LAURINBURG — There were plenty of perplexing mistakes, costly penalties and missed opportunities in Wednesday’s “Family Feud” football game between Carver and Spring Hill middle schools.
But Carver found a way to win and advance to the conference championship next week against Rockingham. That’s all head coach James McLean could ask for.
“We’re made for games like this, we’re built for games just like this,” McLean said after his Eagles won 20-8. “As much love as there is between Carver and Spring Hill, there’s some football animosity between the white lines. Anytime you get a team that’s seven miles down the road, and all these kids grew up together, played Parks and Rec together, you’re going to get games like this.
“It’s not going to be a clean game,” he added. “The kids were trying so hard to win, trying so hard to impress, and sometimes they don’t dot every ‘I’ and cross every ‘T’. The key is we continue to win football games on a consistent basis. That’s what I feel we do best.”
Spring Hill struck first in the opening quarter, when quarterback Jisan McPhatter threw a touchdown pass to Martrice McRae. The Spartans’ 2-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful.
That was the only score of the first half. Both offenses struggled in the second quarter. The Eagles looked out of sync, losing two fumbles in the second period.
“We told the guys to exhale,” McLean said. “We were so tight in the first half. We were the better football team.”
Carver’s Latrell Martin scored on a short run in the third quarter, and he carried it in again on a 2-point conversion run to give the Eagles an 8-6 lead. Following a turnover on downs by Spring Hill, Martin scored another touchdown. Carver held a 14-6 lead after a failed 2-point attempt.
Later in the third quarter, a botched Spring Hill snap sailed into the end zone, and the loose ball was recovered by Carver for a touchdown. The Eagles led 20-6 after coming up short on another 2-point attempt.
Carver’s Joshua Adams grabbed an interception early in the fourth quarter. But the Eagles took a safety after a bad snap rolled backwards into the end zone, where it was recovered by a Carver player. That made the score 20-8.
The Eagles will face Rockingham in the league championship game next Wednesday at Pate Stadium. The kickoff time will be published when it is made available.
Cain’s thoughts
As usual, both schools had plenty of supporters in the stands at Pate Stadium.
“These are your future Fighting Scots,” Spring Hill coach Ed Cain said. “It’s always good when the only two middle schools in the county come together, and all of them are future Scots. It means a great deal to me and the Spring Hill family.”
After Wednesday’s game, Cain and the Spartans had some time to reflect on how much they’ve improved this year.
“We came out here in the first game of the season against Blenheim, and we fell short,” Cain said. “But then we went back and we started grinding. We started working hard. And we won the rest of our games.”
The Spartans have a strong nucleus of players returning next season.
“We have a few eighth graders that will be coming over here (to Scotland High). We have a few eighth-graders that I think can make it at (the high school level). For our seventh graders, we have a big group coming back, and I’m really proud of what they’ve done.”
