Hunt’s Tylee Jones (22) tries to hurdle the tackle attempt of Beddingfield’s David Jones as the Bruins’ Brian Jones converges during a game Friday, Aug. 30, at Hunt. Sheldon Vick | Special to the Times
The Hunt High varsity football pair of seniors Ny’Gir Alston and Brandon Batts added effective running to their starting defensive assignments and young offensive linemen Kamden Murphy and Aaron Bryant, a pair of sophomores, and juniors Cyntarion James and James Gibson, with senior 6-foot-3, 300-pound “manchild” Deontrae Barnes showing the way, demonstrated strong evidence they are growing up in a hurry.
The offensive group spearheaded Hunt’s dominating 36-7 conquest of county rival Beddingfield in Warrior Stadium on Friday night after a turnout of 1,000 decided to show following the late-afternoon storm that delayed the nonconference clash’s start 15 minutes.
In its home opener, Hunt, a 2023 co-champion in the 3-A Quad County Conference, evened its early-season record at 1-1, while the Bruins, 2023 tri-champions of the 2-A Neuse 6 Conference, dropped to 0-2 with losses to county rivals Fike and Hunt that dropped it out of contention for the 2024 county championship.
Hunt and Fike will collide for county supremacy on November 1, the regular-season finale for both teams. Fike is the current county champ.
The Warriors and Bruins continue nonconference play next Friday, with Hunt traveling to D.H. Conley and Beddingfield trekking to neighboring Greene Central.
Hunt shook off a shaky start to erase a 7-6 Beddingfield lead with 30 unanswered points. The Warriors piled up 358 rushing yards, while the defense did not permit a Beddingfield threat the final half. The Bruins were limited to 67 yards rushing, while 6-3 sophomore quarterback Sam Finch was accurate on 11 of his 22 passes for 146 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Beddingfield’s Jahtavious Johnson (6) is tackled by Hunt’s Keyshawn Richardson during a game Friday, Aug. 30, at Hunt. Sheldon Vick | Special to the Times
“What a way to bounce back,” exclaimed Hunt head coach Juan Jackson. “We still had mistakes, but, again, they are coachable and correctable.”
Jackson praised his young offensive linemen, adding: “‘All we’re going to do is try to get better each week.
“We moved personnel around on offense and let Ny’Gir and Brandon carry the ball. They are two of our best athletes and show they’ve got to touch the ball. We rotated them and tried to keep them fresh for defense.”
Batts streaked for 79 yards and two TDs on just six rushes. Alston picked up 58 yards on 14 carries. But four Hunt running backs amassed 50-plus yards rushing. Senior Tylee Jones accumulated 75 yards on eight carries, and sophomore Jeremiah Thomas dashed for 61 yards and a TD on 12 carries. Senior Keyshawn Richardson, a transfer from Beddingfield, added 16 yards and a TD on three rushes.
“I felt good running the ball,” Alston said. “I am an athlete and coach put me anywhere I can get the ball. I felt like I played very good, but I could have done a better job of doing some other things.”
The Warriors, ahead 12-7 at halftime, scored every second-half possession except the final one — when back-up senior quarterback Barnes Willoughby directed the second-unit offense to the Bruins’ 13-yard line when the game ended.
“We’re very much disappointed,” reviewed Beddingfield head coach Ben Ellis, who has yet to claim a win against Hunt in four tries. “We made mistakes in every phase. We have got to do better. They got the better of us.
“With missed opportunities early on, we got ourselves in a bad situation.”
Beddingfield’s Jamauris Howard (5) is grabbed by Hunt’s Quinton Price during a game Friday, Aug. 30, at Hunt. Sheldon Vick | Special to the Times
Jamauris Howard, a hard worker on offense and defense for the Bruins, said. “A lot happened. We were not doing our game plan. We played for ourselves and not as a team. There were a whole lot of things where we could have played better. On defense, the line was not moving the way it should. They were not listening.
“The majority of the people sort of gave up after we got behind. The game wasn’t over; The score was only 12-7.”
Added Ellis: “I wouldn’t say we quit. We ran out of gas.”
Trailing 7-6, Hunt forged in front for keeps with a 59-yard drive that featured the running of Alston, Batts and junior quarterback Carson Jones. Batts slammed the final eight yards with four minutes, 22 seconds left in the second quarter.
After an early hiccup, a lost fumble recovered by Beddingfield’s Desmond Wooten, a senior, Hunt didn’t attempt to hide its intent to run the football. Penalties nagged both teams the first two quarters.
The second half began with Jones returning the kickoff some 75 yards to the Bruins’ 16-yard line. Beddingfield settled for a 35-yard field goal from junior place-kicker Will Doll, frustrated that his first two extra-point attempts were blocked.
Next, Richardson returned an interception some 30 yards to Beddingfield’s 6-yard line and then squirmed two yards for the TD. Doll connected on the first of three consecutive PAT tries.
Jones recovered his team’s fumble in the next drive and then sneaked a yard for the TD. Jones was the workhorse.
Finally, midway the fourth quarter, Thomas carried five times before finding the end zone from a yard out.
“I loved it,” Jackson expressed of Hunt’s balanced running attack. “I was a running back at Hunt, and I loved to see us run the ball. When you run the ball well, you control the clock.”
Alston, Batts and Barnes were defensive stalwarts along with sophomores Judah Harris and Christopher Dickerson, a transfer from Charles B. Aycock.
Beddingfield rocked the Warriors’ defense at the outset. On the second play, Finch hooked up with junior Darrian Jones for a 32-yard gain. On the first two possessions, the Bruins were stopped on downs at Hunt’s 41- and 39-yard lines, respectively.
The last possession of the opening quarter produced the TD that occurred early in the second quarter. Finch completed passes to sophomore Ziquis Atkinson, Jones and Howard before finding Johnson for the TD with 10:38 showing in the second quarter. Junior Chris Aguilera kicked the extra point for the 7-6 Bruins’ edge.
Beddingfield quarterback Samuel Finch (3) gets off a pass under pressure from Hunt’s Judah Harris (10) and Jameson Jones (32) during a game Friday, Aug. 30, at Hunt. Sheldon Vick | Special to the Times
However, Beddingfield would not threaten again.
“Coach (Keith) Byrum (the defensive coordinator) rotated his personnel as well,” Jackson said. “We had not been outside since Tuesday because of the heat index.”
And Alston chimed in: “Pressure on the quarterback from the D-line.”
But optimism has not diminished for Ellis, Howard and the young Beddingfield team.
Hunt 36
Beddingfield 7
B H
First downs 10 21
Yards rushing 67 358
Yards passing 146 0
Passes-comp-int. 22-11-1 4-1-0
Passes int. By 0 1
Fumbles-lost 2-0 3-1
Penalties-yards 11-97 10-84
Punts-average 3-33.3 0-0.0
Score by quarters:
Beddingfield 0 7 0 0—7
Hunt 6 6 17 7—36
SCORING SUMMARY
H — Brandon Batts 33 run (kick blocked), 1st, 1:44
B — ahtavious Johnson 4 pass from Sam Finch (Chris Aguilera kick), 2nd, 10:38
H — Brandon Batts 8 run (kick blocked), 4:22, 2nd.
H — Will Doll 35 FG, 9:51, 3rd.
H — Keyshawn Dickerson 2 run (Will Doll kick), 6:39, 3rd
H — Carson Jones 1 run (Will Doll kick), 2:47, 3rd.
H — Jeremiah Thomas 1 run (Will Doll kick), 6:44, 4th
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Local News
