By By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
Sport Sawyer certainly didn’t mind the ice shower Friday night.
Sawyer led his Washington Pam Pack to a 34-25 victory over the Havelock Rams in Friday’s N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 3-A first-round playoff game at J.G. “Choppy” Wagner Stadium. The No. 7 seed Pack (8-4) churned out 304 yards on the ground to run past the No. 10 seed Rams (8-4) and into the second round.
The playoff win was Washington’s first since the 1999 season and Sawyer’s first as head coach with the Pam Pack.
Washington faces the No. 2 seed West Craven Eagles (12-0), a 45-21 winner over Bertie, in second-round action next Friday night. The Pack fell 16-6 to West Craven on Oct. 10.
Washington’s win over Havelock, which lost its final three games of the season, was the second in the last three weeks. The Pack took a 21-14 victory two weeks ago in regular-season play.
The Pack was able to overcome four lost fumbles in a game that was played in foggy and soggy conditions.
Washington scored twice in a 33-second span to build what seemed like a comfortable 34-13 lead. However, Havelock quarterback Danny Webster Jr. tried to lead his team to a valiant comeback. The sophomore, who threw for 181 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 104 yards on 15 carries, fired TD strikes of 10 and 86 yards in the final four minutes to make things interesting.
Justin Meekins pounced on a Havelock onside kick with 1:37 to play, sealing the victory for Washington.
Tony Turnage led Washington’s ground attack with 118 yards and two scores on 16 carries. The junior scored on runs of 32 and 9 yards.
Dakuan Spencer added 88 yards and a touchdown on 14 totes, while Donte Moore chipped in with 35 yards and a score on two tries.
The Rams jumped out to an early 7-0 lead when Mike Henderson, who had 59 yards on 11 carries, scored on a 30-yard burst on Havelock’s opening drive.
The Pack answered two series later on a 1-yard dive by Spencer, his 15th touchdown of the season. Donte Moore’s 20-yard sprint, and runs of 11 and 10 yards by quarterback Austin Thompson set up the score.
Turnage capped off the second drive with a 9-yard run, giving the Pack a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter. Spencer’s nifty 37-yard jaunt, highlighted by a spin-move to get clear of a defender, got Washington into scoring territory.
Washington, taking advantage of a costly Havelock penalty, went up 20-7 midway through the third. Meekins had kicked a 26-yard field goal to make it 17-7, but a Rams defender plowed into the Pam Pack kicker, giving Washington an automatic first down inside the Havelock 5-yard line.
The Pack took the three points off the board and got six instead when Thompson (4-of-10 for 33 yards) hit Mike Godley with a 5-yard bullet in the end zone.
Webster’s first TD toss less than three minutes later made it 20-13.
Washington increased its lead to 34-13 with a pair of scores in 33 seconds. Donte Moore scooted into the end zone from 15 yards out to make it 27-13.
After a Melvin Spruill interception, Turnage raced in from 32 yards out for a 34-13 advantage.
Webster hit Robbie Hollister with a 10-yard score, and then Alex Bell with an 86-yard strike on fourth-and-8 to pull the Rams within 34-25. That was as close as the Rams would get.
Havelock Washington
14 First Downs 20
30-149 Rushes-Yards 45-304
192 Passing Yards 33
20-12-2 Pass-Comp-Int 10-4-0
6-30.3 Punting 3-40.7
3-0 Fumbles-Lost 5-4
9-74 Penalties 6-65
Havelock 7 0 6 12 — 25
Washington 0 14 6 14 — 34
Scoring Summary
H – Mike Henderson 30 run (Tylor Cooper kick), 9:10, 1st
W – Dakuan Spencer 1 run (Justin Meekins kick), 10:55, 2nd
W – Tony Turnage 9 run (Meekins kick), 4:59, 2nd
W – Austin Thompson 5 pass to Mike Godley (kick failed), 6:31, 3rd
H – Danny Webster Jr. 26 pass to Andrew McCamish (kick failed), 3:16, 2nd
W – Donte Moore 15 run (Meekins kick), 10:18, 4th
W – Turnage 32 run (Meekins kick), 9:45, 4th
H – Webster Jr. 10 pass to Robbie Hollister (pass failed), 3:20, 4th
H – Webster Jr. 86 pass to Alex Bell (pass failed), 1:38, 4th