
Indeed.
Fully recovered from a concussion, Webb accounted for 177 yards of total offense and four touchdowns — three rushing, one receiving — in the Chargers' 53-8 romp over South Lenoir at Thomas H. Salter Stadium.
Ayden-Grifton (5-2 overall, 1-2 Eastern Carolina 2-A) converted eight of nine offensive drives into touchdowns and snapped a two-game skid in conference play. Time expired on the Chargers' final drive of the opening half.
Ramik Moore provided a team-high 103 yards on the ground for Ayden-Grifton, which compiled 396 yards rushing and 524 yards of total offense. Quarterbacks Josh Wright and Grant Connell combined for three completions, all touchdowns.
Cornwell employed 10 different ball carriers in the game.
The Chargers won their 10th straight over the Blue Devils and lead the all-time series 14-2.
"We had a lot of young guys step in and get some playing time," SL head coach Jeremy Joyner said. "We had some trouble early executing, but then we started to executing a little bit better. The offense, I thought, played much better tonight.
"Defensively, we're just out-manned athletically and speed-wise. Our kids, they battled hard and they competed, and we came up just short."
Joseph Cobb paced the Blue Devils' rushing attack with a game-high 119 yards on 21 carries. The sophomore reeled in a 16-yard TD pass from quarterback Jon Howard with no time on the clock in the third period.
South Lenoir (2-6, 0-4) entertains Washington for Senior Night next Friday, while Ayden-Grifton entertains North Lenoir.
South Lenoir offensive coordinator David Combs gives a play to quarterback Jon Howard during first-quarter action against Ayden-Grifton on Friday evening. Rudy Coggins/NeuseNews
Ayden-Grifton 20 14 13 6 — 53
South Lenoir 0 0 8 0 — 8
First Quarter
AG — Webb 59 run (Hernandez kick), 10:41
AG — Best 46 pass from Wright (Hernandez kick), 2:32
AG — Webb 4 run (kick failed), 0:58
Second Quarter
AG —Webb 78 pass from Wright (Hernandez kick), 10:05
AG — Webb 36 run (Hernandez kick), 2:39
Third Quarter
AG — Moore 12 run (Hernandez kick), 8:55
AG — Whitfield 4 pass from Connell (pass failed), 5:31
SL — J. Cobb 16 pass from Howard (Maples run). 0:00
Fourth Quarter
AG — Lancaster 6 run (kick failed), 4:24
AG SL
First downs 19 9
Rushes-yds 30-396 44-143
Passing 3-5-0 3-11-0
Passing yds 128 31
Total yards 524 174
Fumbles-lost 2-0 2-0
Punts-yds 0-0 2-26.0
Penalties-yds 8-72 8-40
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — South Lenoir: Cannon Maples 2-0, Joseph Cobb 21-119, Brett Huffman 7-(minus-4), John Haddock 5-18, Jon Howard 3-0, Matias Blount 5-19, Team 1-(minus-9). Ayden-Grifton: Michael Webb 3-99, Keshawn Best 1-10, Ramik Moore 7-103, Kevin Boomer 1-21, Josh Wright 4-19, Quinton Mitchell 1-12, Nakeem Whitfield 4-28, Mark Dillahunt 3-62, Brandon Lancaster 4-30, Garth Connell 2-12.
PASSING — South Lenoir: Howard 1-7-0, 16; Huffman 2-4-0, 15. Ayden-Grifton: Josh Wright 2-4-0, 124; Connell 1-4-0, 4.
RECEIVING — South Lenoir: J. Cobb 2-28, Blount 1-3. Ayden-Grifton: Best 1-46, Webb 1-78, Whitfield 1-4.
