By By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
ROBERSONVILLE — When Savion Hudson corralled Forrest Monty’s pass, Roanoke’s third and most important interception of the game, the Roanoke Redskins could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The No. 7 seed Redskins (10-4) held off a furious rally by the No. 11 seed Perquimans Pirates (7-7) for a 24-18 victory in the third round of the NCHSAA Class 1-A state playoffs on a frigid Friday night at Nolan Respess Stadium.
It’s Paschal’s first trip to an East Regional as head coach. He was the offensive coordinator with Williamston during its 1995 state championship run.
Roanoke, which has won seven straight over the Pirates, including a 36-28 come-from-behind victory during the regular season, will meet fourth-ranked and top seed Plymouth (14-0) in next week’s East Regional championship game. The Vikings, who clobbered Jones Senior 54-0 for their third straight shutout win in the playoffs, topped Roanoke 44-14 during the regular season.
The Redskins wasted little time in finding the end zone Friday night as they scored on their first possession. Lakendrick Baker did the scoring honors, scooting in on a 5-yard run. The play was set up by runs of 27 yards by quarterback Alonza Higgs, 17 yards by Kenneth Hyman and 12 by Hudson. Hudson’s 2-point conversion run gave the Redskins an 8-0 lead.
Roanoke threatened again three series later, getting as close as the Perquimans 5. However, Higgs lost the ball on a fumble.
Higgs, who clicked on 4-of-5 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown, atoned for the mistake by hitting Tyreck Cooper with a 48-yard scoring strike with 38 seconds left in the first half. Hudson tacked on the conversion run for a 16-0 advantage.
The Pirates were able to score just before the half thanks to a 70-yard kickoff return by Doug Frierson.
Monty, who ran for 64 yards and two scores on 10 carries, capped the short drive with a 1-yard plunge to make it 16-6.
Kenneth Hyman, who had two interceptions in the game, snagged a tipped ball to set up Roanoke in scoring position late in the third.
After a 31-yard strike from Higgs to Hudson, Baker scored his second touchdown on an 18-yard burst up the middle. Higgs scored the 2-point conversion for a 24-6 lead.
It appeared Roanoke had the game well in hand, leading 24-6 with some six minutes to play. But the Pirates were able to rally.
Pequimans took advantage of a 3-yard shanked punt by the Redskins and scored on Monty’s 5-yard keeper with 3:44 remaining to pull within 24-12.
Following a Roanoke punt, Monty hit Nate Downing with a 52-yard scoring strike as Downing made a number of nifty moves to break tackles en route to the end zone. The score pulled the Pirates within 24-18 with 56 seconds showing on the clock.
Perquimans then recovered an onside kick. After Monty was sacked for an 8-yard loss, a personal foul on the Redskins gave the Pirates the ball at the Roanoke 40 with 31 seconds to play.
Monty hit Lamar Whidbee for a 10-yard completion to the Roanoke 30. After two incompletions, Hudson picked off the next pass to seal the win for the Redskins.
Hudson led a balanced rushing attack for Roanoke, going for 75 yards on 15 carries. Higgs added 61 yards on 11 attempt, while Baker had 56 yards and the two scores on eight totes.
Jamel Warren had a game-high 110 yards on 19 carries in a losing effort.
The Redskins forced five Perquimans turnovers. Along with Hyman’s two interceptions and Hudson’s pickoff, Tavin Sheppard and Casey Manning came up with fumble recoveries.
The Redskins now turn their attention to a rematch with the Vikings.
Perquimans Roanoke
20 First Downs 15
44-238 Rushes-Yards 36-205
86 Passing Yards 104
27-4-3 Pass-Comp-Int 5-4-0
3-26.3 Punting 6-28.0
4-2 Fumbles-Lost 3-2
9-51 Penalties 13-112
Perquimans 0 6 0 12 — 18
Roanoke 8 8 8 0 — 24
Scoring Summary
R — Lakendrick Baker 5 run (Savion Hudson run), 1st, 7:13
R — Tyreck Cooper 48 pass from Alonza Higgs (Hudson run), 2nd, 0:38
P — Forrest Monty 1 run (kick failed), 2nd, 0:02
R — Baker 18 run (Higgs run), 3rd, 0:42
P — Monty 5 run (pass failed), 4th, 3:44
P — Nate Downing 52 pass from Monty (pass failed), 4th, 0:56