North Duplin’s Brendan Reyna, with ball, runs behind blocker Bryan Zambrano on his way to the end zone against Hobbton Friday.. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin quarterback Luke Kelly (9) looks toward the sideline during first-half action against Hobbton. Kelly directed the Rebels to touchdowns on nine consecutive possessions. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Carell Phillips gets stopped, this time, by Hobbton middle linebacker Steven Aguilar (20) Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Hobbton receiver Ashawd Wynn gets sandwiched between three North Duplin defenders, including Ethan Turnage (right). (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s DuJuan Armwood tries to break free from Hobbton’s Steven Aguilar. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
CALYPSO — Victory is like an aged wine — it’s years in the making and moments in the tasting.
North Duplin sampled that delectable nectar of triumph and earned a share of its first Carolina 1A regular-season football championship since 2017 Friday evening.
Carell Phillips delivered a career-high four touchdowns, including a 76-yard kickoff return to the house, during a 63-34 shootout over Hobbton at H.E. Grubbs Field. Co-owners of the Carolina title with Lakewood, the Rebels are the league’s No. 2 seed for the postseason.
The NC High School Athletic Association will release the pairings late Saturday afternoon.
“I told the kids a few weeks ago that just because you lost the first one [in conference] doesn’t count you out,” said ND assistant head coach Brad Rhodes. “I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of four conference championships and two of them, we lost the first game of conference [season] and we were able to fight our way back into it.
“We just challenged them to come back every single week, go 1-0 each week and we’ve done that three weeks in a row.”
This one had a little extra meaning.
Rhodes face-timed with head coach Hugh Martin as he headed toward the post-game huddle. The players celebrated and proudly displayed “Beat Hobbton” T-shirts they wore underneath their game jerseys.
Martin has missed the last two games because his wife, Donna, is fighting an illness at Duke University Hospital.
“[The win] is fantastic,” said a misty-eyed Rhodes. “He’s a super special person to our program, our community … anybody who has ever been involved in North Duplin football or North Duplin High School and Miss Donna is the same way because she taught most of these kids in kindergarten.
“The battle that she’s going through, these kids have been there for him every step of the way. The coaching staff has stepped up. Just seeing it come together for them is super special.”
Hobbton had won five straight in the series.
Their quest for No. 6 started with an 85-yard scoring drive that ended with Reginald Thompson’s 1-yard dive.
Phillips took over.
The sophomore fullback tallied touchdowns on runs of 23 and 44 yards, which put North Duplin ahead to stay. The Wildcats closed to within 15-14 on Ashawn Wynn’s 20-yard TD catch from senior quarterback Cole Weeks.
The Rebels scored the next 28 points.
Brendan Reyna started the offensive surge with a 45-yard run. DuJuan Armwood provided TD runs of 52 and 22 yards. Phillips capped the outburst with his second-half, kickoff return.
“People key on DuJuan, obviously he’s a very talented back,” Rhodes said. “Carell is young and he’s still learning some things, but he’s special when he gets the football in his hands and we’re very fortunate to have him. He gets better each and every week.
“Tonight, we needed a big spark from him and he gave it to us a couple of times.”
Phillips’ final touchdown covered 49 runs.
Armwood finished with three TD romps and quarterback Luke Kelly added a 4-yard plunge of his own late in the third period.
Rhodes applauded the Rebels’ offensive execution.
However, he gushed over his defense that turned three turnovers into touchdowns and created three additional turnovers on downs. Two fourth-down stops in the opening half allowed North Duplin (8-2 overall, 3-1 Carolina 1A) to create some breathing room.
“They do a good job with their offense and their game plan,” Rhodes said. “We knew we had to execute and then we also knew we had to have great effort and we did that tonight … every time we were on the field. That’s all we ask for is to be in the right spot, give tremendous effort.
“That’s what they did tonight and it paid off for us.”
North Duplin 63, Hobbton 34
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
H — Thompson 1 run (pass failed), 9:49
ND — Phillips 23 run (Reyna kick), 6:35
ND — Phillips 44 run (Armwood run), 3:06
H — Wynn 20 pass from Weeks (Thompson run), 1:54
Second Quarter
ND — Reyna 45 run (Reyna kick), 11:06
ND — Armwood 52 run (Reyna kick), 8:42
ND — Armwood 22 run (Reyna kick), 0:17.5
Third Quarter
ND — Phillips 76 kickoff return (Reyna kick), 11:49
H — Aguilar 14 run (Blackman kick), 10:19
ND — Phillips 49 run (Reyna kick), 8:41
ND — Armwood 76 run (Reyna kick), 4:10
ND — Kelly 4 run (kick failed), 1:41
Fourth Quarter
H — Weeks 3 run (conversion failed), 10:32
H — Aguilar 3 run (Blackman kick), 0:25.4
