North State Journal for Wednesday, December 13, 2017
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Rejuvenated Panthers focus on stretch run Three veteran players stepping up in final weeks of season By Shawn Krest North State Journal THE CAROLINA Panthers usually get a day off following a game, but not this week. After beating the top-seeded Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, to move into a tie for first place in the NFC South, coach Ron Rivera decided to scrap the down time. “Because of the focus,” he explained. “I think there are a lot of important things ahead of us, and I don’t want to let up on the opportunity to keep going forward.” The Panthers playoff hopes, looking dismal following the loss at New Orleans two weeks ago, now seem to have improved. Instead of making up two games on the Saints in four weeks, the Panthers now need to just pull ahead in the final three weeks to take the division, a task that seems much more manageable, especially considering the team has two home games over that span. “We have the opportunity to play into January,” Rivera said, “and who knows what happens after that. It starts with staying focused.” The team seems to be coming together for the stretch run. The loss in New Orleans has been the only blemish as the team has won six of its last seven. The win over then 10-2 Minnesota was particularly impressive. The Panthers built an early lead on the Vikings, then responded when Minnesota managed to tie the
score late. The Panthers have elevated their play, in part because the team is getting several veterans back just in time. Ryan Kalil: The five-time Pro Bowl center suffered a neck injury early this season, which had kept him out of 10 of the team’s first 12 games. He returned against the Vikings and went the distance. His presence lifted the performance level of the entire offense. “There was probably some confidence that the guys feel, lining up next to Ryan Kalil,” Rivera said. “The guy’s been a tremendous All-Pro player. Just his presence sometimes is more than enough. It instills confidence in his teammates and in the quarterback, certainly.” After reviewing the game film, Rivera decided that the team didn’t just benefit from Kalil’s presence. The veteran center can still play a little bit. “It was huge to have him out there for the big game. You could see his confidence build as things progress,” Rivera said. “He was a little tentative at first, just trying to make sure it was there. Then, all of a sudden, bam! You could see it one series after another that he’s out there — the confidence, snapping the ball, getting his hand placement where it needs to be, driving with his legs, communicating with his teammates. The longer he was on the field, he got better and stronger. Just like our running back — the longer he runs, the better he runs, the stronger he is at the end of the game.” Which brings us to the next resurrected veteran.
BOB DONNAN | USA TODAY SPORTS
Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart, who had a career-best three touchdowns in Sunday’s win over Minnesota, will be a key part of Carolina’s playoff push.
“We have the opportunity to play into January, and who knows what happens after that.” — Ron Rivera, Panthers coach
Jonathan Stewart: Unlike Kalil, the veteran running back didn’t suffer an injury. He just struggled with production early in the season. He seemed to struggle sharing carries with rookie Christian McCaffrey early in the season, before the two players found their own niche.
Against Philadelphia, he rushed just eight times for negative four yards. Against Atlanta, he lost two fumbles early in the game. Stewart has found his legs of late, rushing for more than 100 yards twice in the last four games. Against Minnesota, he broke off a 60-yard touchdown run and scored three times in a game for the first time in his career. “He’s given us his all for the entire year,” Rivera said. “This is just part of us coming together as a team, part of us understanding who we are.” Just as Stewart seems to get stronger as the game goes on, he’s peaking as the season nears an end. Greg Olsen: The All-Pro tight end has returned from a
broken foot that landed him on injured reserve. There was a scary moment in the Minnesota game, when he rolled the ankle and had to limp off the field, but Olsen returned to the game. Olsen didn’t have a catch and was only targeted once in the game, but Rivera blamed that on quarterback Cam Newton looking elsewhere. “He was out there,” Rivera said. “He was getting open. I think it’s just a matter of the quarterback finding him.” In other words, the Panthers may not be done getting a boost from a returning vet. That fits in perfectly with Rivera’s approach to the stretch run. “We can’t count on anybody else helping us,” he said. “We have to do it ourselves.”
FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS 4AA: Wake Forest 21, Mallard Creek 0 The Cougars defense held Mallard Creek’s powerful offense to just 112 yards in winning their second straight title. Running back Devon Lawrence provided Wake Forest with all the offense it needed by gaining 135 yards and a touchdown on the ground in earning the game’s MVP award at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem. 4A: Harding University 33, Scotland County 20 Quavaris Crouch earned MVP honors by rushing for 141 yards and two touchdowns and the Rams piled up 400 yards of total offense on the way to their first state title since 1953. In the process, they denied coach Richard Bailey his first title in
SMITH from page B1 That’s just the way things work in that part of Wilmington. “New Hanover is special,” Smith said after winning the school’s first state championship in 67 years. “We have people in our booster club that played on the ’58 team with Roman Gabriel. We honored the ’51 (state championship) team this week. We had two or three players who played with Sonny Jurgensen. The pride has just always been there. This is going to be special. This is huge for the city.” New Hanover also claims a 1983 state title, although, officially, the NCHSAA recognizes it as an “other championship,” keeping the Wildcats out of the record book. “We’ve got a couple players’ dads that played on that last team, in ’83,” Smith said. “It’s been awhile. Coach (Joe) Miller, I know, is looking down from heaven.” The 3AA state title, earned with a 27-17 win over A.C. Reynolds that capped a 15-1 season, also snapped a drought in Smith’s career. “For me, personally, this is my 35th year. I’ve been to the East Championships quite a few times, but I’ve never been here,” Smith said. “When I walked off the field over there, I saw some of my high school teammates. I saw huge number of players I had at Millbrook (where he coached 18 years) and Wake Forest. I even had some players off the 2001 and 2002 (New Hanover) teams.
“Just to get to come back to your high school, walk into the gym and know you put that banner up is very special.” — Wiz Vaughn, New Hanover athlete … This is just a great feeling for all of us. These guys are special.” The connections to Smith spread out across the state on championship Saturday. In Winston-Salem, the team Smith left New Hanover for the first time, Wake Forest, won its second straight 4AA title. Meanwhile, in Chapel Hill, Motsinger, now in his first year as Wallace-Rose Hill head coach, won the 2A state title. “I’m so proud of him,” Smith said. “Coach built a culture of toughness and had a heck of a record here. Like me, he made it to the Eastern Championship a couple times and had some tough losses. That’s where it all started here. I just came in and put my stamp on it.” In Durham, however, the day belonged to Smith and the long New Hanover football tradition. “I really didn’t even think about that until (Smith) said it,” said Wildcats safety Francis Meehan, who earned Most Outstanding Defensive Player
his fifth trip to a state final — three with Fayetteville Jack Britt and two with Scotland. 3A: Charlotte Catholic 28, Havelock 14 The Cougars played keepaway by holding onto the ball for 31 of the game’s 48 minutes while rolling up 272 yards on the ground at Wallace-Wade Stadium. Championship MVP Milan Howard led the attack with 160 yards for Charlotte Catholic while Lamagea McDowell scored twice to send his team to its fifth state championship. 2AA: Hibriten 16, East Duplin 14 The Panthers were outgained 359-190, but still managed to hold on for their first state title in their first championship
honors with six solo tackles and a game-clinching interception in the end zone. “That’s a great feeling. All the tradition we have — all the past players that we had: Garrett (Walson, 2016 graduate and current UNC tight end), Roman Gabriel, Sonny Jurgensen, Burke (Estes, 2016 graduate and current Randolph Macon quarterback). We had all those great players come through. Just being in that realm is kind of amazing. I guess Wiz (Vaughn) and I and all the other seniors on the team kind of set the tone for next year.” Vaughn was named overall MVP of the 3AA championship game after scoring two touchdowns. “Just to get to come back to your high school, walk into the gym and know you put that banner up is very special,” he said. Vaughn, Meehan and several other senior leaders of this year’s team were sophomores when Smith returned to New Hanover. That team advanced to the Eastern Championship. “When we lost to Greenville Rose in the East Finals, we came together as a unit and said if we ever get this far again it’s not gonna end,” Meehan said. When New Hanover beat Rose 54-0 in early September this season, Vaughn declared to his coach, “We’re going to the state championship!” Three months later, Vaughn, Meehan and Smith all etched their names in the interconnected history of New Hanover football.
