Seventy-First football loses in final minute to Northern Nash in East Regional final

Rodd Baxley, The Fayetteville Observer
·3 min read
1

ROCKY MOUNT – Seventy-First football came up just short of clinching a spot in the NCHSAA 3A state championship.

The Falcons saw their undefeated season come to a close Friday in a 23-22 final-minute loss to Northern Nash in the 3A East Regional final.

“This is what a regional championship game is supposed to be like; it’s supposed to be like this,” Seventy-First coach Duran McLaurin said.

“We’re a pretty good team, they’re a pretty good team … it came down to a handful of plays. That’s what good football is about.”

Leading 22-17 with just over six minutes left, Seventy-First (14-1) saw Northern Nash (15-0) regain the lead in the final minute to clinch a spot in the title game for the first time since 2002.

PHOTOS:Seventy-First at Northern Nash for the NCHSAA 3A East Regional final

TOP PERFORMERS:Fayetteville area Week 2 high school basketball top performers

The Knights, who lost 15-13 to Seventy-First in the 1986 4A regional, will face West champion East Lincoln (15-0) for the 3A crown on Dec. 10 at NC State’s Carter-Finley Stadium.

Northern Nash quarterback Keno Jones accounted for two touchdowns, including a 7-yard touchdown pass to Ashton Rhodes on fourth-and-goal with 58 seconds left that proved to be the difference maker.

“We could have helped them out a little bit more in the first half,” McLaurin said of the offense.

“We had some empty drives, but the defense held tight.”

Trailing 3-0 at halftime, Seventy-First started to find its offensive groove late in the third quarter.

Falcons running back Anthony Quinn Jr. had two rushing touchdowns, including a 27-yard TD on the first play of the fourth quarter that gave Seventy-First its first lead. Quinn finished with 183 rushing yards.

Seventy-First's Anthony Quinn Jr. dodges the grasp of Northern Nash's Conner Baker during the NCHSAA 3A East Regional final on Friday, Dec. 2, 2022. Quinn had two touchdowns in Seventy-First's season-ending loss to Northern Nash.
Seventy-First's Anthony Quinn Jr. dodges the grasp of Northern Nash's Conner Baker during the NCHSAA 3A East Regional final on Friday, Dec. 2, 2022. Quinn had two touchdowns in Seventy-First's season-ending loss to Northern Nash.

Northern Nash answered with a 37-yard touchdown run by Dywhaun Mitchell before Seventy-First quarterback DeAndre Nance connected with Aaron Downing for a 24-yard touchdown that gave the Falcons a 22-17 lead with 6:14 left before the Knights responded with final points of the night.

Downing had seven catches for 75 yards.

“Great ball game to be a part of … tremendous effort by our kids,” McLaurin said. “We circled the wagons at half, played hard, played well. Great team effort to get back in the game, take the lead.”

For the first time this season, Seventy-First's defense allowed more than 20 points in a game.

“They were just on the field a little too long,” McLaurin said. “If we could have played a more complete game offensively, I believe we could have helped them out a little bit.”

Despite the heartbreak of a season-ending loss and the only defeat of the season, McLaurin told his players to “hold your head up.”

The Falcons won back-to-back conference championships and posted a combined record of 26-2 in the last two seasons.

“Everybody didn’t get the chance to play for the opportunity to play for a state championship. We had a tremendous season and we played at a high level all season long,” he said.

“What we do works. What we do in our program works. We’ve been getting these deep runs in the playoffs, pretty consistently, lately. We just gotta work a little bit harder to take the next step.”

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: NCHSAA football playoffs: Seventy-First falls to Northern Nash