NEWTON, NC – The Newton-Conover Red Devils varsity football team stepped onto its home field inside of Gurley Stadium on Friday night looking to make up for its season-opening loss to Lincolnton.
Well, the Red Devils (1-1) did just that against rival Bandys (0-2) via a superb running game by senior tailback Allan Shade (218 yards on 27 carries).
Shade muscled his way through the defensive line time and time again en route to a four-touchdown performance which saw his squad take a 32-14 victory for its ‘Senior Night’ and ‘Homecoming’ combo.
“He’s a grown man out there. There’s no doubt about it,” said Red Devils head coach Steven Pack about Shade’s performance. “I don’t think there’s a better running back around. He’s so big and strong. He’s worked so hard on getting faster…He’s breaking runs now. He don’t come off the field much. He’s over there playing outside linebacker. We’re super proud of him, but we’re also super proud of that offensive line. They are big and strong, and they work hard. Not only are they big and strong…at least four out of the five are over a 4.5 GPA, so they’re extremely smart, too.
“Just super proud of all those guys. They deserve this win. We lost a game we shouldn’t have lost last week…I challenged them to get back on track, and I think this conference is very balanced. I think every team is right there neck-and-neck…I think there’s going to be some battles and I think we’re still in things for a conference championship.”
As with any rivalry game, things didn’t go as planned early for the Red Devils. On its first possession of the contest – the first drive on either side – senior quarterback Justice Craig fumbled the ball forced by Trojans linebacker Terick Bumgarner only for senior linebacker Dylan Thompson to scoop it up and bring it in for the first TD of the night.
Junior kicker Joshua Hernandez had his point-after attempt blocked, but Bandys carried a 6-0 lead over Newton-Conover with 10:18 left in the opening quarter.
On the Red Devils’ next possession after the Bandys TD, it began a nice drive from the Trojans’ 44-yard line. A couple of short gains for Shade followed by an 8-yard run by junior running back Trey Stinson led the home team to the 31-yard line.
However, like in its previous possession, the Red Devils fumbled the ball once more – this time on a carry by Shade, and Bandys recovered the ball with 8:49 left in the first quarter.
Off of this fumble recovery, the Trojans began its first offensive drive on its own 26-yard line. The Red Devil defense was stout as it forced a quick 3-and-out as Bandys had only a 5-play series.
This is the moment where things began to shift slightly in Newton-Conover’s favor as it began what would be its first scoring drive of the night on its own 24-yard line with about 5:56 left in the first quarter.
The Red Devils began this drive with a 4-yard run by Shade followed by a minimal gain on the ground by Craig, setting up a 3rd-and-5 situation on its own 29-yard line. Getting into the frey offensively, senior receiver/defensive back Quincey Spain corralled a huge 21-yard reception that brought his team to mid-field.
A short 5-yard connection from Craig to senior wide-out Christian Burgins made it 2nd-and-5 with about 3:30 left in the frame.
Then, thanks to the strong blocking up front by seniors Jackson Ammons, Ryan Walker and company, Shade bursted through the seams for a huge 45-yard TD run. This score, followed by a conversion on the PAT by sophomore kicker Dax Shannon, gave the host-team its first lead of the night, 7-6, with 2:56 left in the quarter. The Red Devils never trailed again after this point.
Following a couple of positive gains offensively by Bandys on its next time out on the field – the first on a 6-yard run by senior running back Isaiah Gilchrist, and the next on a 7-yard completion to Jackson Spicer on a pass from sophomore quarterback Trey Shearer – the Red Devil defense stepped up once again.
On 2nd-and-11, junior quarterback Parker DeHart was on the move, but Walker wasn’t having any of it as he rushed him in the backfield for an 8-yard tackle for a loss. However, on 3rd-and-long, Shearer connected on his biggest pass – at the time – to Thompson for a 23-yard gain.
Shearer then followed with a 10-yard pass to junior receiver Parker Styborski in what would be the final play of the opening quarter.
