MEBANE — No matter the means of arriving at this point, a feeling of deja vu emanated from Fred Brady Field on a rainy Thursday night.
The football teams from Eastern Alamance and Williams High School met for the second time this season, this time with their seasons on the line.
Eastern Alamance roared back from a three-touchdown deficit, and the man who scored the game-winning touchdown in the first meeting did the same here to propel the second-seeded Eagles to a 27-24 overtime victory in the second round of the NCHSAA Class 3-A state playoffs.
Junior running back Joshua Murray plowed into the end zone from 3 yards out to secure the come-from-behind victory for Eastern Alamance (11-1).
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Six weeks prior, it was Murray’s 4-yard touchdown run that stamped a 20-17 double-overtime victory for the Eagles in a regular-season Central Carolina Conference matchup against Williams on Sept. 29.
“I think it says a lot about our football team,” Eastern Alamance coach John Kirby said of the comeback. “These guys don’t think they can lose and I think that’s just the character they’ve inherited and the success. They just feel like we’re not going to lose.”
The Eagles will host No. 7 seed Fayetteville Terry Sanford, which used a Hail Mary with 2 seconds remaining to defeat Scotland 58-55, in next week’s third-round playoff matchup.
Murray provided 52 yards on 15 carries and a score, Tyrek Samuel added a third-quarter rushing score, and quarterback Jason Ball connected with receiver Antoine Pugh twice for late first-half touchdowns. Pugh hauled in seven catches for 111 yards and two scores.
“Antoine has been out with a broken hand for most of the year, but I think he’s finally getting to where he’s back,” Kirby said. “Tonight seemed to be Antoine’s night. I can’t say enough about him. I can’t say enough about these guys. They did what they had to do to battle back.”
It was Pugh who kickstarted for a floundering Eastern Alamance team that found itself down 21-0 with 3:26 remaining in the second quarter.
Pugh quickly answered on the Eagles first offensive play after going down three touchdowns. He corralled a pass from Ball and took off down the sideline for a 71-yard touchdown.
“When you get down like that, you just needed someone to make a spark,” Kirby said. “I thought Antoine Pugh gave us that spark. Jason (Ball) hit a couple strikes. Then, it’s 21-14 and the rains came. I told my wife to go home. She didn’t go home. I can’t say enough about our coaches and players. We faced adversity all night long.”
After the Eagles' defense recovered a fumble, Ball found Pugh again for a 40-yard touchdown pass, quickly cutting the Eastern Alamance deficit to 21-14 with a minute left in the first half.
No. 15 seed Williams (8-4) had jumped in front behind a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Kylei Richmond and touchdown strikes from quarterback Jaelan Brown to Dan Mahan and Cam’ron Jones. Mahan hauled in seven receptions for 118 yards and Jones caught eight balls for 105 yards.
“Two great throws and catches — that’s what went wrong,” Williams coach Patrick Stokes said. “Our coverage was there. Jason Ball made a good throw. Pugh made great catches. That’s a testament to those guys and what they do.”
Williams kicker Grant Spoon made a 21-yard field goal to begin overtime. Spoon’s 27-yard attempt as time expired in regulation was blocked by Eastern Alamance to force overtime.
This article originally appeared on Times-News: Eastern Alamance football's comeback beats rival Williams again, this time in playoffs
