North Carolina Football Association (NCFA)

The Rocky Mount Leafs announced today the firing of coach Chad Rutledge.  With a 21-27 record over 4 years Rutledge is best known for his first season with the team when they started out 6-0 only to lose 6 straight and miss the playoffs.  He was never able to spark the team over the next three seasons, and saw any chances of keeping his job fall early in the season as the Leafs struggled to 0-4 early on in division games.

 

It's unsure at this point who the new head coach in Rocky Mount will be, but with two solid running backs and mid season pickup Jon Query looking like a good QB, the Leafs seem ready to make a move up the division ladder.

A few weeks ago retired TE Tim Mitchell

commented here that he thought Jose Wakeman was

the best TE the league had ever seen.  Well

looking at his play in this game one would

certainly not argue.  He finished this game

with 7 receptions for 183yds and 1TD.  If only

3 more yards in the last play of the first half

and the result of this game may have been quite

different.  HB David Harley also played very

well with 80yds and a TD on 19 carries.  It's

hard to knock QB Van Egger since he sparked the

Salsibury offense to their best performance

ever against the Bees, but he only managed 14

of 35 and threw 2 Ints.  The Salisbury defense

was definitely up to task creating turnovers

and giving the offense good opportunities.  But

Burlington was able to move the ball and put up

24 points.  All in all it was a tough loss for

Salisbury but one that they easily could have

won.  Salisbury hosts Asheville next week then

close out against a tough rival Charlotte.

Thaddeus Schlotter was up against his old

mentor in this game.  And everyone was looking

to see how he would handle the pressure.  He

handled it by going 21/28 for 215yds for 2TDs. 

HB Dino Snider also answered any questions in

this game putting up his best performance of

the year with 142yds and a TD on 15 carries. 

Greg Caufield added another 73yds on 17 carries

and the Bees offense was just too much in the

end for the Popes to handle.  When the Bees got

the ball in the 4th quarter they were able to

push their way downfield with seeming ease

against a very good defense.  But no matter

about these stats, the player of the game for

Burlington was CB Chad Porter.  He tackled Jose

Wakeman on the 3 to close out the 1st half. 

Then picked off Van Egger in the endzone late

in the 4th quarter.  Tack on 5 more tackles and

you have one of the better defensive

performances you'll see.  Burlington hosts

Rocky Mount next week then closes out at

Greensboro.

 

On Burlington's second posession they came up with a big play

from HB Dino Snider who got away for a 63yd gain to the

Salisbury 11.  S Chuck Russell saved a TD on this one and

Burlington settled for a Ray Miller FG

 

With 6:29 left in the 1st Quarter
Burlington 3 at Salisbury 0

 

Early in the 2nd quarter Salisbury puts together a solid drive

mixed between running and passing capped off by a HB David

Harley 4yd TD run

 

With 10:30 left in the 2nd quarter
Burlington 3 at Salisbury 7

 

Burlington answered with their own drive wich ended in a short

51yd FG attempt.  Salisbury pounced on the good field position

and scored their second TD with a 34yd pass to TE Joese Wakeman.

 

With 4:31 left in the 2nd quarter
Burlington 3 at Salisbury 14

 

With :19 left in the first half Salisbury sits at their own

49yds line.  Van Egger hooks up with Wakeman for a 48yd pass

tackled at the 3 by CB Chad Porter as time runs out in the half.

 

At the Half
Burlington 3 at Salisbury 14

 

Burlington comes out in the 2nd half with a lot to get back. 

They shut down Salisbury on their opening posession, then answer

with a solid drive capped off by a 2yd pass to WR Leon Glenn.

 

With 9:23 left in the 3rd quarter
Burlington 10 at Salisbury 14

 

Big fumble on Burlington's next posession give Salsibury the

ball at the Bees 19yd line.  Salisbury can't move and settles

for a Damon Fox 27yd FG.

 

With 5:56 left in the 3rd quarter
Burlington 10 at Salisbury 17

 

Now it's a Salisbury turnover a CB William Excoll interception

which gives Burlington the ball at the Salisbury 17yd line.  3

plays and the Bees are in the endzone capped by a Snider 3yd

run.

 

With 3:08 left in the 3rd quarter
Burlington 17 at Salisbury 17

 

Salisbury bounces right back on their next posession with a good

mix of passing and running and finishing it off with a Damon Fox

47yd FG.

 

With 14:17 left in the 4th quarter
Burlington 17 at Salisbury 20

 

Salisbury again puts together a good drive but this time Fox

misses the 46yd FG attempt.

