By Junious Smith III

WILLIAMSTON — For Arendell Parrott Academy, the season starts in Week 3.

The Patriots fell to Williamston Bear Grass Charter 22-6 Friday to fall to 0-2 on the season, but both contests were 11-man games. APA coach Matt Beaman said the loss stung, especially with injuries to several players against the Bears, but 8-man play will start Sept. 6 against Cary Christian on the road.

“You want to win every game you play, but as far as the grand scheme of things, these two games affect us none,” Beaman said. “Our season starts next week against Cary (and) what we wanted to happen with these 11-man games was build some depth. We got some young guys some playing time — we didn’t want the injuries we had, but hopefully some of our guys will be healed up and we’ll be ready to take care of Cary.”

APA struggled to get its offense going early with a trio of three-and-outs to start. Bear Grass (1-1) moved the ball well, but the Patriots forced a turnover on downs on one drive and Colby Lewis recovered a fumble on another to keep the game scoreless. Two plays into the second quarter however, Logan Coltrain found Tyler Stroud for a 35-yard touchdown connection to put Bear Grass ahead 8-0.

On the ensuing drive, Parrott would get its initial first down on a 37-yard connection from Weaver Sumrell to Nick Harrison, but two plays later, Jamerson Perry recovered a fumble and took it 68 yards for a score. The Bears took their 14-0 lead into halftime and after forcing a Patriots punt to start the third quarter, Coltrain connected with Bryce Carlisle to pick up a 22-0 advantage.

The Patriots scored on the first play of the fourth quarter when freshman Wilkes Thomas threw a 26-yard touchdown to Harrison to close the gap to 16. APA forced a three-and-out and another long pass from Thomas to Jonah Beaman, along with a pass interference penalty, brought the ball to the Bear Grass 11. Unfortunately, the Patriots turned the ball over on downs and never threatened from there.

These teams faced each other on Aug. 31, 2018 — APA’s first 11-man game since 1989 — and the Patriots won 25-8.

BEAR GRASS CHARTER 22, ARENDELL PARROTT ACADEMY 6

APA       0              0              0              6 — 6

WBG      0              14           8              0 — 22 

Second Quarter

WBG — Tyler Stroud 35 pass from Logan Coltrain (Coltrain run), 11:16

WBG — Jameson Perry 68 fumble return (pass failed), 7:47

Third Quarter

WBG — Bryce Carlisle 30 pass from Coltrain (Trey Lanier run), 7:05

Fourth Quarter

APA — Nick Harrison 26 pass from Wilkes Thomas (pass failed), 11:43

APA                       WBG

First Downs                        10                           13

Rushes                                 27-3                       33-174

Passing                                 12-27-0                 7-14-0

Passing Yards                     142                         98

Total Yards                          145                         272

Punts                                    6-33.0                    3-32.3

Fumbles                               1-1                          3-2

Penalties                             4-35                       8-52

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Arendell Parrott Academy: Blake Smith 11-25, Dallas Hill 12-8, Reynolds Barringer 1-minus 2, Wilkes Thomas 3-minus 28. Williamston Bear Grass: Logan Coltrain 13-81, Logan Hale 7-44, Trey Lanier 8-40, Jameson Perry 4-9, Branson Ross 1-0.

PASSING — Arendell Parrott Academy: Thomas 8-18-0, 103; Weaver Sumrell 2-3-0, 39; Barringer 2-6-0, 0. Williamston Bear Grass: Coltrain 7-14-0, 98.

RECEIVING — Arendell Parrott Academy: Nick Harrison 5-89, Jonah Beaman 7-53. Williamston Bear Grass: Bryce Carlisle 3-51, Tyler Stroud 1-35, Hale 2-8, Perry 1-4