HAMPSTEAD—Friday’s game began on a somber note as all who attended the football game between Topsail and Croatan high schools took several moments to honor a fallen local hero—U.S. Army National Guard Sgt. Thomas Jefferson Butler IV.
Butler, a 2006 Topsail graduate, lost his life to a suicide bomber Oct. 1 in Afghanistan.
On the field, senior running back Devin Williams scored on a 10-yard run and hauled in a 19-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Austin Schoenleber, and sophomore running back Josh Jessup added scoring runs as Topsail rode the wave of 29 unanswered second-half points to a 32-14 victory over Croatan in a key East Central 2A Conference football game.
The two squads came into the game with similar 4-3 overall records and equal 2-2 marks in the conference, and with third place and a NCHSSA 2A state playoff berth on the line, the Pirates left with the upper hand.
“Every game from here on out is a playoff game,” Topsail Coach Bryan Davis said. “Our mentality is we’re still playing just to get into the playoffs and we’ll play them like it is (playoffs). If we play that way now and we do get in it can only help us down the road.”
What helped on this night were adjustments on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Croatan had 79 yards on the ground and 123 yards through the air in the first half, and held the Pirates’ offense to 99 total yards over the first 24 minutes of the game.
“Coach got us lined up on ‘D’ and we made a few defensive adjustments,” senior linebacker Mason Kimmel said. “We flew around better in the second half, played hard-nosed football, and didn’t miss any tackles.”
The Cougars, behind running back Marshall Judan, alternated at quarterback with Kyle Colburn and Kyle Hopewell, ran out of the Wildcat formation for 30 yards and a touchdown, and connected on four of nine passes for 106 yards. Hopewell completed two of five passes in the first half for 44 yards and a touchdown as Croatan took a 14-3 lead into the intermission.
Topsail’s only points came courtesy of a 39-yard field goal by senior Alec Webster that gave the Pirates a short-lived 3-0 lead.
The 11-point deficit could have been a lot worse but Croatan fumbled on one drive and threw an interception on another to curtail any further damage. It was two of five turnovers (three lost fumbles and two interceptions) by the Cougars, giving them 16 in consecutive losses to Northside (7), East Duplin (4), and the Pirates.
“The realism is we changed some things on offense to slow down their blitz, and on defense it was me who didn’t make the necessary adjustments until halftime when we finally figured out what they were doing,” Davis said. “We went over four lessons during halftime and I told them the fifth lesson would come after the game, it would either be tongues on the ground or a celebration.”
The Pirates’ players chose the latter.
Topsail kicked off to start the second half and the kickoff was fumbled but recovered by the Cougars back on their 4-yard line. Three unsuccessful plays later they lined up in punt formation but the ball was snapped out of the end zone for a safety, bringing the Pirates to within nine at 14-5.
A short punt after the safety gave the Pirates the ball at the Cougars’ 45-yard line and they took advantage of the short field to go 45 yards on six plays – aided by a 15-yard personal foul penalty against Croatan – to close to within three at 14-11 on a 10-yard scoring jaunt by Williams.
Croatan was driving on its next possession but fumbled that opportunity away, then they went three and out on their subsequent possession, forcing a punt. That punt traveled just 14 yards and the Pirates were in business at the Cougars’ 49-yard line.
That drive ended on a missed 40-yard field goal but the Pirates took advantage of another short 27-yard punt, giving them the ball again on the Cougars’ 49. After a false-start penalty and an 18-yard pass from Schoenleber to Hunter Jacobs, Jessup burst up the middle and race 41 yards into the end zone to give the Pirates the lead at 18-14 with 7:54 remaining in the game.
On their next possession, after a fumble recovery by Addison Futrell set them up on the Croatan 21-yard line, Williams pulled in a pass in the left flat and raced into the end zone for a 25-14 Pirates’ lead with 6:04 left on the clock.
A pass attempt on fourth down on Croatan’s next possession gave Topsail the ball on the Cougars’ 41-yard line, and seven plays later Jessup iced the game with a 4-yard scoring run with 1:38 remaining.
“We did a little more sprinting out on pass plays and the offensive line did a better job in the trenches in the second half,” Schoenleber said.
At halftime, Topsail Athletics Director B.J. Horne presented Holly Butler, the widow of Sgt. Thomas Butler, with an autographed game ball, a check from donations collected at the gate, and non-perishable foods also collected at the gate.
The Pirates will continue their playoff quest next week at Richlands before returning home for Senior Night against Swansboro on Oct. 26.
Croatan 0-14-0-0=14
Topsail 3-0-8-21-32
First quarter
Topsail – Alex Webster 39 Field Goal, 1:29
Second quarter
Croatan – Marshall Judon 5-yard run (Kyle Colburn kick), 1:40
Croatan – Mitchell Smith 9-yard pass from Kyle Hopewell (Kyle Colburn kick), 0:14.9
Third quarter
Topsail – Safety, ball snapped out of end zone on punt attempt, 11:12
Topsail – Devin Williams 10-yard run (Kick blocked), 8:53
Fourth quarter
Topsail – Josh Jessup 41-yard run (Alec Webster kick), 7:54
Topsail – Devin Williams 19-yard pass from Austin Schoenleber (Alec Webster kick), 6:04
Topsail – Josh Jessup 4-yard run (Alec Webster kick), 1:38
Team Statistics Topsail Croatan
First Downs 12 16
Rushing 39-189 36-113
Passing 7-11-85-0 9-24-143-2
Fumbles/Lost 1/1 5/3
Punting 2-63=31.5 2-41=20.5
Individual Statistics: Rushing – Topsail: Devin Williams 17-92; Josh Jessup 13-102; Hunter Jacobs 3-6. Croatan: Marshall Judon 15-31; Lonnie Murray 8-52; Kyle Colburn 6-19; Andrew Colburn 4-15. Passing – Topsail: Austin Schoenleber 7-11-85. Croatan: Kyle Hopewell 4-12-60, Marshall Judon 4-11-106, Kyle Colburn 1-1-17. Receiving – Topsail: Mason Kimmel 3-27, Hunter Jacobs 2-35, Addison Futrell 1-4, Devin Williams 1-20. Croatan: Lonnie Murray 3-62, Mitchell Smith 3-62, Beau Bryan 1-14, Marshall Judon 1-6, Kyle Colburn 1-minus-1.
