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MCLEANSVILLE - Northeast Guilford isn't quite ready to end its second-half surge.

The Rams came up with some big plays in the second half to knock off Wilson Hunt 13-9 on a soggy and foggy Friday night at Bill Bookout Stadium in the first round of the 3-AA football playoffs.

The Rams (6-6) were left for dead after starting the season 0-4 but have now won six of their last eight.

"This is tremendous (win) because we started off 0-4 and we were just in disarray," said Rams coach Tommy Pursley, who was making his 16th consecutive playoff appearance. "But the kids just kept working and believing in the Ram program."

Northeast, the No. 8 seed, had to believe after finding itself down 9-0 after the first quarter. Long snapper Garrett Lewis hiked the ball over the punter's head for a safety on the Rams' first possession, and Hunt's Tyrell Applewhite bolted for a 37-yard touchdown with 13 seconds left in the quarter.

"Our center, Garrett Lewis, may be the best snapper we've ever had," Pursley assured. "That's the only bad snap he's had the entire year and the kid never comes off the field."

The Rams didn't panic, finding success running the ball, and the big plays finally broke loose in the second half.

Quarterback Darius White scored on fourth-and-goal with under 2 minutes in the third, and then he found Denzel Edwards wide open for a 37-yard TD strike with 9:23 remaining to put the Rams in front for good.

Hunt, the No. 9 seed and members of the Eastern Carolina Conference, had to win its final three games just to make the playoffs.

With 2:40 remaining, the Warriors had Northeast tucked on their own end of the field facing second-and-28. Rayshawn Trader bounced a run 49 yards to the outside to pick up the first down and ice the game.

Penalties hamstrung the Rams on several drives.

"We had a couple drives stopped by penalties, so that forced us to get it done with some big plays," Pursley said. It was only the fifth carry of the night for Trader, but its significance didn't go unnoticed.

"That was tremendous," Pursley praised. "It sealed the game for us."

The Rams racked up 236 yards on the ground - 159 in the second half.

"We had some struggles early on, so for us to come this far and get a win in the first round is a great accomplishment for us," White said.

H - Safety

H - Tyrell Applewhite 38 run (Robert Schick kick)

NE - Darius White 2 run (Matt Johnson kick)

NE - Denzel Edwards 37 pass from White (run failed)