DANBURY — East Columbus rallied from three points down in the fourth quarter to upset North Stokes 32-21 in the second round of the 1A playoffs Friday night.
The last playoff victory for the Gators was almost 12 years to the date when they defeated North Edgecombe 40-22 on Nov. 15, 2013.
East Columbus was again led by quarterback Dawson Crosby who amassed 308 yards on the ground, a phenomenal feat, but the way he accomplished it makes legends.
Crosby carried the ball 49 times – that’s right, 49 times. He also punched it in four times for touchdowns and a two-point conversion. He threw a 13-yard touchdown pass. Crosby accomplished all this against a seven and eight man front all night. The Vikings of North Stokes ran a seven-diamond and a gap-eight the entire night, never bringing a safety up.
North Stokes got on the board first as QB Holden Sheldon found Nate Hanson from 21 yards out to put the Vikings ahead 7-0, with the Lantz Fagg extra point. Sheldon had a great night for North Stokes, going 30-40 passing for three touchdowns and 285 yards. The Gators responded with 3:27 left in the first quarter as Dawson Crosby crossed the goal line from one yard away to cut the Vikings lead to 7-6. The score remained the same to halftime.
Things picked up in the third as Crosby connected with Jacob Stukes from 13 yards out to give the Gators a 12-7 lead with 10:08 left in the third. The Vikings struck back with a five play 63 yard drive, culminated by a Sheldon to Aiden Bennett six-yard touchdown pass. Fagg added the extra point to put North Stokes back on top 14-12.
Crosby led the Gators back down the field, crossing the goal line on a seven-yard run to give East Columbus a 18-14 lead with 7:57 left on the third quarter. North Stokes’ Sheldon charged the Vikings right back down the field to retake the lead with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Bodenhamer to make it 21-18 with the extra point. That would be the last score of the night and the season for the Vikings.
East Columbus would not be denied on this night by Dawson Crosby. Starting in the fourth quarter, Crosby gave the Gators the lead for good as he ran it in from 14 yards away to put East Columbus ahead 24-21. The Gators sealed the victory as Crosby found the end zone again from two yards out. Crosby scored the two-point conversion to make it 32-21 East Columbus.
Senior wide receiver Aiden Bennett had 11 catches, and 101 yard receiving in the Vikings loss. Jackson Bodenhamer also caught eight passes for 82 yards and a touchdown for North Stokes. The Vikings season ends 4-7.
“We played selfless and they rallied together to have a team victory,” stated East Columbus Head Coach Fred Pedro.
East Columbus, the No. 5 seed in the 1A bracket, will travel to top seed Robbinsville (8-3) Nov. 21. They will face the Black Knights, led by senior quarterback Luke Lovin, who had three touchdown passes Friday night in the 56-7 victory against Andrews. Kyrik Teesateskie is listed as a wide receiver for Robbinsville but has 12 rushing touchdowns on the season.
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