It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact East Duplin can now relate to. The matchup between them and the West Craven Eagles didn't end well, with the East Duplin Panthers falling 36-20. The result was an unpleasant reminder to the Panthers of the 34-29 loss they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in August.
When it comes to explaining why East Duplin lost on Friday, don't look at Shawn Davis. Despite the final result, he rushed for 166 yards and two touchdowns. Davis' rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 166 rushing yards.
A big part of West Craven's win came down to the chemistry between DJ Davis and his top target Jimmie West Lll. Davis threw for 143 yards and three touchdowns while West Lll picked up 78 receiving yards and two touchdowns. West Lll is becoming a predictor of West Craven's success: when he posts at least two receiving touchdowns the team is 5-2 (and 1-4 when he doesn't). Reginald Lancaster got in on the action as well, converting a pick into a touchdown.
East Duplin's defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 6-6. As for West Craven, their victory ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 6-6.
East Duplin does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for West Craven, they are taking a road trip to challenge Northeastern at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Northeastern will roll in looking for their 13th straight win, something West Craven surely won't give up without a fight.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