 

With 9:59 left in the 4th quarter
Burlington 17 at Salisbury 20

 

Burlington takes the ball after the missed FG and drives

straight downfield.  A good solid run based drive capped off by

a WR Todd Dirks 16yd TD reception.

 

With 6:41 left in the 4th quarter
Burlington 24 at Salisbury 20

 

After Salisbury fails to move the ball they force a big fumble

with 4:21 left in the game they takeover at the Burlington 27. 

First play Van Egger hooks with with Wakeman for 25yds.  Then

Egger is sacked by DT Bart Fipps for a loss of 4.  Then Egger is

picked by CB Chad Porter in the endzone for a touchback.  Porter

is the touchdown stopper.

 

With 3:07 left in the 4th quarter
Burlington 24 at Salisbury 20

 

Salisbury gets one more try and drive the ball down to

Burlington's 33 but time runs out.  If they had the Fox FG

earlier they could have gone for the win with a FG here, but no

such luck.

Final Score
Burlington 24 at Salisbury 20 

With a win this week Gastonia could have eliminated most of their competition for the final playoff spot.  But instead they ran into a Wilson Tobs team that is high on talent, but short on wins who are fighting desperately to still make the playoffs.  The first bad game Darrell Sparks has had this season going 23/51 for 201yds with 2Ints.  His main weapon WR Olav Flores was held to just 1 reception for 8yds.  It was a big step up for the Tobs defense who had been struggling against the pass and who Sparks felt like could be picked apart.  With the passing game struggling they tried to go to HB Konrad Wahler but his success was even more limited with only 11yds on 14 carries.  But despite all the offensive woes the defense kept the Pirates in the game lead by LB Chris Moxie with 3 tackles and 3 sacks.  They were able to keep good pressure on QB Derrick Smith and contain HB Ken Haslip for almost the entire game giving up the game winning touchdown drive with under a minute left in the game.  Gastonia still holds control of the wild card spot since they beat Greensboro in week 5, but it's now much closer than they wanted.  They have to travel to Winston-Salem next week where they will face a Twins team that is playing much tougher at home the second half of the season pitching shutouts in their last two home games.

 

Wilson sat in a must win situation if they had any playoff hopes left, and they were facing one of the best passing teams in the league this season with one of the worst passing defenses in the league.  But the defense came through and put up the game of their season giving the offense enough chances that they were finally able to take advantage of with under a minute left in the game when HB Ken Haslip slipped outside for a 21yd TD.  The young gun QB Derrick Smith struggled again for Wilson going 11/18 for only 80yds, but he didn't make any mistakes and did make plays when needed.  But the real story for Wilson was their defense lead by DE Rafferty Tebbs who had 2 tackles 2 sacks and 2 knockdowns.  Wilson was able to keep constant pressure on QB Darrell Sparks and disrupt his game.  Now Wilson has to go to Raleigh and beat their old head coach and old starting QB if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive.    

It's been a tough year for Tom Smythe and his new team.  But Raleigh now finds themselves attop the division with their destiny in their own hands.  "We just have to win," was what Smythe said after the game.  "To win and to play better than we did this week."  It was not the kind of win that anyone likes to see from their team.  The Capitol's offense struggled the entire game and only won because of a CB Kendall Reynolds interception returned for a touchdown.  The defense played about as well as they could play and the offense about as badly as they could play.  QB Marcus Musson had a miserable game going 11/23 for 94yds with 1TD and 2Ints.  His running support wasn't much better Broderick Hunter pitched in 12yds on 13 carries.  Fans are angry at Smythe for moving Jerry Willis over to fullback and not letting him show what he can do as a multi-dimensional back that is required for Smythe's offense to work.  When asked about this Smythe said, "it's hard to know what to do with a guy like Jerry because he can do so much for us.  Yes we need a good back out of the backfield to catch passes, but the FB is so critical to protecting Marcus in this offense and Jerry has shown us that he can do that job.  We just need Marcus to make better decisions and for our receivers to run better routes."  The defense quietly shut down one of the best passers in the league and contained the 4th best running game.  Raleigh hosts Wilson in week 11 in what Smythe says is a must win game.

