Richland Northeast finishes season flying high with win over Dreher
Richland Northeast continued its strong second half of the season Friday and wrapped up a home playoff berth in the process.
Quarterback Aloysius Jackson rushed for four touchdowns, and running back Barry Moorer ran for 197 yards and two touchdowns as the Cavaliers won their fourth straight game with a 44-28 victory over Dreher at Memorial Stadium.
RNE, the second seed from Region 4-3A, will host Emerald in the first round of the playoffs next week. It will be the first playoff game in its on-campus stadium, which was built last year. Dreher, the region’s fourth seed, will open the playoffs on the road Myrtle Beach.
Dreher led 22-8 in the third quarter following Avery Armstrong’s third touchdown pass to Chris Cooke. But RNE answered with a pair of TD runs by Jackson to tie it at 22 heading into fourth quarter.
Running back Jay Washington gave Dreher on a 34-yard run with 10:37 left. But the Cavaliers scored on all their possessions in the fourth quarter, capped off by Moorer’s 50-yard run with less than a minute left.
Tyquandre Davis added 132 yards on the ground for the Cavs, who ran for 472 yards.
TURNING POINT
With RNE leading 30-28 in the fourth, Dreher had a third-and-one from its own 40. The Blue Devils then were flagged on consecutive false starts and failed to convert on fourth down, giving the ball back to RNE at the Blue Devils’ 27 with 5:13 left.
KEY PERFORMERS
Aloysius Jackson: RNE quarterback ran for 98 yards and four touchdowns in the game.
Avery Armstrong: Dreher quarterback threw for 196 yards and three TDs and also rushed for 120 in the game
KEY NUMBERS
7: Number of touchdowns in the second half by both teams
2011: Last time RNE made the postseason
THEY SAID IT
“We made a bunch of mistakes early in the year and got ourselves in a hole. But we fought back all year. We played a bunch of teams earl that tested us. But our offense has found a way to move the ball and our defense steps up when they have to. Just a great overall team effort.” – Jay Frye, RNE coach
“We almost beat ourselves tonight. But we got our head on straight, came out after halftime and do what we do best and that is win.” – Aloysius Jackson, RNE quarterback
HOW THEY SCORED
1st Quarter
D – Safety, 5:20
D – Cooke 26 pass from Armstrong (Kick failed) :57
2nd Quarter
RNE – Jackson 16 run (Davis run), 5:09
3rd Quarter
D – Cooke 15 pass from Armstrong (Campbell kick), 9:26
D – Cooke 5 pass from Armstrong (Campbell kick), 4:39
RNE – Jackson 7 run (Pass failed),
RNE – Jackson 25 run (Davis run), 1:04
4th Quarter
D – Washington 34 run (kick failed), 10:37
RNE – Jackson 5 run (Moorer run), 7:52
RNE – Moorer 12 run (Davis run), 3:37
RNE – Moorer 50 run (Run failed), 0:28
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: RNE: Moorer 18-197, Jackson 15-98, Davis 14-132, Harris 1-44. D: Armstrong 16-120, Preddy 3-7, Washington 14-169
Passing: RNE: Jackson 3-7-1 22. D: Armstrong 17-28-1 196
Receiving: RNE Davis 2-17. D: Cooke 8-113, Washington 3-15, Von Hollen 1, Goodwin 1-5, Salters 4-48
This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 11:27 PM with the headline "Richland Northeast finishes season flying high with win over Dreher."