www.news-record.com/content/2008/12/05/article/dudley_wins_with_repeat_performanceDudley wins with repeat performance
GREENSBORO - On a dead-end street in an eastern corner of this city, a high school is forcing football fans around here to rethink their definition of words like domination. And power. And precision.
That's because the Dudley Panthers offered another display of all the above in Friday's semifinals of the 3-AA state playoffs.
Quarterback Ricky Lewis rushed for 162 yards and scored three touchdowns as the Panthers thumped cross-city foe Northeast Guilford 52-7.
If the score sounds familiar, that's because it is. Dudley beat Northeast Guilford six weeks ago by the same score.
Dudley-Northeast II was a game that left many at Tarpley Stadium, who've grown accustomed to such feats by their team, in awe. But not the Panthers themselves.
"Just another Friday night," shrugged Dudley defensive lineman Demarcus Bell. "One more Friday to go."
Saturday afternoon, actually, but who's quibbling?
The win leaves Dudley, the defending 3-AA state champions, on the doorstep of destiny. The Panthers (15-0) play Kannapolis Brown (13-2) next Saturday in the 3-AA title game at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem.
Only once in North Carolina's 95-year history of prep football has a Guilford County school won consecutive outright state titles (Starting in 1983, Page sandwiched two state titles around a tie).
"That's been our goal from February - to get back to the championship game," Dudley defensive lineman Josh Jones said afterwards. "We won't be doing any celebrating until next week. If we win then, we'll be all hyped."
Northeast Guilford (8-7) was supposed to be a different team from the one Dudley pounded by an identical 52-7 score six weeks ago. And, indeed, the Rams, winners of five straight games, were much improved this time around.
But here's the scary part: As efficient and relentless as Dudley was back in October, it is even more so in December.
The Panthers controlled the game in every department imaginable. They scored in nearly every conceivable way, too.
Lewis breaking free on breathtaking touchdown runs, Devaris Martin returning a punt 60 yards for another. Even defensive back Jeremy Reynolds got in on the fun, blocking a punt through the end zone in the third quarter for a safety.
Behind Lewis and running back J.R. Peterson (83 yards rushing and a touchdown), Dudley amassed 343 yards in offense while holding Northeast Guilford to just 60 yards and four first downs. Asked if he was surprised his team was able to control the game so easily, Dudley coach Steven Davis was blunt.
"No, not at all," he said. "In fact I expected something like this could happen. We had a better practice week this time than when we first played."
Hard as it may seem, the game actually contained a bit of drama. First, at the start, when both teams gathered in the east end zone before the game and began jawing with one another before officials rushed in and broke things up.
Then, with Dudley leading 12-0 midway through the second quarter, Northeast Guilford defensive back Michael Sanders intercepted Lewis at midfield and returned it to the Panthers' 34-yard line. Seven plays later, Rams quarterback Darius White's 1-yard touchdown run narrowed the lead to 12-7 with 3:11 to play in the half.
Suddenly the Panthers looked vulnerable.
And then, just as suddenly, the Panthers woke up.
Dudley senior Fred Overby took the ensuing kickoff to midfield and Lewis guided the Panthers the rest of the way, scoring on a 12-yard touchdown run 24 seconds before the half.
"That kind of broke us a bit," Northeast Guilford coach Tommy Pursley said. "You could tell the guys were down at halftime over that one."
Down and out, actually. The Panthers scored on their first two possessions of the second half to break the game open. Lewis ran around the right end for a 38-yard touchdown and followed it up with a 3-yard run a few minutes later.
"We have a chance to do something great next week," said Davis. "We'll think about this one for a day or two, but then it's down to business again."