Parrott Academy triumphs in shootout fashion over Faith Christian, but loses key senior to injury
Photo by William “Bud” Hardy / Neuse News.
Parrott Academy avenged a long-awaited loss, but hardly seemed in a celebratory mood Friday evening.
They missed teammate Trey McLawhorn, who navigated his way toward the locker room on crutches as they gathered for the post-game huddle.
McLawhorn suffered a right-knee injury in the closing minutes of a 73-60, shootout victory over Faith Christian of Rocky Mount in semifinal-round action of the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association Division I 8-man football playoffs.
The top-seeded Patriots (8-2 overall) advanced to the state championship for the fifth time in the last six years and entertain Grace Christian-Raleigh next Saturday. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Hodges Field.
McLawhorn, who shredded FC's defense for 367 yards on 31 totes, immediately hit the ground after a first-down gain inside FC territory. He had planted his right knee and told the coaches he felt his kneecap give way, but didn't hear anything pop.
"We really don't know anything right now," APA head coach Matt Beaman said. "I just told the guys we've got to prepare like we won't have him. We won't know anything until later in the evening.
"He was not going to let us lose that football game. He leaves everything on the field, is the hardest worker we've got. We're just going to have to rally around that."
The gut-wrenching injury overshadowed an emotion-filled game that featured three of the state's top running backs - McLawhorn and Faith's combo of Hobart Brantley and Shalkey Hardy. The trio combined for nearly 900 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns.
Each broke off several big scoring plays that kept fans on the edge of their seats for most of the contest. McLawhorn had the longest run, an 83-yard gallop during Parrott's 27-point, second-quarter outburst.
That helped erase a 22-6 deficit.
"We told them before the game there's going to be peaks, there's going to be valleys," Beaman said. "We withstood their wave. I got them together and basically told them it's time for us to start playing Parrott football.
"I thought the guys responded."
Parrott carried a 47-36 lead into halftime, only to see Faith Christian climb to within 53-52 late in the third quarter.
Beaman's squad got the breaks it finally needed in the fourth. The defensive unit forced two fumbles and turned both into touchdowns that silenced any further comeback attempt by the 2018 state champs.
Overall, APA converted four FC turnovers into 26 points and earned revenge for last year's opening-round playoff defeat.
"Our defense has thrived on turnovers all year and they've done a really good job with that," Beaman said. "I thought when we really needed it, they got it, and we were able to capitalize off them.
"Last year left a sour taste in our mouth. Our guys bought into a weight program where we had to get bigger and stronger to handle a team like. Revenge was on our mind."
Faith Christian-RM 22 14 16 8 - 60
Parrott Academy 20 27 6 20 - 73
First Quarter
FC - Hardy 6 run (Hobart run), 9:20
APA - McLawhorn 31 pass from Thomas (pass failed), 8:23
FC - Hobart 23 run (pass failed), 7:17
FC - Hobart 52 run (Hardy run), 5:31
APA - McLawhorn 2 run (kick failed), 3:06
APA - Thomas 1 run (Harrison kick), 2:35
Second Quarter
APA - McLawhorn 83 run (kick failed), 9:29
FC - Hardy 10 run (Hardy run), 7:12
APA - McLawhorn 50 run (McLawhorn run), 6:13
APA - McLawhorn 52 run (run failed), 4:52
FC - Hardy 1 run (run failed), 0:21.8
APA - Harrison 22 pass from Thomas (Harrison kick), 0:00
Third Quarter
FC - Hobart 33 run (Hobart run), 7:12
APA - McLawhorn 33 run (run failed), 5:40
FC - Hardy 1 run (Hobart run), 1:48
Fourth Quarter
APA - Beaman 17 pass from Thomas (Harrison kick), 10:47
APA - Beaman 41 pass from Thomas (run failed), 7:27
APA - McPhaul 37 run (Harrison kick), 2;06
FC - Hobart 1 run (Hobart run), 0:28.2
FC APA
First downs 26 24
Rushes-yds 62-513 42-456
Passing 3-4-0 8-12-0
Passing yds 45 194
Total yards 558 650
Fumbles-lost 5-4 1-1
Punts-yds 0-0 1-11.0
Penalties-yds 4-21 5-50
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING - Parrott Academy: Trey McLawhorn 31-367, Wilkes Thomas 3-27, Blake Smith 5-24, Morgan McPhaul 2-42, Team 1-(minus-4). Faith Christian-RM: Brantley Hobart 29-304, Shalkey Hardy 27-201, Matt Coffey 1-2, Chandler Cockrell 4-0, Luke Parker 1-6.
PASSING - Parrott Academy: Thomas 8-12-0, 194. Faith Christian-RM: Cockrell 3-4-0, 45.
RECEIVING - Parrott Academy: McLawhorn 2-48, Nick Harrison 3-70, McPhaul 1-18, Jonah Beaman 2-58. Faith Christian-RM: Hobart 2-11, Hardy 1-34.
Photo by William “Bud” Hardy / Neuse News
