New year, same song
South Point rolls, remains undefeated vs. Stuart Cramer
Joe Hughes jhughes@gastongazette.com
BELMONT - Something about Stuart Cramer tends to bring out the best in the South Point football team.
Undefeated in five previous meetings against the Storm, South Point made it clear early on that Friday would not be the first.
Eager to erase the bad taste of a loss to Forestview from their mouths, the Red Raiders dominated from the opening kickoff to the final whistle in a 35-0 rout of Stuart Cramer.
"No. 1 I told them we needed to practice harder and we needed to play harder; I don't think we played all that hard last week (against Forestview)," he said. "This is South Point, everyone wants to beat you. You have to doggone play hard.
"We made some changes, got some things moved around and created some good mojo, got people excited a little bit. This town needed that, the community needed that, our team needed it and our school did too. School is much better when the football team is winning, I don't care what anyone says."
TURNING POINT: After seeing a promising opening drive end with a fumble inside Stuart Cramer 20-yard line, the South Point defense forced a 3-and out to get its offense back on the field. The Red Raiders answered by going 64 yards in 13 plays, with the Jammari Lewis' 16-yard touchdown scamper giving them a 7-0 lead minutes into the second quarter.
From there, the South Point offense rolled.
STAR OF THE GAME: South Point offensive line; tired of receiving blame from those outside the program for the Red Raiders' offensive woes in previous games, the unit played a key role in the team racking up 433 rushing yards in the win. In fact, four South Point players rushed for 80 yards or more against an overmatched Stuart Cramer defense.
NOTES: Three different players saw time at quarterback for South Point on Friday - starter Javus Davis, North Carolina commit Ray Rose and Devon King. Each of them scored touchdowns for the Red Raiders in a winning effort. … The South Point defense had 10 plays in which it limited Stuart Cramer to no gain or a loss of yardage. The Storm had a total of 167 yards in the game. … It was the sixth win for South Point in as many games in this series. It was also the fourth shutout of Stuart Cramer by the Red Raiders, allowing only 21 points thus far.
UP NEXT: South Point (2-3) will travel to Burns for its Southwestern 2A opener. As for Stuart Cramer (2-3), it will host Kings Mountain to kickoff Big South 3A competition.