Setting up for a showdown: St. Pauls, Clinton meet with huge SAC stakes

Oct. 11—ST. PAULS — Clinton has a strong football tradition, as one of the perennial powers in 2A football in the eastern part of the state.

St. Pauls has been top dogs on the gridiron since the Southeastern Athletic Conference was formed.

The Dark Horses and Bulldogs will meet Friday night with first place in the conference on the line. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Clinton.

"I think our guys are ready for the challenge," St. Pauls coach Mike Setzer said. "I think our guys like being on top, so they understand what that means, what kind of commitment that means — and what kind of storied program Clinton is. We respect Clinton; we're not going to bow to Clinton. ... I like the fact they're in the conference; I think iron sharpens iron, so respect for the Clinton program. They are a solid program — but we like to believe that we're a solid program too."

St. Pauls won last year's matchup 58-32 as Kemarion Baldwin ran for 409 yards, a Robeson County record he's since broken, and six touchdowns, also tying a county record; that win helped the Bulldogs to a conference championship, their second straight outright title and third straight season with at least a share of one.

St. Pauls (5-1, 3-0 Southeastern) has won four straight games by an average score of 46.8-10.3 since a nonconference loss to Westover on Aug. 26. The Bulldogs have won 15 consecutive conference games.

Clinton (7-1, 4-0 Southeastern) has also been dominant in conference play, scoring at least 54 points in each league game, and allowing no more than 14, with both of those totals coming in last week's win over Red Springs. The Dark Horses' lone loss was also Aug. 26, a 35-18 defeat at Wallace-Rose Hill, last season's 2A East Region champion.

"The X-factor is the team that really sticks to what they do the best, and I think also the X-factor is the team that understands that this is going to be an uphill battle," Setzer said. "I think it's going to be a playoff atmosphere. ... They're a very good football team, I think it's the best football team we've seen this year."

Seven different Clinton players have scored a rushing touchdown this season, led by Josiah McLaurin (554 rushing yards, nine touchdowns), Josiah Robinson (454 rushing yards, five touchdowns), Amaris Williams (226 rushing yards, five touchdowns) and quarterback Nydarion Blackwell (345 rushing yards, three touchdowns); Blackwell has completed 55.4% of his passes for 680 yards, with eight passing touchdowns and two interceptions. McLaurin (20 receptions, 320 yards, four touchdowns) is also the Dark Horses' leading receiver, but five different players have caught at least one touchdown pass.

"They run around like deer," Setzer said. "They've got good size. Offensively, they come right at you. ... These are the kind of games right here that if you want to hide, then this ain't for you, you better find somewhere else to be."

Offensively, St. Pauls will face a Dark Horses unit allowing 13.5 points per game this season. Tairik Dyches (30 tackles, 12.0 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks), Amaris Williams (27 tackles, 17.0 tackles, 6.0 sacks), Alexander Evans (26 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks, two interceptions), Zylon Johnson (23 tackles, 15.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks) and Samir Register (three interceptions) are among the team's defensive leaders.

"In our preparation we're going to have to understand that it's going to have to be more than just a good week of practice, we're going to have to make sure that we are assignment-sound, and being assignment-sound is going to allow us to play those guys," Setzer said. "We cannot be sloppy this week, because this is the kind of defense that if you're sloppy they're going to make you pay for it."

Clinton leads the all-time series 5-1, with wins each year from 2000-04 before the Bulldogs' victory last season.

Lumberton at Douglas Byrd

The Lumberton football team's last victory was last season against Douglas Byrd, a 26-0 decision. Now the Pirates will have another chance to face the Eagles, having lost nine straight games since, as the teams are scheduled for a 7:30 kickoff Friday in Fayetteville.

Douglas Byrd (1-6, 0-4 United-8 Conference) beat Red Springs 26-20 in the Aug. 18 season opener; they've been outscored 264-30 in the six games since. Deshawn Gillespie is the team's quarterback and leading rusher, with five total touchdowns.

Lumberton (0-7, 0-4 United-8) lost 35-7 to Gray's Creek last week after scoring its first points since Week 1.

Douglas Byrd leads the all-time series 12-3, but Lumberton has won two of the last three meetings including last year's 26-0 victory.

Purnell Swett at Seventy-First

The Purnell Swett football team will face a challenge when it heads to Fayetteville to face state championship contender Seventy-First at 7:30 p.m.

Seventy-First (7-0, 4-0 United-8) beat Jack Britt 27-20 last week, and has allowed just 9.4 points per game to opponents this fall.

The two-headed monster of running backs Anthony Quinn Jr. (1,105 rushing yards, 13 touchdowns) and Jayden Shotwell (682 rushing yards, seven touchdowns) lead an offense that also includes dual-threat quarterback Deandre Nance (333 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, 366 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns). Donovan Frederick (92 tackles, 11.0 tackles for loss) and Hector Bautista (77 tackles, 30.0 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks) lead a deep Falcons defense.

Purnell Swett (2-5, 0-4 United-8) has lost five straight games since starting 2-0, including a 61-17 decision last week at South View.

Purnell Swett has never beaten Seventy-First in six meetings, five of which are since 2017; the Falcons won 52-0 last fall.

Fairmont at East Bladen

After snapping a six-game losing streak, Fairmont will look to continue the momentum this week when the Golden Tornadoes travel to East Bladen for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Fairmont (2-6, 1-3 Southeastern) beat West Bladen 18-0 last week, a similar contest to last year's 20-8 win over East Bladen which was coach Lonnie Cox's first with the program. That victory ended a 16-game East Bladen winning streak in the series, which the Eagles lead 30-11 overall and 19-8 as conference foes.

East Bladen (2-5, 1-2 Southeastern) hasn't played since a 42-0 win over West Bladen on Oct. 3, the Eagles' first conference win after a 23-22 loss to Midway and a lopsided loss to Clinton.

Masion Brooks and Darius Williamson are the Eagles' leading rushers; Kewane Maynor starts at quarterback with Malikah Moore and Christopher Harding as key targets on the perimeter.

Red Springs at West Bladen

Two teams each seeking their first conference win will meet Friday in Dublin when West Bladen hosts Red Springs at 7 p.m.

West Bladen (1-6, 0-3 Southeastern) lost 18-0 to Fairmont last week and hasn't scored in three conference games, also falling to Clinton and East Bladen. The Knights' lone win was a 23-0 nonconference victory against East Columbus.

Running back Tydrick Stewart (322 rushing yards, three touchdowns) leads the offensive production for the Knights.

Red Springs (0-7, 0-3 Southeastern) has completed a gauntlet run of the Southeastern's top three teams in its last three games, falling 54-14 to Clinton last week. The Red Devils will look to snap a 13-game losing streak.

The all-time series is tied 7-7; West Bladen won last year's matchup 44-21 to snap a five-game losing streak to the Red Devils.

Chris Stiles can be reached at 910-816-1977 or by email at cstiles@robesonian.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @StilesOnSports.