 

 

If Kinston has become well known for anything it is their inability to finish the season strong.  So many fans felt that QB Marion Sorenson was going to help break that old stigma, but now as they slip into second place in the division with only 2 games left hope is starting to fade.  Sorenson struggled this week against Raleigh going 14/36 for 193yds 1TD 1Int.  Despite the tough play from the Kinston defense the offense was never able to really create any effect.  Now they need to win in Charlotte next week in order to keep pace with the Capitols, then give it everything in week 12 to take to division.  "It's there for us to take," CB Terrence Love said after the game, "we're just not taking it."  Love put up a solid game coming back from injury with 3 tackles a knockdown and an interception. 

Standings after week 10

 

Raleigh 4-6 3-1 in division
Kinston 4-6 3-2 in division
Wilson 3-7 2-2 in division
Rocky Mount 3-7 1-4 in division

 

In week 11
Wilson plays at Raleigh
Kinston plays at Charlotte
Rocky Mount plays at Burlington

 

In week 12
Wilson plays at Rocky Mount
Raleigh plays at Kinston

Rocky Mount is eliminated from the division race.

 

Wilson has to win out and have Kinston lose out in order to win the division.

 

If Raleigh loses to Wilson then Kinston has to lose in week 11, Raleigh has to win in week 12 and Wilson has to lose in week 12.  If Raleigh wins out they win the division.  If Raleigh wins in week 11 and Kinston loses in week 11, then Kinston wins in week 12, then Raleigh would have to have a higher point differential.

 

If Kinston loses in week 11 and Raleigh wins, then Kinston must win in week 12 and have a higher point differential.  If they win out they win the division.

With Rocky Mount sitting at the Durham 14yd line down 24-17 with 3:34 left in the game LB James Cunningham blasted through to sack Jon Query and put Rocky Mount into a 4th down situation.  Well with  Durham having one of the worst defenses in the league and with plenty of time left the Leafs chose to kick the field goal and hope they would manage to get the ball back.  Their plan worked and with 1:28 left in the game Jon Query stepped under center at his own 10yd line.  He would throw 4 straight incomplete passes and Durham would be back with their first win since week 3 and Rocky Mount would continue their bad season.  Durham having lost in week 9 to Gastonia were out of the running for the wild card spot and so all they had to play for was their own pride and to spoil Rocky Mount's chances at winning the Coastal Division.  It was also a look for the Durham coaches at what was working on the team and what was not.  They went back to their Week 1 lineup for the most part and things did seem to click for them in ways they hadn't since they started losing in week 4.  Perhaps the biggest surprise was the solid running they got from veteran HB Jon Handley wo had 89yds and a TD on 22 carries.  He was the key to Durham's offense.  Mark Oates brought some spark back into the passing game going 17/30 for 230yds with 1Int but it was Handley and the revived defense that made the difference in this game.  S Lee Olson who had 2 tackles and 2 interceptions, 1 for a TD, said after the game, "When the Leafs got the ball back with that much time left I have to say I was scared.  We had been giving up so many yards passing over the past 6 weeks I never thought we'd stop them."  But the defense came through.  In fact when looking at the numbers after the game one realizes that the defense really did a solid job against the pass, holding QB Jon Query to 188yds and 1TD with 2 Ints.  Durham hosts Greensboro next week where they will look to spoil their playoff hopes and work themselves just that much closer to a .500 finish on the season.

 

 

HB Sam Achor was an angry man after the loss to Durham.  Rocky Mount's opening drive of the game looked like this.  Achor up the middle for 16yds.  Achor up the middle for 35yds.  Jon Query passes to Achor for 16yds.  Query passes to TE Ira Sturman for 6yds Touchdown!  Achor wouldn't see the ball again until the 2nd quarter, and would end the game with only 15 carries and 1 reception.  He had come into this game the surprising starter ahead of mid season pickup Bernie Hall and Achor wanted to show to everyone that he deserved that role.  "I was so ready for this game.  People know that Durham has the worst pass defense in the league because that gets a lot of attention.  They also have the worst run defense and I think I showed today that I could have taken it apart, if only I had gotten the chance."  Achor would finish the game with 94yds and 1TD, but not the win that he wanted.  Not the win that any of the Leafs wanted.  It's been a troubled season for Rocky Mount with much animosity between the coaching staff and players.  Chad Rutledge is in his fourth season as head coach of the Leafs and possibly his last unless the team can rally to win the last two weeks of the season.  Rocky Mount plays at Burlington next week and then hosts Wilson to close out the season.  It's troubled times for Rutledge, but it seems like it's been that way ever since he's been at Rocky Mount.  His first season was of course the great collapse where his team came out flying high and went to 6-0, then everything fell apart and they finished 6-6.  It's been a lot of that for Rutledge and the Leafs and no one seems to know if he'll ever be able to fix it. 

