Raiders rout Halifax

Published 1:01 am Saturday, August 25, 2012

Southampton Academy junior Tonee Hill carries the ball during the Raiders' 64-7 win over Halifax Academy Friday. Hill led the Raiders with four touchdowns and 179 yards rushing in the Carolina Colonial Conference win.| Gwen Albers/Tidewater News

 

COURTLAND—It was all about Southampton Academy’s ground attack of Tonee Hill, Paul Parker and Nate Williams in a 64-7 win against Halifax Friday.

The trio of Raider running backs combined for 351 yards and eight touchdowns in the season opener.

“I think we played well,” said SA Coach Dale Marks. “I saw the whole team play a notch up from our scrimmage.”

Hill, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound junior, rushed for 179 of the team’s 479 yards and four touchdowns. He returned an 85-yard touchdown on a punt return and scored on 68-, 53- and 4-yard runs.

A 5-foot-6, 136-pound sophomore, Williams rushed for 96 yards and scored touchdowns on 25- and 52-yard runs. He also picked up three two-point conversions

Parker, a 5-foot-6, 161-pound junior, rushed for 85 yards, scoring on 49- and 22-yard runs.

Assistant Coach Cass Camp also praised the Raiders’ defense for limiting the Vikings to one touchdown.

“The defensive line played well,” said Camp referring to junior Greg Johnson, sophomores David Howell and Alex Hasty and senior Daniel Crumpler.

Halifax carried the ball 34 times for 104 yards and completed 4 of 17 passes for 59 yards. The Raiders completed 5 of 7 passes for 63 yards.

With 8:21 remaining in the first quarter, Hill scored the first touchdown on a 4-yard run. The extra point failed.

A little over two minutes later, Williams scored on a 49-yard run and sophomore quarterback Matt Rose ran in for the extra two points.

With 4:19 remaining in the quarter, Hill scored on the punt return. The conversion failed.

Five seconds into the second quarter, sophomore quarterback Cameron Hines – a Southampton High School transfer student – connected with senior offensive end Zachary Best for a 20-yard touchdown. Williams picked up the conversion to give Southampton a 28-0 lead.

With 6 minutes remaining in the half, Parker scored on a 22-yard run and Rose ran in for the two points.

Halifax followed with a 14-yard run with 40 seconds left in the half. The kick was good.

The second half opened with Hill scoring on 68- and 53-yard runs, giving the Raiders a 50-7 lead.

With 8:29 left in the fourth quarter, Williams scored on a 25-yard run and picked up the two-point conversion. Williams scored the final touchdown on a 55-yard run.