Eight Is Enough

It took B W Holt eight tries to ever make it to a state championship game but when he got to his first he had his team ready to win it. RMA almost scored on the opening kickoff and stuck it home to take the lead. By halftime RMA lead and then Holt had to think I have been here before. Nursing a 36-30 lead and all his Eagles had to do was run out the clock you have to think that some where in the mind of this football coaching legend he had to think back just five years ago his Rocky Mount Gryphons team nursing a 19-14 lead against West Craven and driving for one more score and the dreaded fumble and a WC td late. Not tonight however as the RMA Eagles stick a state championship touchdown on the board in the last two minutes to beat the defending eight man football championship 42-30 over Southampton Academy. An estimated crowd of Twenty five hundred were in the Rocky Mount Athletic Complex to see HOLT and the Eagles win their first state title together. Rocky Mount Prep first ever playoff game will be one to remember a 62-0 loss to SE Halifax. Hunt the top seed from the Big East over came a slow start to win their opening playoff game beating Terry Sanford 35-14. Fike over came a 0-26 score and scored three touchdowns the last three minutes of the third quarter to beat Lee County 41-26. Southern Nash fell behind early but romped in the end 51-22 over Swansboro. Tarboro in a cakewalk advanced to the second round with a 52-0 win over Spring Creek. North Edgecombe loses 40-22 to East Columbus. Rocky Mount will be the only Big East team to lose as they fall at Orange 31-3. they knew they had a toughie but SouthWest Edgecombe failed to score in a 40-0 lost to the top seeded T W Andrews. The end of this week has turned the future of several local girls sports stars. Rocky Mount basketball player Carmen Richardson has signed to play basketball at Queens College in Charlotte with her former high school teammate Tia Hudgins. Richardson as a sophomore was the third leading scorer behind J Kyra Brown and Hudgins. As a junior she moved up to second behind Brown but this year she will be expected to take the lead on this year's Gryphon girls team. Over at Northern Alexis Hill has signed with Gardner-Webb where she will play basketball. Hill the last two years has been the main engine to a high powered Lady Knight basketball team having averaged over the last two years 12.9 points. Jessica Ricks a Lady Knight center fielder who just might be the best hitter in the history of Northern Nash hit over 550 last year and she has all next spring to hit some more before she heads to App State.