Webster leads Havelock in shootout victory

For Freedom ENC photographer Byron Holland's photo gallery from the game, click here: http://portal.havenews.com/photogallery/?CatID=6&AlbumID=715

Havelock coach Jim Bob Bryant couldn’t say enough positive things about West Craven quarterback Justin Hardy on Friday. But he said there’s only one guy he wants leading the Rams football team — Danny Webster Jr.

Webster scored six touchdowns — three on the ground, three through the air — while piling up 305 yards of total offense as the Rams earned the Coastal Conference championship with a 42-40 win over West Craven. It’s the Rams’ first conference title since 2000.

“Justin Hardy is a great talent, but I wouldn’t trade Danny Webster for nobody,” Bryant said. “He is hands down the best player I’ve ever coached.”

Webster’s 25-yard scoring run with 1:31 left gave the Rams (10-1, 7-0) a 42-33 lead.

The Eagles (9-2, 6-1) answered when Hardy hit Ryan Murphy for a 3-yard touchdown with 17 seconds remaining in the game. The extra point was successful, and West Craven went on to recover an onside kick.

Hardy’s final pass was intercepted by Webster. Hardy finished with 316 yards and four touchdowns through the air.

“(Justin) is a special kid,” said West Craven coach Kevin Yost. “Hopefully colleges see this. That kid deserves to play somewhere. You can’t deny what he did out here tonight.”

The Eagles piled up 434 yards of offense, 93 of which came on runs by senior Tyree Dawson.

Havelock gained 345 total offensive yards. Senior Daniel Bailey caught five passes for 77 yards for the Rams.

“I am excited for our team and I am excited for Havelock and all the people that came out here tonight,” Bryant said. “This is the reason I came to Havelock and that was for the football tradition. I knew I was going to have something special.”

The difference in the game proved to be on extra points. Havelock's Tyler Cooper converted all six of his extra-point tries. However, West Craven botched a snap on its point-after try on its second touchdown, failing to convert, and later, Hardy was brought down behind the line of scrimmage on a two-point try late in the first half, leaving the Rams ahead 21-19 at intermission.

Webster started making plays with his legs in the second half. After intermission, he gained 92 yards and scored on touchdown runs of 16, 43 and 25 yards. For the game, the junior also threw for 214 yards on 12 of 26 passing.

West Craven drove 69 yards on its opening possession of the game, capped off by a 1-yard Peair Scott touchdown run.

Havelock responded with Webster touchdown passes to Dillon Post and R.J. Bryant to take a 14-7 advantage in the first quarter.

West Craven junior Tony Cox hauled in an 18-yard touchdown pass from Hardy early in the second quarter, and after a mishandled snap the Eagles trailed 14-13.

With five minutes remaining in the half, Rams senior Sonny Courtney pulled down a one-handed 16-yard touchdown grab. Scott cut the Eagles’ deficit to two points with a 5-yard run with 21 seconds left before halftime.

Havelock’s defense forced three turnovers — two fumbles and an interception.

“West Craven, we know coming in, had a very good football team,” Bryant said. “We really thought it would come down to the wire. Our offense played great, and our defense bent but didn’t break. We made plays when we had to.”

Murphy led the West Craven receiving corps with 158 yards on 12 catches. Cox had a breakout game with 109 yards, while senior Chris Person had four catches for 47 yards.

“I’d go to war with any one of them,” said Yost. “These guys have got hearts of champions. They are going to give everything they’ve got.”

The Rams have won 11 straight home games, which began with an 8-0 win over West Craven in 2007.

Each team will find out its first-round playoff opponent today.

“This is the best feeling in the world right now,” said Havelock senior offensive lineman Corey Robinson. “We’ve been working hard every day. We just want to keep this momentum going into the playoffs and try to win it all.”

Adam Thompson can be reached at 252-635-5670 or at athompson@freedomenc.com.

Havelock 42, West Craven 40

West Craven    7    12    7    14 — 40

Havelock        14      7   14    7 — 42

First quarter

WC — Peair Scott 1 run (Ryan Murphy kick), 10:18

H — Dillon Post 37 pass from Danny Webster Jr. (Tylor Cooper), 4:25

H — R.J. Bryant 7 pass from Webster (Cooper kick)

Second quarter

WC — Tony Cox 18 pass from Justin Hardy (conversion failed), 9:11

H — Sonny Courtney 16 pass from Webster (Cooper kick), 5:04

WC — Scott 5 run (conversion failed), :21

Third quarter

H — Webster 16 run (Cooper kick), 6:43

WC — Cox 17 pass from Hardy (Murphy kick), 3:16

H — Webster 43 run (Cooper kick), :11

Fourth quarter

WC —Cox 14 pass from Hardy (Murphy kick), 9:17

H — Webster 25 run (Cooper kick), 1:31

WC — Murphy 3 pass from Hardy (Murphy kick), :17

Team stats              WC               H

First downs             28            20

Total offense          434          345

Rush-yards          34-118       25-131

Passing yards          316          214

Comp.-Att.-Int.    22-32-1     12-26-0

Punts-yards            1-3          3-88

Fumbles-lost           3-2           0-0

Penalties-yards       9-60         7-60

Individual stats

Passing — West Craven: Justin Hardy 22-32-1 316. Havelock: Danny Webster 12-26-0 214.

Rushing — West Craven: Tyree Dawson 16-93,Hardy 15-21, Peair Scott 2-6, Chris Person 1-(-2). Havelock: Webster 13-91, Andretti George 9-25, William Griffith 3-15.

Receiving — West Craven: Ryan Murphy 12-158, Tony Cox 5-109, Person 4-47, Dawson 1-2. Havelock: Daniel Bailey 5-77, Dillon Post 2-67, Sonny Courtney 2-32, R.J. Bryant 2-26, Jerell Wallace 1-12.