James Kenan running back Tyquise Wilson, left, shakes off Roanoke Rapids linebacker Terrell Ham during early-game action Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
James Kenan defensive end Cal Avent (9) wraps up Roanoke Rapids running back Bobby Hawkins Jr. for a two-yard loss. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
James Kenan’s Keshawn Murray returns an interception 30 yards to the end zone during fourth-quarter play Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Roanoke Rapids running back Bobby Hawkins Jr., left, can’t escape from the paws of James Kenan linebacker Hassan Kornegay. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
WARSAW — On a night when James Kenan’s offense didn’t hum like a fine-tuned engine, its defense — particularly Keshawn Murray and Tyquise Wilson — provided the spark.
The duo combined for back-to-back “pick sixes” and helped the Tigers eliminate Roanoke Rapids, 35-13, in round one of the NC High School Athletic Association Class 2A football playoffs Friday evening.
James Kenan (10-1 overall) continues play next Friday at fifth-seeded Martin County. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
“You live to see another week, round two coming up,” Tigers head coach Tim Grady said in the post-game huddle. “We’ve got to clean up a lot of things across the board on both sides of the ball. We’re going to get this thing back on track.”
An offense that chewed up opposing defenses in recent weeks sputtered to find consistency against a bigger and physical Yellow Jacket defensive line. David “Cito” Zeleya missed the game, while CJ Smith sat out due to an injury.
The absence of those two offensive weapons shortened the playbook, which forced Grady to employ a “grind-it-out” style of offense. The scheme led to a steady diet of handoffs from quarterback Eli Avent to Josh Mitchell and Jeremiah Hall.
Avent guided the Tigers into the end zone on three occasions. However, the offense misfired on a couple of possessions where costly penalties put Kenan behind the chains.
“They were a lot harder than anticipated, they fought you to the end,” Grady said. “You balled through it, you never put your head down and great things happened when you did it.”
Kenan led 21-13 after three quarters.
The Tigers opened the final period with a second-down play inside the Yellow Jackets’ 45-yard line. They picked up a first down after an illegal shift penalty, but lost first-down yardage on a costly holding infraction.
Three plays later, Grady’s team punted.
Enter Murray.
Called up from the JV with two weeks left in regular-season play, the sophomore picked off RR quarterback Carson Duncan at the 30-yard line. He weaved through several tacklers and waltzed into the end zone.
Less than two minutes later, Wilson intercepted Duncan. His pick six covered 49 yards.
“How about Keshawn?” Grady said. “What a great little athlete he is. Tyquise played his butt off. Cal Avent … the list goes on … they didn’t come off the field and that’s the part I don’t think people realized [tonight].”
Kenan received the opening kickoff and put together a 74-yard scoring drive. A key fourth-down conversion set up a short 5-yard scoring burst for Josh Mitchell.
Jeremiah Hall’s 8-yard scamper pushed the Tigers ahead 14-0 before the Yellow Jackets’ Bobby Hawkins Jr. answered with a five-yard plunge.
Grady’s team fumbled the ensuing kickoff, but the defense logged a red-zone stop at the RR 20. Ty Morrisey wrapped up Hawkins Jr. at the line of scrimmage to force a turnover on downs.
Avent’s 1-yard dive extended Kenan’s lead to 21-7 midway through the third quarter. Hawkins Jr. responded with a 17-yard gallop with 35.6 seconds to go after an unsportsmanlike penalty revived a stalled possession.
“[Our] defense had to stay on the field a lot,” Grady said. “Those guys [Roanoke Rapids] put some long drives together and hat’s off to them for the way they turned some things into points. I liked the way they [our guys] warred through it.
“I talked to their coach and told them they are battle tested in the conference they came out of where they’ve had teams running right at them. In no way, shape or form, did we overlook this team because we knew they were going to be a physical team. They were a hard team to move up front.”
Seeded 12th, James Kenan collected the program’s 46th postseason win since 1972, according to NCHSAA online records. The Tigers are 3-4 in opening-round games in seven postseason trips since 2016.
You may reach sports writer Rudy Coggins at prepswriter2@gmail.com or call/text 919-709-9257.
James Kenan 35, Roanoke Rapids 13
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
JK — Mitchell 5 run (Gomez kick), 7:32
Second Quarter
JK — Hall 8 run (Gomez kick), 11:20
RR — Hawkins Jr. 5 run (Elias kick), 6:54
Third Quarter
K — E. Avent 1 run (Gomez kick), 5:32
RR — Hawkins Jr. 17 run (kick failed), 0:35.6
Fourth Quarter
JK — Murray 30 INT (Gomez kick), 8:22
JK — Wilson 49 INT (Gomez kick), 6:09
