Third-ranked Rams roll past Pam Pack
Published 11:45 pm Friday, September 28, 2012
Washington fans packed out J.G. “Choppy” Wagner Stadium in hopes of seeing the Pam Pack pull off a homecoming upset against defending state champions and Coastal Conference rival Havelock. However, there would be no Disney-style ending for Washington as it fell 34-7 to the Rams.
What started out as beautiful night with a great atmosphere transformed into a nightmare by the second half as quarterback Jimmy Williams, who was named homecoming king at halftime, left in the third quarter with a shoulder injury and another Pam Pack player left the stadium on a stretcher.
The Pam Pack (4-3, 1-2) were already playing without senior DE/TE/P Jack Rodman (knee) and leading rusher Mark Spencer (ankle) and the offense just could not match points with high-powered Havelock (6-1, 3-0), the No. 3 ranked 3-A team in the state.
Led by star QB Pharoh Cooper, who committed to South Carolina, the Rams racked up 307 rushing yards and three scores on 21 attempts and passed for another 158 yards and a TD to top Washington.
“They make big plays, they make them on every team,” Washington coach Sport Sawyer said. “We tried to limit them but they have some phenomenal athletes and they made big plays.”
The Rams struck early as Cooper connected on a 31-yard pass to C.J. Lindsey that help set up a Derrell Scott 7-yard TD run on the first drive of the game.
Havelock would score again on its second drive when Taylor Woods broke off a 22-yard run to take a 14-0 lead with 3:17 remaining in the first.
The Rams added two more scores in the second quarter as Cooper sprinted through the middle of the Pack defense for a 67-yard TD run and threw a 32-yard scoring strike to London Duvall to take a 28-0 lead into the break.
Washington, who ran for 288 yards on 37 attempts, countered with some lengthy drives but could not complete them.
“We were moving the ball but then they loaded the box so we tried to do some different things but we just couldn’t,” Sawyer said. “That’s just very frustrating.”
In the third quarter the Pam Pack pieced together l0-play drive but it stalled out inside the Havelock 20.
It was during that drive that Williams was knocked out of the game.
“Somebody shot a gap and hit Jimmy in his shoulder,” Sawyer said.
The Rams retaliated with a lengthy drive of their own which was ended by a Cooper 1-yard TD run that pushed their lead to 34-0.
In the fourth quarter Washington was able to put points on the board as Stevie Green crossed the goal line from two yards out at the 9:47 mark.
Havelock 14 14 6 0 — 34
Washington 0 0 0 7 —
HHS WHS
First downs 11 11
Rushes-yards 21-307 37-288
Comp-att-int 8-12-0 3-5-0
Passing yards 158 39
Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 6-50 3-35
Punts 0-0 2-29
Scoring Summary
H — Derrell Scott 7 run (Dylan Baker kick failed), 10:06, 1st.
H — Taylor Woods 22 run (Pharoh Cooper two points), 3:17, 1st.
H — Cooper 67 run (Baker kick), 7:39, 2nd.
H — London Duvall 32 pass from Cooper (Baker kick), 4:15, 2nd.
H — Cooper 1 run (kick failed), 2:24, 3rd.
W — Stevie Green 2 run (Will Cutler kick), 9:47, 2nd.