game appearance. Wide receiver Miles Simon was the offensive star with two long touchdown receptions and punter Noah Haney kept forcing East Duplin to drive the length of the field by averaging 46.0 yards on six kicks. Trailing 16-7, East Duplin tried to rally by driving 99 yards on 20 plays for a touchdown with 1:30 to play. But Hibriten recovered the onside kick to preserve the victory at Kenan Stadium. 1AA: Tarboro 32, Mount Airy 7 Keon Caudle got his team off and running with a 6-yard touchdown 2½ minutes into the second quarter and the Vikings never let up, rolling up 300 yards on the ground to earn their fifth state title
BULLDOGS from page B1 to score one more time than they did in the second half. We came out and that’s exactly what we did.” Although Wallace-Rose Hill eventually regained the lead on a five-yard run by Williams, it was Reidsville (15-1) that went into overtime with the momentum after driving 93 yards on 12 plays for the tying touchdown with just 42 seconds remaining in regulation. The situation became even more tenuous for the Bulldogs when a holding penalty and a false start on their extra possession set them back to the 19-yard line. But they quickly regained their composure. Calling on the experience gained from their three previous championship game appearances and benefitting from a late hit call on their opponent, they dug their way out of the hole and into the end zone. Newkirk got the final yard on a 1-yard plunge off left tackle. “I think everybody was kind of scared. But one thing about us, we don’t ever quit,” Newkirk said. “We can get penalties over and over and over, but we’re going to come and play, and we’re still going to have the best for our team.” Like most teams, the players that make up Wallace-Rose Hill’s roster think of each other as brothers. Saturday, though, it was an actual pair of siblings that combined to make the play that clinched the Bulldogs’ fourth consecutive state title. On second-and-goal from the 3, senior defensive end Rarkell Simmons stripped the ball from Reidsville’s Jalen Easley after stopping him for no gain. Simmons’ younger
— and first since 2011 — at Carter-Finley Stadium. Deontae Williams was the game’s MVP, leading Tarboro with 118 rushing yards and two touchdowns. 1A: Cherokee 21, North Duplin 13 The Braves did all their damage in the second half, rallying from a 7-0 deficit over the final two quarters behind the passing and running of quarterback Tye Mintz. The senior rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns and threw for a score, as Cherokee claimed the first football state title in school history. In addition to his offensive prowess, Mintz also led the way on defense, tying for the team lead with 13 tackles and an interception.
brother Elijah, a junior tackle, fell on the loose ball to end the game and touch off a wild celebration on one side of the field. On the other side, several Rams dropped to the ground in anguish. Easley led his team with 120 rushing yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Titus Jones threw for 191 yards and a score in the loss. “Their kids are champions, too, and they didn’t come here to lose,” Motsinger said. “They put their belt on the table and these boys brought their belt on the table from last year and winner take all. We just made one more play.” Wallace-Rose Hill’s title put an exclamation point on a big day for Duplin County. East Duplin and North Duplin also played for state championships on Saturday. Although East lost to Hibriten in the 2AA final earlier in the day in Chapel Hill and North fell to Cherokee for the 1A title at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, Motsinger proclaimed his county as the high school football capital of North Carolina. It’s a designation Motsinger attributed to a strong community foundation. “Duplin County is a farming county,” he said. “What are farmers? Farmers are hard-working, they’re family-oriented, they go to church, they get to work before sunup and they stay there until sundown. That’s where these kids come from. “It’s that worker mentality, it’s that family mentality. That’s why you had North Duplin and East Duplin and Wallace-Rose Hill. You just roll your sleeves up and find a daggum way.”