Southeast Raleigh's C.J. Okwara stays ahead of the Southern Durham defense on a 27-yard touchdown run. JOHNNY JOHNSON - newsobserver.com
See a photo gallery from the game.
By TIM CANDON
Correspondent
RALEIGH - Southeast Raleigh picked the most opportune time to play its most complete game of the season.
The Bulldogs dominated Southern Durham on both sides of the ball and dismantled the Spartans 38-7 Friday night in the second round of the NCHSAA 4-A playoffs. Southeast (10-3) will advance to play New Bern in the next round.
“That is the first time we played a complete game,” said Southeast coach Daniel Finn. “Offensively, we wanted to keep the chains moving. We knew they were fast and the big plays would probably be slim. Defensively, on the tape we saw they had trouble moving down the field, so we tried to be patient and put them in long fields and make them make mistakes.”
The Bulldogs took a 17-0 lead in the first half. Sumner Tate kicked a 24-yard field goal and Dominique Jackson scored on a 32-yard run in the first quarter, and quarterback David Washington threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Sandy Chapman in the second.
Though ahead comfortably, Southeast buried the Spartans (6-7) late in the third quarter. Following a 12-play, 5:04 drive that ended with a turnover on downs in the red zone, Southeast linebacker Terrell Richardson intercepted a pass on the ensuing Southern play and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown and 24-0 lead.
The Spartans, who had won six in a row entering the night, didn’t do themselves any favors with 65 penalty yards and another 13 plays that lost a total of 84 yards.
