Football Recap: Ryan Jones and Amarion Dance Pace Rocky Mount Defense + How To Watch

Even if it wasn't a dominant performance, the Rocky Mount Gryphons beat the East Wake Warriors 20-14 on Thursday. The Gryphons pushed the score to 20-0 by the end of the third, a deficit the Warriors cut but never quite recovered from.

Amarion Dance

Total Tackles

08/28/25 vs East Wake	7
08/22/25 vs Tarboro	7
11/22/24 @ Seventy-First	6
11/15/24 vs Richlands	6
11/01/24 vs Northern Nash	7
+ 4 more games

Rocky Mount didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Ryan Jones and Amarion Dance. Dance has been hot for a while, having also posted six or more total tackles the last nine times he's played. Another thorn in East Wake's side was Denari Harrison, who picked up 2.5 sacks and made four total tackles (3.0 for loss).

East Wake's loss came despite strong showings from Tzion Stone and Maurice Maloy. Stone picked up 105 receiving yards and one TD, while Maloy threw for 205 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The victory got Rocky Mount back to even at 1-1. As for East Wake, their defeat dropped their record down to an identical 1-1.

Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Rocky Mount will head out to take on Nash Central at 7:00 p.m. on the 5th. As for East Wake, they will venture away from home to square off against Southeast Raleigh at 7:00 p.m. on the 5th.