Since 1971, one date on the calendar has meant just a little more for two small communities in eastern North Carolina than the other 364 days a year.
That most-anticipated annual date arrives on Friday, and while Princeton and Rosewood don’t begin play in their respective conferences for three more weeks, there will be plenty at stake when they meet for the 67th time.
The Bulldogs visit the Eagles at Branch Pope Field, and the game can be heard on 98.3 WGBR and Goldsborodailynews.com. The UNC Health Wayne pre-game show begins at 6:30 p.m., with kickoff scheduled for 7.
Rosewood leads the all-time series 43-23, but Princeton has won 11 of the last 12 meetings, including a thrilling, 41-34 victory last season. The Eagles’ last win over the Bulldogs came in 2019.
Princeton (0-2) lost its first two games to South Johnston and Harnett Central by a combined three points, and following its trip to Rosewood, it has home games versus unbeaten Richlands, and Clinton, a team that beat the Bulldogs 40-14 a year ago and lost in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 2-A state championship game.
Eastern Wayne visits Princeton on Oct. 4 to open Neuse 6 2-A Conference play. The Warriors beat the Bulldogs 52-15 last season, handing Princeton its first loss to a conference opponent since it moved to the 2-A classification at the start of the 2021 season.
Already in an 0-2 hole and facing a challenging schedule ahead, the Bulldogs 67th meeting with the Eagles takes on even greater importance. Princeton head coach Travis Gaster points to an inability to consistently execute as a main reason why his team is winless through its first two games.
“In both games we’ve been right there where we needed to be against much bigger schools and big competion,” Gaster said. “We just have to be able to not kill drives by hurting ourselves. We’ve had some bad snaps, we’ve had a few humbles, and those turnovers, they just kill our style of offense. We have to take care of the ball, and if we don’t put it in the end zone, we’ve got at least be able to punt it out of there, and then flip around and play defense. So, in order for us to be successful, and come out on top of some of these close games, that’s what’s got to happen.”
Friday night presents Rosewood (2-1) with an opportunity to continue to build upon the offensive continuity it has started to develop under backup senior quarterback Hunter Sasser.
Sasser, a former junior varsity quarterback, took over the Eagles’ offense in a win at North Johnston two weeks ago, when senior quarterback Gio Pineda left the game with a dislocated left elbow in the first half.
In his first varsity start last week at Southern Wayne, Sasser displayed poise and a grasp of the offense, while distributing the football to play-makers in space, and using his own athleticism to hurt the Saints with his legs.
Sasser finished 6 for 10 passing for 112 yards and four touchdowns.
With a pair of non-conference games waiting for Rosewood following its showdown with Princeton, and Pineda’s availability for the remainder of the season uncertain, a victory over the Bulldogs and a 3-1 record, would be a far cry from the Eagles’ 1-3 start last season.
“I think credit to Hunter just to the fact that he’s been in the program now for four years,” Rosewood head coach Josh Smith said. “He hasn’t necessarily gotten the snaps as Gio has over the last couple of years, but Hunter was the JV starting quarterback as a sophomore, and he got snaps as a freshman at quarterback as well. I think he understands the offense, it’s not like he’s coming into an offense where he has no idea of terminology or placement. I thought he managed the game (against Southern Wayne) very well. I thought he took what the defense gave him, and didn’t force any issues. Because of that, it kind of got us into a rhythm,, and it continued to get better for us as the night went on.”
As all Princeton versus Rosewood matchups in recent years have done, Friday’s contest figures to hinge largely on the Bulldogs’ offense and whether or not they can consistently be successful on first and second down.
Princeton is still trying to develop chemistry with Austin Lewallen and Kadyn Haire in the backfield together for the first time.
Haire was lost for the season a year ago to a knee injury he sustained in week two against Harnett Central. Lewallen, who began last season as a fullback on the junior varsity team, filled in admirably for Haire and finished the season with 2,643 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns.
During their current four-game winning streak over the Eagles, the Bulldogs have scored 25 rushing touchdowns and have averaged 428 yards per game on the ground, and 8.6 yards per carry.
“We’ve just got to find what that mix with Austin and Kadyn looks like,” Gaster said. “They’ve never played in the backfield together, but they’re both very special talents. We’re still trying to get Kadyn 100% healthy, he’s not there yet, but he’s working on it. Hopefully, the bye week really helped him quite a bit. We’re looking for big things from them, and it’s just trying to find that balance.”
Rosewood’s offense has been at its best early in the season when it has attacked defenses by getting the football to its athletes on the perimeter while allowing its rotation of backs to work behind a veteran offensive line.
Senior receiver Talan Collins leads the Eagles with 315 receiving yards on 11 receptions (105 yards per game) with five touchdown catches and could be a difference-maker against a Princeton defense that has given up 426 passing yards and five touchdowns in its first two games.
Fellow senior receiver Jaasir Myles has begun to develop as a second weapon in Rosewood’s passing game, while also being used to stretch opposing defenses horizontally in the running game, similar to how Smith utilized Micah Cox a year ago.
Myles has 117 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns to his credit, to go with a rushing touchdown.
“I think it helps to be able to take some focus off of Talan,” Smith said. “I think it also helps take some focus off of our running game from tackle to tackle. Anytime you can stretch the defense horizontally and get them guessing where the ball might be played, it just kind of opens doors for other guys in the offense. If we can continue to improve on that, we should continue this trend that we’ve started on.”
