Wilkes Central stuns Lexington in first round of playoffs

Fri. November 04, 2011 at 11:00 p.m. | By Jason Queen

Lexington running back Marquez Grayson breaks free to score a touchdown as teammate London Cook trails behind him against Wilkes Central in the first half of their game Friday night. (Photo by Donnie Roberts/The Dispatch)

WILKESBORO | Lexington and Wilkes Central lined up for a good, old-fashioned shootout Friday night in Wilkesboro.
The Eagles just had one too many rounds.
Dustin Triplett scored on a 5-yard run with 1:22 left to play, then plowed in for the 2-point conversion to give Central a heart-stopping 35-34 win in the first round of the 2-A state playoffs. Lexington had one final chance, driving into Eagle territory with 13 seconds left. But C.J. Woodberry’s pass went off a receiver’s hand and was intercepted, sending the shocked Jackets on a long bus ride home.
The final call, to go for the 2-point conversion and win rather than kick the PAT and force overtime, didn’t shock Lexington coach Joe Gaddis at all.
“They couldn’t stop us, and they knew that,” Gaddis said. “I would’ve gone for two in that same situation.”
Wilkes Central coach Jeremy Funderburk, despite calling timeout twice between the touchdown and the conversion, agreed.
“There was no way in the world, when we scored down here, that we were not gonna put the offense on the field and give it to 18 (Triplett),” Funderburk said. “There was no question. The only question was which play.”
From the second quarter on, it didn’t appear the Jackets would have to worry about a late touchdown. Leading 14-7 to start the second half, Woodberry made his first pass of the night count. He hit a wide open Marquell White on a perfect play-action pass for a 55-yard score and a 21-7 lead. At that point, the Jackets were rolling.
“We felt good, but they’ve got a great offensive football team,” Gaddis admitted. “We knew we had to continue scoring, and get some stops.
“To their credit, every time we scored and seemed to get somewhat comfortably ahead, although I was never comfortable, they came right back and scored pretty quickly.”
Indeed. The Eagles countered with a seven-play drive highlighted with some trickery. Jordan Carlton hit Zach Joines for a 31-yard touchdown on a halfback pass on third-and-eight to get within 21-14. Both defenses came up with stops, but Lexington’s Melquavius Covington juked and jived his way on a 56-yard punt return for a touchdown to put Lexington back in front 28-14 with 1:45 left in the third.
Once again, Central answered right back. Chasey Caul’s 1-yard plunge early in the fourth made it 28-20, but Joines missed the PAT. Lexington countered with a steady dose of Marquez Grayson, who finished a brilliant night with 228 yards and two TDs on 26 carries. Grayson carried six times in seven plays, the last of which went for 18 yards and a score to make it 34-20 with 6:40 to play.
That was it for the Jackets. Austin McConnell’s 60-yard romp on a quarterback sneak set up Triplett’s 7-yard touchdown, and the Eagles were within 34-27. A holding penalty wiped out Grayson’s 10-yard touchdown run moments later, and Triplett intercepted Grayson’s halfback pass on fourth and long with four minutes left to set up the final dramatics.
Triplett ran five times on the decisive drive, including a 7-yard run on third-and-seven, and a 26-yard dash to set up his 5-yard scoring run.
Gaddis certainly didn’t fault his team’s effort. “They did what they had to do at the end to win the game,” he said. “I was proud of the way our kids fought, but we wanted to win the thing.”
The game started about as poorly as Gaddis could have imagined. The Eagles took the opening kickoff and marched 72 yards on 13 plays. Chris Watt finished off the drive, which ate up nearly six minutes, with a 1-yard touchdown run.
But the Jackets buckled down on defense, forcing Central to punt on its next possession from its own 12. Grayson followed a 17-yard run with a 7-yard burst, then found a seam in a cutback lane and raced 33 yards to pay dirt to tie the score.
The Lexington defense held strong again, stopping McConnell on fourth-and-short near midfield. Lexington methodically covered 41 yards from there, and Xaiver Baker’s 2-yard touchdown run on a sweep to the left gave the Jackets their first lead of the night with 3:03 left until halftime.
The Jackets then made the play of the half after Central rolled the length of the field in hurry-up mode. On second-and-1 inside the Lexington 5, Caul fumbled and Lexington’s Raekwon Byrd recovered to kill the threat.
Notes: McConnell was 7-of-9 passing for 93 yards and ran for 111 yards … Lexington finished its season at 4-7. Wilkes Central will face the winner of Saturday’s game between Thomasville and Surry Central.

Jason Queen can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 220 or jason.queen@the-dispatch.com.