Playing in front of the 1971 Rosewood football team, the 2021 Rosewood football team made sure to put on a show during their 49-21 win against Carolina 1A Conference rival North Duplin on Friday evening.
“The 1971 team started it all 50 years ago. They were the first team,” Rosewood head coach Robert Britt said. “I hope they had a great time coming. We tried to make it special for them.
“Hopefully, we made them proud.”
North Duplin punted on its first three possessions, while the Eagles found their way into the endzone on their first three possessions of the game.
Terquavis Butler and Wyatt Lassiter scored from 13 and 7 yards out, respectively, and Rocco Raper threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to John White to give the Eagles a 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.
However, the Eagles were held scoreless in the second quarter.
And with five minutes left until halftime, the Rebels embarked on a 15-play drive that went down to the Eagles four-yard line, but the Rebels could not get into the endzone.
So, the Eagles still led 21-0 at halftime.
“I thought our kids played really hard, and I thought our kids made plays,” Britt said. “Offensively, we moved the ball really well. Defensively, I feel good about what we’re doing, but then they (North Duplin) got into their single-wing set and it kind of slowed everything up.”
Butler polished off Rosewood’s opening drive of the second half with a 40-yard burst. North Duplin Luis Olivos answered with a one-yard scoring plunge that closed the gap to 28-7.
After Butler’s third touchdown of the night gave the Eagles a 35-7 lead, the Rebels responded with back-to-back touchdown drives that cut Rosewood’s lead down to 35-21.
“We put a score on first, then they came back and scored, but then we scored another one. That’s when I kind of felt comfortable,” Britt said.
But another touchdown from Butler, this time from 51 yards out gave the Eagles up 42-21, while a late touchdown run from Keovin Vance put the finishing touches on the Eagles’ victory.
“He (Butler) is senior, and he’s paid his dues. He’s worked hard in the weight room, he’s worked hard on the track, so he’s reaping the rewards of good blocking up front, and him just being in the system,” Britt said.
Rosewood (4-2 overall, 2-0 Carolina 1A Conference) will next face off against Lakewood (4-5, 2-0) with the Carolina 1A Conference title on the line, while North Duplin (3-5, 0-2) hosts Hobbton.
“Next week, the game is for the conference championship, and then every game after that is win or go home, so we’ve got to get some things cleaned up,” Britt said.
