It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Princeton can now relate to. They fell to the Eastern Wayne Warriors 40-36. The Bulldogs' loss signaled the end of their five-game winning streak.
Despite the defeat, Princeton saw an underclassman step up: freshman Teo Mcphatter rushed for 172 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.2 yards per carry. Mcphatter is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last four games he's played. Princeton also got a significant boost from Kadyn Haire, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 93 yards.
Mcphatter was just one part of a punishing run game: Princeton was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 271 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 180 rushing yards in 25 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Princeton didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. Mcphatter picked up that interception and then proceeded to rub salt in the wound by taking it back the other way for a touchdown.
It was another big night for Izeiah Oates, who rushed for 120 yards and four touchdowns on only 14 carries, and also threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns for Eastern Wayne. Oates didn't just play on offense: he also picked up a sack and made eight total tackles. Another player making a difference was Jay Whisonant, who rushed for 92 yards on only seven carries.
Princeton's loss ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 7-5. As for Eastern Wayne, their victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-2.
Princeton does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Eastern Wayne, they will venture away from home to challenge Whiteville at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both have allowed few points on average, (Whiteville: 12.6, Eastern Wayne: 12.5) so any points scored will be well earned.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
