Bears crush Greenville Rose! On to the next one...
our new bern bears are still "undefeated"! just beat pine forest in the first round of the playoffs. wilmington hoggard, you're up next!
Bears pound Pine Forest, 48-7
By Adam Thompson, Sun Journal Staff
Published: Saturday, November 3, 2012 at 00:57 AM.
www.newbernsj.com/sports/local/football-bears-pound-pine-forest-48-7-1.43035The New Bern Bears were going to run the option until PineForestcould prove it could stop it.
That never happened, at least against New Bern’s first team.
Senior quarterback Josh Taylor scampered for 202 yards and two touchdowns as the Bears knocked off PineForest, 48-7, in the first round of the NCHSAA 4-A state playoffs on Friday at Caruso-Coates Stadium.
“We started running the option and we could see that it was open,” Taylor said. “Coach said we are going to run the option until they stop it.
“We had great blocking on the outside. I tried to hit a seam and it worked out.”
Entering the game, Pine Forest’s defense hadn’t allowed more than 24 points to an opposing team. New Bern scored 41 points in the first half.
It collected 388 yards of offense, including 302 on the ground.
“We did think we were going to run that much,” Taylor said. “When the running game opened up, we started going with what was hot.”
On their first possession, the Bears fumbled in their own territory. Pine Forest gave it back on its next offensive play.
Taylor then scored on touchdown runs of 22 and 63 yards in the first quarter, and racked up 196 rushing yards in the first half.
“We challenged them all week to come out and start fast,” New Bern coach Bobby Curlings said. “We had a little hiccup on the first play from scrimmage, but the defense got it right back for us.
“After that, I don’t think we missed a beat. We played well in all phases of the game.”
Cody Purdie had two touchdown runs and Chandler Powell scored on a six-yard run.
New Bern sophomore Michael Hughes had a touchdown reception, a 52-yard punt return for a score and an interception.
Hughes leads the Bears with five interceptions.
“Mike is a freak athlete,” Taylor said. “I’ve been telling everybody to watch out for Mike. He can play quarterback, he can play receiver, DB. He can play anywhere on the field. He is a special player.”
Felix Fisher also grabbed an interception for the Bears, and the defense recovered two fumbles.
“They’ve been doing it all year long,” Curlings said. “They seem to find a way to get a hand in there and cause some disruptions. They have the mentality that the ball is theirs and they attack it.”
New Bern’s Le’Auntae Grimes snagged two receptions for 46 yards
Pine Forest eventually tacked on a touchdown when quarterback Tim Allen tossed a five-yard touchdown pass to Jake Jensen with 11:54 remaining in the game.
Allen carried the ball 15 times for 38 yards for the Trojans, while Rashaun Fauhie had 30 rushing yards on two attempts.
Pine Forest (7-5) gained 90 yards of offense.
The teams combined for 25 penalties for 275 yards.
The Bears (11-0) will host Wilmington Hoggard in Friday’s second round match-up. Hoggard beat Southern Durham, 28-26.
New Bern beat Hoggard, 39-7, on Oct. 5.
“I have all the respect in the world for Coach Braswell and his staff,” Curlings said. “Year-in and year-out, they produce quality teams. You know you are going to get a fundamentally sound team. He will come up with some kind of scheme or formation that we haven’t seen.”