WENDELL, N.C. — Friday night’s matchup between East Wake and Knightdale was a battle of two teams searching for an identity.

Both teams were coming off a loss in week one. The Warriors are searching for their first winning season since 2015. The Knights are trying to bring a roster full of sophomores up to varsity speed by throwing them into the fire.

It was East Wake who took a step in the right direction in the battle of the Dell/Dale, coming away with a 27-26 victory.

“It’s a great feeling, we worked hard,” Warriors’ head coach Travis Harrison said about win No. 1. “We had terrible conditions, but we made it pay off with what we could do.”

The Warriors’ defense came up with a stop on the final play of the game, knocking a hail mary pass attempt out of the air as the horn sounded.

It was a frenzy back-and-forth fourth quarter that saw East Wake’s defense get critical stops after the Knights pulled the game to within one. Knightdale pulled within one on a touchdown pass from Jamel Perry to Le’Erick Cooper, then recovered the onside kick to set up the dramatic final drive of the game.

East Wake’s defense, which had given up big plays on the ground and through the air, made some stops.

“It’s like every high school (players) dream,” Warriors’ defensive lineman Donovan Willis said. “Ten seconds left, fourth down. All I was thinking was we have to stop them. I didn’t want to be in my bed thinking we could have won, I wanted to leave it all on the field.”

East Wake (1-1) led by one, 13-12, at the break. The Warriors started their last drive of the second quarter on the 17-yard line. East Wake moved into Knightdale (0-2) territory thanks to the legs of Maurice Maloy.

Maloy broke down the Knights’ defense, breaking containment for big games. Maloy’s arm covered the final 45 yards of the scoring drive. First he found Terry Ellis for a gain of 30 yards, moving into the redzone with 43 seconds remaining.

On the next play Maloy hit Jamal Taybron for a 20-yard touchdown.

Both of Knightdale’s first-half scores came on the ground. On their first drive of the game, Jon Jones scored from nine yards away. East Wake answered on the ensuing possession, going on a long, methodical drive, capped off by a six-yard score by Maloy. The extra point gave East Wake a 7-6 advantage.

On the first drive of the second quarter, Knightdale overcame a fourth and six, a fourth and 11, and fourth and two and a fourth and seven – Perry to Rashuan Covington for a big gain – ending the drive on a six-yard score from Perry. The conversion failed to make it 12-6 in favor of the Knights.

Knightdale’s defense came out ready to play, forcing a turnover on downs by East Wake to start the second half. Perry, one of several sophomores in the Knights’ lineup, converted a fourth and nine and a third and 14 with his legs, moving the ball to the Warriors five.

Once they reached the five, however, the Knightdale drive stalled with a pair of consecutive incomplete passes.

East Wake took advantage. On their first play from the six-yard line, Maloy and Taybron connected again, this time covering 96 yards for the score. Maloy scored the conversion to make it 21-12 in favor of the Warriors.

Knightdale wasted no time moving back into the redzone, reaching the East Wake 16 after three straight runs, including å pair of angry runs by Jones.

Malachi Harris dropped Perry for a loss on first down and Jones rushed for no gain on second down, forcing a third and 10 from the 10. On the next play Perry connected with Jaylen Knight for a 10-yard score. The conversion failed and the Warriors remained in front, 21-18.

Knightdale failed to convert a fourth and short to start the fourth, and playing copy cat, East Wake did the same on their ensuing possession.

The Warriors defense forced a punt on the next Knights’ possession. East Wake started their drive on the Knightdale 28 with 6:47 remaining and a three point lead. Batts had two runs into the redzone. Nelson Ruffin had a solid carry for a positive gain and Maloy took the next play to the five to set up first and goal. Ruffin took it down to the two and Maloy finished off the drive with a three-yard score with 2:45 remaining.

The conversion failed, but East Wake led 27-18.

Knightdale quickly moved to the Warriors’ 40 after a penalty. Perry hit Zayshaun Bennett for a big gain, then found Cooper, another sophomore for a long touchdown. Perry scored the conversion himself, pulling the Knights within one, 27-26, with 2:06 remaining.

Knightdale got the break they needed, recovering the onside kick on the 50. They made it onto East Wake’s side of the field fairly quickly, but the Warriors’ defense made the crucial stop in the endzone to secure the win.

East Wake will take on Rolesville next week on the road. For now, the team will celebrate, posing under the scoreboard after a win over their neighbors from down highway 64.

“I hope this catapults us for the rest of the season,” Harrison said. “We have to keep the guys centered and focused.”

Source: highschoolot.com