Logan Gibbons (15) hauls in one of his four receptions from quarterback Austin Knox.
Zach Bowens puts the stop on the King offense.
The King Academy Knights literally “made a night of it” as they routed the Richard Winn Eagles at their home nest Friday, 56-14. The Knights from Batesburg came into the game with a 3-0 record, averaging over 60 points per game to their opponents’ 19. On the other side of the spectrum, the Eagle team remains hungry for their first win. The Eagles knew they were facing a formidable opponent in their showdown with the region foe Knights.
RWA won the pre-game coin toss and deferred to the second half. Following the opening kickoff, the Knights started their first drive on their own 20-yard line. Five plays later, Eagle Logan Gibbons pounced on a Knight fumble to halt the Knights offense. But the Eagles picked up only one first down before having to punt the ball back. Both teams exchanged possessions again before King’s Price Carpenter broke loose for a 41-yard touchdown run with 3:16 left in the first quarter. The PAT failed, but the Knights were up 6-0.
It wasn’t long after that when the Knights turned an Eagle kickoff fumble into another touchdown. Taking over on the RWA 42-yard line, the Knights ran a total of five plays to record their second touchdown. King’s Cheyenne Bodie hauled in a 20-yard pass from quarterback Alex Berry. Berry’s PAT pass to Caleb Fulmer was good to put the Knights up 14-0 with less than a minute left in the first period.
The second quarter began with the Eagles in possession, but once again they were unable to make any progress down field and punted. The Knights offensive machine went back to work and produced touchdown number three when Berry again connected with Fulmer for a 65-yard pass completion. The PAT was no good, and with 10:46 left in the first half, the Knights led 20-0.
Following another unsuccessful Eagle offensive series, King took over and started moving the ball again. Hard luck seemly plagued the Eagles all night. RWA’s Reid Johnson picked off one of Berry’s passes and ran it back for a touchdown, only to have it negated by a roughing the passer penalty.
Later, however, on a fourth-and-goal play, quarterback Austin Knox battled across the end line to pick up RWA’s first touchdown at the 3:41 mark in the second quarter. Knox’s PAT pass to Gibbons was good and RWA trailed 26-8. The Knights went on to score two more times in the second quarter to take a commanding 42-8 lead at the end of the first half.
The Eagles got on the scoreboard again in the third quarter when Matt Taylor pulled in a 24-yard touchdown pass from Knox, but the PAT run failed. RWA trailed 42-14 with 5:31 remaining in the quarter. That would prove to be the last of the RWA offensive production on the evening while the Knights ignited for two more touchdowns before the final buzzer sounded.
Knox completed seven of 14 passes for 65 passing yards with one touchdown and one interception. Knox also rushed 23 times for 94 yards. Johnson had three receptions for 28 yards, and in addition to a fumble recovery, Gibbons had four receptions for 21 yards. Freshman John Coleman led the defense with 10 tackles and was followed by Johnson with six tackles and four assists. Senior starter Corey Davis suffered an ankle injury just before the end of the first half and had to sit out the rest of the game.
The Eagles will entertain the Clarendon Hall Saints from Summerton on Friday, Sept. 14. Both teams will be seeking their first win of the season. Prior to the 7:30 varsity kick-off, the middle school teams will face-off at 5:30 p.m. RWA’s Middle School Eagles, under the direction of coach Paul Brigman, defeated King’s Middle School team in last Friday’s contest 40- 8.
