APA’s Morgan McPhaul surveys the field during a run in Friday’s matchup against Rocky Mount Prep. Photo by William ‘Bud’ Hardy / Neuse News

Maybe winning the turnover battle isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Rocky Mount Prep coughed up the ball 7 times, committed 18 penalties, and somehow still managed to emerge with a 22-21 victory over Parrott Academy in an 11-man football contest Friday at Hodges Field.

The game was the first of two 11-man affairs the Patriots will tackle this season. APA travels to Bear Grass Charter Aug. 30, a team the Patriots defeated 25-8 last season.

“They outplayed us, but it’s still a game we could’ve, and probably should’ve, won,” APA coach Matt Beaman said. “We made too many little mistakes and didn’t finish off drives. We beat ourselves.”

The Patriots gave the ball away three times themselves and on four occasions, the Parrott offense drove inside the Jaguar 20-yard line, only to come up empty. Two possessions ended on lost fumbles and two others were stopped on downs, including a fourth down incompletion from the 20 in the final period.

“We have to take advantage of those situations,” Beaman said. “We had plenty of opportunities to put points on the board and just didn’t get it done.”

When they weren’t receiving good field position via Rocky Mount Prep’s slippery fingers (eight fumbles, six lost), the Patriot offense struggled to move the ball at all.

The Patriots managed just 181 total yards and scored just two offensive touchdowns: a 9-yard run by Trey McLawhorn that tied the score at 14-14 late in the first half, and a 15-yard scamper by quarterback Reynolds Barringer to put APA on top midway through the third period.

Parrott’s first TD came when Weaver Sumrell pounced on a loose pigskin in the end zone with 7:45 left in the first quarter.

McLawhorn finished with 73 yards on 19 carries but left the game with an ankle injury late in the third quarter.

The Jaguars, meanwhile, moved the ball at will when they weren’t putting it on the ground.

Six players combined for 290 yards rushing on 52 carries, but it was a miraculous play in the passing game that sealed the outcome.

With his team trailing 21-14 in the fourth quarter and facing a third-and-14, Jaguar quarterback Kyon Bryant evaded a blitz and threw a deep pass into traffic from his own 23-yard line. Receiver Darrian Richardson won that jump ball with a leaping catch and run that covered 77 yards with 10 minutes exactly remaining in the game.

Bryant then converted the 2-point conversion to provide the eventual winning points.

“Darrian’s a very athletic kid and he made a great play in a big situation,” Jaguar coach Al Williams said. “With all the turnovers and penalties, we were very fortunate to win this game, but it shows how resilient this team can be. It also shows how much work we have to do.”

The Patriots failed to score on three fourth-quarter possessions and were unable to get into field goal range for kicker Nick Harrison, who booted three extra points, including one from 35-yards after APA was assessed a 15-yard penalty prior to the extra point attempt.

ROCKY MOUNT PREP 22, ARENDELL PARROTT ACADEMY 21                  

Rocky Mount Prep          6              8              0              8—22

Parrott Academy              7              7              7              0—21

First Quarter

APA—Weaver Sumrell fumble recovery in end zone (Nick Harrison kick), 7:45

RMP—Kyon Bryant 1 run (run failed), 3:21

Second Quarter

RMP—Katayvious Lawrence 10 run (Bryant run), 4:21

APA—Trey McLawhorn 9 run (Harrison kick), 1:34

Third Quarter

APA—Reynolds Barringer 15 run (Harrison kick), 8:26

Fourth Quarter

RMP—Darian Richardson 77 pass from Bryant (Bryant run), 10:00

                                RMP      APA

First Downs        17           14

Rushes-yards     52-290   38-119

Passing                 3-10-1   6-18-1

Passing yards     133         62

Total yards          423         181

Punts-avg.          1-22.0    2-34.0

Fumbles-lost      8-6          4-2

Penalties             18-108   3-38

Individual Statistics

RUSHING—Rocky Mount Prep: Katayvious Lawrence 17-151, Nathan Rives 12-59, Kyon Bryant 11-29, Lavar Washington 4-28, Darrian Richardson 2-28, Jordan Bethea 5-7, Team 1-(minus 12). Parrott Academy: Trey McLawhorn 19-73, Reynolds Barringer 7-25, Blake Smith 11-23, Morgan McPhaul 1-(minus 2).

PASSING—Rocky Mount Prep: Bryant 3-10-1 133. Parrott Academy: Barringer 6-17-1 62, McLawhorn 0-1-0 0.

RECEIVING—Rocky Mount Prep: Richardson 2-97, Doniel Wildgoose 1-36. Parrott Academy: McLawhorn 3-20, Nick Harrison 2-31, Jonah Beaman 1-11.