Saturday shutout: Six different Gryphons score in rout of Wilson Hunt

WILSON — On a night where he threw two touchdowns passes, added another on the ground, and won, 49-0, junior Rocky Mount High quarterback Jaquan Lynch was obsessed with the two things he had done wrong.

“I had a fumble, and an interception,” he said, counting the two mistakes on his right throwing hand. “I wasn’t perfect. I want to be perfect.”

You’d be hard-pressed to find another person who saw the Gryphons’ victory dwelling on the few mishaps rather than the positives.

Lynch, along with a balanced offense that saw six different players find the end zone, pulled away from Wilson Hunt (4-3, 1-1) in Wilson on Saturday night, leading to the 49-0 blowout that improved the Gryphons to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the Big East.

Along with Lynch’s three-yard run to kick off the scoring, Antwain Dunston, Mckenly Hines, Michael Brooks and Tashuan Lawrence all found the end zone via the rush. Both of the quarterback’s throwing touchdowns went to Rodell Bridges, the converted defensive player who, as a versatile rusher and receiver, leads the Gryphons in touchdowns.

His first came on a 25-yard pass from Lynch in the second quarter, where Bridges got behind his defender in the end zone. All Lynch had to do from there was throw it where no one else could catch it.

“We work on that throughout the week,” Bridges said. “He just throws it high so I can go up and get it.”

On defense, RMHS let the Warriors drive deep into its side of the field a few times, but either forced a turnover via fumble or downs every time. Overall, the Gryphons recovered two fumbles, while Shyheim Battle got his third interception of the year.

A few different times this season, the defense has come close to finishing the game with a perfect zero on the scoreboard for the opposing team, only to relent a touchdown late on an otherwise meaningless drive.

Not this time.

“They were excited, they felt like they could get the shutout tonight,” coach Jason Battle said. “I’m glad they achieved that goal. We’ve had a couple of times this year where we got close, then something happened.”

Three things

1. The Gryphons pulled a near-perfect Bill Belichick move: They deferred after winning the opening coin toss, scored first, scored again before the end of the half, then got the ball back up 28-0 to start the third. On the kickoff, the Warriors tried an onside kick but got flagged for a false start, and the Gryphons promptly drove down to the 15-yard line, but lost possession on a fumble. They made amends two minutes later with a touchdown after a forced turnover by the defense.

2. Wilson Hunt quarterback Nathan Lemons had only one completion, but suffered from five different dropped passes by his receivers in the first half alone. The biggest drop come on the Warriors’ first drive of the game. On a fourth-down-and-five on the cusp of the red zone, a Hunt receiver dropped a wide open screen that might have gone for a touchdown and put the Warriors up 7-0.

3. Shyheim Battle, a dominant cornerback on a level where rushing the ball is the norm, doesn’t get thrown to a whole lot. Lynch was happy to see his N.C. State-bound teammate get in on the action with a third quarter interception.

“He makes plays whenever he can. He’s on an island most of the time,” Lynch said. “When he gets a chance he makes plays.”

He said it 

Jason Battle, on returning home next week after not playing a home game since Aug. 30: “Part of it was the weather — can’t do nothing about that. I know they’ll be glad to be back home Friday. They’ll be excited. We made it through these treacherous road games. We’ll be glad to be home finally.”

Scoring plays

First quarter

RM — Jaquan Lynch 3 run (Saylor Newton kick), 4:41

Second quarter

RM — Antwain Dunston 3 run (Newton kick), 8:30

RM — 25 pass from Lynch to Rodell Bridges (Newton kick), 8:10

RM — Michael Brooks 15 run (Newton kick), 1:17

Third quarter

RM — 24 pass from Lynch to Bridges (Newton kick), 9:09

RM — Tashuan Lawrence 17 run (Newton kick), 4:02

Fourth quarter

RM — Mckenly Hines 4 run (Newton kick), 8:37

Up next

The undefeated Gryphons will host Fike next Friday before a big game against Southern Nash. It will be their first home game since August. For the Warriors, a game in Bailey against the Firebirds is up.