'An amazing feeling': Ashley football's undying grit pushes Screaming Eagles past New Hanover

As the packed-out stands inside Ashley football's stadium in Monkey Junction erupted, Quinn Bentley remained calm.

The senior three-sport star had just taken a final knee to solidify Ashley's come-from-behind 23-17 victory over New Hanover Friday night, but still, he kept his cool.

"It's just an amazing feeling," Bentley said after the win. "It just feels great to beat the Wildcats, man."

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Bentley, the 2023 StarNews All-Area Baseball Player of the Year and an N.C. State commit, is more than accustomed to big stages. He scored both of the Screaming Eagles' offensive touchdowns in the Week 7 win, but even for him, Friday was more than just another victory.

"When I first came here, Ashley football wasn't as big, crowds weren't as big. But the year after that, we all got together and said, 'Let's do this," he said of Ashley's turnaround.

The Screaming Eagles (5-1) did a lot right in front of a massive homecoming crowd, overcoming New Hanover (3-2) for the second straight year.

It's the type of win that embodies the team's revamped football ethos, one third-year coach Dante Lombardi says has, in some capacity, been there all along.

"It's here," Lombardi said of the energy surrounding his squad. "I saw some of it with the Monkey Junction community coming out even when we weren't winning."

New Hanover took a 14-7 advantage in the second quarter and looked primed to enter halftime with a one-possession lead.

Then, with under a minute left in the first half, the walls came crumbling down for the Wildcats.

A woefully planned New Hanover punt return saw the team fail to keep possession on a backward lateral. Ashley picked the ball up and returned it for a touchdown, tying the game 14-14.

Even despite their struggles, New Hanover took a 17-14 lead to start the fourth quarter. The Screaming Eagles responded as Bentley rushed for his second score of the night.

Ashley's defense would secure the rest as they pushed New Hanover back into their own endzone and recorded a safety.

The win is Ashley's third over New Hanover all-time. Prior to last fall's upset in Legion Stadium , the Screaming Eagles' sole win against their Wilmington neighbors came in 2004.

"We're not the biggest, fastest, strongest, but (The players) just have grit," Lombardi said. "They want it, they fight, and I think it shows that they're just playing for each other."

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: 'An amazing feeling': Ashley football's undying grit pushes Screaming Eagles past New Hanover