Top Three: Sweet shows off versatility in Raiders victory

Published 6:48 pm Monday, September 12, 2022

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8-man football lends itself to gaudy offensive performances, but Pungo Christian Academy senior Connor Sweet raised the bar even higher Friday night.

Northside rolled over winless South Creek, while Southside took a tough loss at home to Riverside in a battle of unbeaten teams.

Washington had the night off.

  1. Conner Sweet-the PCA senior caught three touchdown passes, ran for two more and returned an interception for a score in the Raiders 68-34 home rout of Community Christian of Wilson. Sweet totaled 306 all-purpose yards, 192 receiving, 83 rushing and 31 on kick returns. He also found time to make 11 tackles on defense as the Raiders evened their record at 2-2.
  1. Tequon (Tater) Moore-the Southside junior turned in a well-rounded performance in the Seahawks 23-20 loss to Riverside. He ran for 92 yards on 18 carries, including nine and two-yard scoring runs, made two spectacular catches, one leaping and the other diving, on the way to 206 all-purpose yards. He also played solid defense in the secondary.
  1. Marcus Clayton-the Northside senior totaled 123 yards on nine rushing attempts and scored one of the six rushing touchdowns as the Panthers dominated winless South Creek, 49-0. Northside had 289 yards rushing on only 27 carries as they raised their record to 2-2.

Best of the rest: Northside: Carson Clinkscales had a rushing touchdown, caught Hunter Chrismon’s only pass for a 16-yard score and contributed eight tackles, including one for loss. Fullback Jamie Corprew scored three touchdowns and totaled 44 yards rushing, while Landon Cahoon scored the other touchdown. Gus Vansant led the defense with nine tackles, while T.J. Squires contributed eight. Max Vansant, Caden Cullipher and Elijah Holloway had seven. Three of Holloway’s went for a loss. Jayvian O’Neal had six, including two for loss, while Landon Buck had a sack. Kicker Chase Tomaini was 7-7 on extra point attempts.

Southside: Freshman fullback Brian Salinas ran for 116 yards on 15 carries. Jacob Taylor led the defense with 5.5 tackles, including four solo and one for a loss. Senior Xavier Ham intercepted a Riverside pass.

PCA: Freshman quarterback Austin Gibbs was 5-10 passing for 192 yards with three touchdowns, including a 67-yarder to Sweet. He also ran 15 times for 81 yards, including a 54-yard scoring jaunt. Quay Artis ran for a 59-yard touchdown and recovered three Community Christian fumbles. Luke Ross and Ben Russell each had 10 tackles.

The Raiders are at Columbia HS (0-2) Friday. Northside hosts Rosewood (1-3), while Eastern Wayne (1-3) visits Washington. Southside has the week off.