BY ANDREW FAISON/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
andrew.faison@yahoo.com

COURTLAND—Southampton Academy on Friday night won its second state title in eight years after defeating the Word of God – the state champions for the past three seasons. The score was 52-28.

“We knew coming into this game we had a really good season,” said SA Head Coach Dale Marks after the Raiders won the title for the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 8-Man league.

“We were 11-0, but we had to win tonight to make it a great season,” Marks added.

The Raiders finished 12-0, while the Rams dropped to10-2. Southampton Academy during the regular season defeated Word of God 40-34, ending the Rams’ 35-game win streak.

“We had an excellent season this year, it’s been an excellent year,” said Word of God Head Coach Kevin Washington. “Two losses in three years isn’t bad. We have some young guys, and we will be back strong next year.”

SA junior Tonee Hill was named the league’s Most Valuable Player and Marks was named Coach of the Year.

Leaders for the Raiders were Hill who had 14 carries for 180 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Sophomore quarterback Matt Rose added seven carries for 71 yards and one touchdown. Junior Cameron Hines had seven carries for 61 yards. Junior Paul Parker added nine carries for 38 yards and one touchdown; he also had an 82-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.

Leaders for the Rams were junior Jason Fields who went 10-of-19 for 128 yards with two touchdowns and one interception and had 19 rushes for 65 yards.

“Word of God is a good team, and they scored some points on us, but we came out strong and set the tone,” Marks said.

The Raiders caught a break on their first scoring drive after Hill’s punt was blocked by Rams’ Joshua Rogers. Hill recovered the ball on the SA 20-yard line. With 6:09 left in the first quarter, Rose found the goal line from 15 yards out to cap off a seven-play 80-yard drive. The 2-point conversion by Rose was good making the score 8-0.

“Our momentum was just killed from the beginning,” Washington said.

The Raiders went up 16-0 when Parker scored from 3-yards out with 3:02 left in the first quarter, capping off a three-play, 61-yard drive. The 2-point conversion pass from Rose to Hill was good.

The Raiders’ third scoring drive was capped off by a 14-yard run by Hill with 9 minutes left in the second quarter. The 2-point conversion by Rose was good making the score 24-0.

The Rams first got on the scoreboard as Fields connected with senior Jonathan Jackson for a 15-yard pass over the middle of the end zone with no time left at the end of the second quarter. The 2-point conversion was no good making the score 24-6.

On the first drive of the second half the Rams got the ball to the Raiders’ 15-yard line when Fields fumbled the ball in the back field and Parker picked it up for an 82 yard touchdown with 8:03 left in the third quarter. The 2-point conversion by Hill was good making the score 32-6.

The Rams scored next with 3 minutes left in the third when Fields rushed in for 1-yard on the quarterback keeper, capping off a 10-play 44-yard drive. The 2-point conversion by Fields was good, making the score 32-14.

The Raiders responded as Hill broke a 37-yard run capping off a three-play, 53-yard drive with 1:46 left in the third quarter. The 2-point conversion failed, making the score 38-14.

On the second play of the Rams’ next drive, St. Louis broke a 66-yard run up the right sideline. At the 4-yard line, he pitched it to junior Shaquille Evans in the midst of several Raider defenders. Evans got into the end zone with 1:23 left in the third quarter. The 2-point conversion by Jackson was good making the score 38-22.

Hill scored next for the Raiders with 11:50 to go from 4 yards out after several Rams’ penalties including an unsportsman like conduct. The 2-point conversion by senior Zachary Best was good, making the score 46-22.

The Raiders’ last score came when senior Thomas Fox found the end zone from 2 yards out with 4:14 left in the game, capping off a nine-play, 71-yard drive. The 2-point conversion failed, making the score 52-22.

The Rams scored the last points of the game when Fields hit Evans for an 18-yard pass with 3:42 left in the game. The 2-point conversion failed.