Winston Salem Mt Tabor 36
Alexander Central 7
In the end, the better team won but Alexander Central made some uncharacteristic mistakes that made the score look a bit different that what the eye-test revealed in watching the game.
Mt Tabor jumped on top 14-0 in the first quarter and it looked liked the first round playoff matchup would be the rout some expected. Alexander Central had other ideas. The Cougars had chances to make the game quite different. AC moved the ball in the first half getting inside the Spartan 20 before turning it over on downs and coughing up a fumble that stifled another promising drive.
The Cougars would put together a 17-play, 92 yard drive to pull to within 14-7 when Cameron Lackey found the end zone on the final play of the fist half. The visitors from Taylorsville were down by only a touchdown as the teams went to the break.
Alexander Central received the second half kick and picked up a first down before a bad exchange between quarterback Lance Justice and Ryheem Craig resulted in a fumble. Mt Tabor scored in 3 plays to go up 21-7.
The Cougars mounted another drive that moved inside the Mt Tabor 20. It ended on 4th down when Kobe Burns-Ceasar failed to to get a foot down in end zone on 4th down. From that point on, the undefeated Spartans would dominate adding two scores including a 76 yard fun by Brian McIntyre early in the fourth quarter.
AC concludes the season with a record of 5-3. Mt Tabor, moves to the second round and will host Weddington next Friday in a battle of undefeated teams.
Cameron Lackey led the Cougar offense with a season high 125 yards on 14 carries including a touchdown. Ryheem Craig concluded a stellar season with 11 tackles.
Other area scores
2A West
No. 1 Hendersonville 42, No. 8 Bunker Hill 14
No. 3 Mount Pleasant 21, No. 6 West Lincoln 20
No. 4 Shelby 42 No. 5 Walkertown 6
2AA West
No. 6 Burns 13, No. 3 Hibriten 12
No. 5 Oak Grove 17 No .4 Ashe County 12
No. 7 Salisbury 52, No. 2 Maiden 12
3AA West
No. 8 Dudley 28, No. 1 Watauga 8
3A West
No. 4 Charlotte Catholic 28 No 5 Crest 21
No. 3 Kings Mountain 48 No 6 Concord Robinson 6
4A West
4A West
No. 5 Durham Hillside 42, No. 4 South Caldwell 26