Continuing its drive to open the second quarter, the Trojans had a couple of good gains on the ground including a 6-yarder by Gilchrist and a 13-yarder by Shearer. Nevertheless, it found itself in a 4th-and-4 situation, and Shearer tried to scramble out the pocket but could not avoid Walker for a sack and turnover on downs with 8:41 left in the first half.
Off of the Bandys turnover, the Red Devils began its 9-play drive from its own 18-yard line.
Shade led the way with 82 of 218 total rushing yards (unofficially) on this series including a 23-yard break-away before sealing the deal with a 31-yard TD run with 4:07 left in the half. Shannon capitalized on the PAT and the Red Devils led, 14-6.
Just when things looked a little bleak for Bandys after allowing the TD, it came back with its own scoring drive (11 plays).
Shearer led the way on this drive via the running game and the passing game as he earned 14 yards on three carries, along with 55 yards on a 4-of-6 clip during this series (116 passing yards on the night) – including an 8-yard TD connection to Thompson. The 2-point conversion run was successful, and the Trojans tied things at 14-all with 25 seconds in the half.
In the second half, it was the Newton-Conover show as the running prowess of Shade, as well as the team’s defensive ability, proved to be too much for Bandys to handle.
The Trojans began the third quarter with the opening possession but were stopped quickly (5-play drive) thanks to solid tackling by junior linebacker Xavion Coulter and junior defensive back/receiver Zane Redmond – who each had a tackle apiece on this drive.
The Red Devils forced another turnover on downs, and it began its next offensive series on its own 37-yard line.
Showing its ability to get solid blocks up front once more, Shade scored his third rushing TD of the night (a 2-yarder) and rushed for 38 yards on six carries this drive – including an 18-yard run on 2nd-and-9. Sophomore tailback Ben Watson got into the fold in this series, as well, rushing for seven yards on two carries.
Also helping to open up the field offensively was Redmond as he corralled an 18-yard catch from Craig to move the chains on 3rd-and-5. Redmond finished this contest with 80 yards on five receptions while Craig went 9-of-13 for 119 yards. Following the TD run by Shade, Shannon muffed the PAT, but the Red Devils led, 20-14, with 4:41 left in the third quarter.
On the Trojans’ next possession, there was really nothing going with the exception of an 18-yard connection from Shearer to Nolan Jones.
Bandys picked up three penalties in this series including two false starts, and the drive ended on an interception thrown by Shearer to Red Devils’ Spain with under a minute to go in the quarter.
This turned the tide completely in the Red Devils’ favor heading into the fourth quarter. Newton-Conover began its next scoring drive on the Trojans’ 23-yard line, and it only took the host-team six plays to get into the end zone.
It began the drive with a 6-yard run by Shade followed by a 4-yard run by Craig. Then, on 3rd-and-5, Craig connected on a pass to Spain for an 8-yard gain with just under 11 minutes remaining. It only took three more runs by Shade to get past the goal line for his 4th rushing TD of the night on a 1-yard run on 3rd-and-goal.
The Red Devils attempted a 2-point conversion pass from Craig to Redmond with no avail and led, 26-14, with 8:42 left in the game.
On the Trojans’ next stint offensively, it was a 7-play drive that resulted in another turnover on downs led by Coulter and sophomore defensive back Rakim Moore. Coulter collected a pair of tackles during this series while Moore played good coverage in order to obtain two timely pass deflections.
Following the Bandys turnover, Craig connected on a pair of passes to Redmond (51 yards) to get his team in prime position to score once more. On 4th-and-3 from the Trojans’ 20-yard line, Craig found Watson up the gut for his first career TD reception. The PAT by Shannon was no good and the Red Devils moved out to a 32-14 lead with 2:20 left to play.
Picking up where he left off on the previous defensive outing, Moore garnered his first interception on varsity on a Bandys’ 2nd-and-8 to effectively seal the victory.
Next up for Newton-Conover is a road match-up with West Lincoln (0-2) on Friday, March 12, at 7 p.m. As for Bandys, it returns home for a contest with Lincolnton (1-1) set for a 7 p.m. kick-off.