Greensboro has been the only team to stay within a game of Gastonia and one of only 4 teams with winning records.  It's hard to say how they've managed this since through the first 9 weeks they had scored fewer points than any other team in the league, but no matter they did it.  Their four losses came against Burlington, Salisbury, Gastonia, and Winston-Salem.  The one game, their loss to Winston-Salem in week 8, where Greensboro didn't live up to their billing may be the one game that costs them a chance at making the playoffs.  But this week they showed Winston-Salem just how good they can be with a well balanced attack of both passing, running, and defense.  Since QB Bradford Kokotan got benched for the season after the week 8 loss to the Twins Christian Woodson has been the man in charge and he was very good in this game going 12/21 for 141yds and running for 26yds and 2 TDs.  He got great help from HB Sheridan Clarke who racked up 115yds and a TD on 21 carries.  The defense was also on top led by S Shaun Legette with 4 tackles 2 knockdowns and 1Int.  If the Patriots make the playoffs some would argue that Legette should be MVP of the league as he's been the one stable component to the Patriots all season.  Greensboro goes to Durham next week where they must win because they close the season with Burlington.

Winston-Salem came into Greensboro riding a 2 game winning streak.  Both good wins over Greensboro and Wilson, both shutouts, and both at home.  They were never a factor in this game where Greensboro seemed to be able to move the ball at will and where the Twins struggled to get any kind of offense.  QB James Martin struggled going 12/35 for 102yds with 1Int and 1 fumble.  It is the first game since he became starter where he really looked out of place.  The play of the Twins defensive line was also weak leading S Corey Harkenson to finish the game with 14 tackles.  Their line had dominated the Patriots just two weeks back, but on this day they were pushed around and manhandled for an entire 60 minutes of play.  Next week the Twins will host Gastonia where all of the league will be watching to see if they can find the home spark they had in weeks 8 and 9 and play spoiler to Gastonia's playoff hopes. 

Mathematically going into week 10 Asheville was not yet eliminated from the playoffs, but it sure seemed like it.  They had struggled over the past 3 weeks to put themselves at 3-6.  But if they could turn things around and finish 6-6 tied with Gastonia at 6-6 then they would have a chance at the wild card spot.  The first obstacle was was to beat Charlotte who has been playing in spurts as one of the better teams in the league.  Just last week they went to Rocky Mount and won 20-10 to keep their playoff hopes alive and unlike Asheville who is struggling with an aging team Charlotte is young and anxious to win.  Ashevill did not by any means dominate this game, but they did what was needed in the 4th quarter to notch a win and move into week 11 one game closer to .500.  Erik Waters had a solid game 11/19 for 128yds, but as he has for much of the season struggled to really get any offense going.  Marshall Moss as well struggled 23 carries for 63yds with 1TD does not represent the sluggish day he had.  The only real standout on offense was HB Brett Stinson who had 4 carries for 72yds and has shown all season an ability to break big plays.  The real key to this win though came from the defense who picked Royce Scott twice, once was a Chris Carlson game winner with 2:44 left in the game.  Sitting in good position to put the game away Carlson intercepted a Scott pass on the 8yd line and returned it 92yds for the game winning touchdown.  Next week Asheville has to travel to Salisbury where they should see an end to their season, but they will be trying as best they can to keep themselves close to Gastonia for their big week 12 matchup.

Charlotte had lost both games to Gastonia this season and came into week 10 with a must win situation.  If they lost the best they could finish would be tied with Gastonia at 6-6 and Gastonia would take the tie breaker.  Everything looked set for the win up 10-7 with under 3 minutes in the game deep in Asheville territory when Chris Carlson picked off Royce Scott at the 8 and went all 92yds for a touchdown.  Scott hadn't had a bad game, 29/48 for 320yds with 2Ints, but such a mistake that late in the game erased all memories of the 300+ yds he threw.  Perhaps the big question on the day is why Kelving Ingram 10 carries for 61yds and a TD and Tony Sessions 4 carries for 23yds didn't see the ball more.  Scott has never been seen as a big time passer but the entire game seemed to be riding on his shoulders in this one.  He got good support from TE Cash Johnson 9reception for 84yds and WR Troy Good 6 recemptions for 75yds, but in the end the weight seemed too much for Scott to handle.  A good solid game from the Charlotte defense went for naught as Charlotte watched their playoff hopes go down.  Charlotte hosts Kinston next week where they can play spoiler to the Eagles bid to make the playoffs.