news-record.com

GREENSBORO — While it might have been easy to look past the first round to a highly ranked opponent, Page coach Kevin Gillespie tried to keep his team focused all week as it prepared for sixth seed West Forsyth.

Mission accomplished.

A quick start on offense and another solid performance on defense helped No. 3 seed Page earn a 33-10 first-round victory in the 4-AA Midwest playoffs. They will next play at defending state champion Matthews Butler, a 56-7 winner over East Forsyth, in the second round next Friday night.

“I told them all week that I don’t want to hear about next week,” Gillespie said. “If we don’t take care of West Forsyth, there won’t be a next week. Now we can talk about Butler.”

The Pirates will try to stop Butler with a defense that has played nearly flawless the last two games. They shut out the Titans for more than three quarters and held their passing game in check except for one long screen play that set up West Forsyth’s only touchdown.

“We’re not the biggest, but we are quick to the ball,” Gillespie said. “We did a good job running to the quarterback and then our defensive backs made plays.”

One of those defensive backs was Ed Britt, a 5-foot-11 cornerback who was lined up against the Titans’ Ricky Brown, a 6-4 receiver. Britt knocked down five passes and nearly intercepted a couple of them.

“I should have had three interceptions,” Britt said. “But I did my job on (Brown). I give a lot of credit to my defensive line. We came in focused and decided we had to go hard or go home.”

Now Britt said the Pirates are ready to go to Charlotte.

“Everybody talks about them and how good the teams in Charlotte are,” Britt said. “We’ve got to bring everything we’ve got at them. We’re coming from Greensboro and we’re pretty good too."

Page jumped out to an early lead, scoring on its first three possessions.

Quarterback James Summers got the Pirates going with a 30-yard run on their first possession. Drew Rogers finished the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run, giving Page a 6-0 lead.

For the game, Rogers had 120 yards and three touchdowns.

Summers and Rogers took turns running the ball on the next possession as Page drove down the field.

On a third-and-one, Summers faked a handoff to the right and took off running untouched up the middle for a 36-yard touchdown and a 12-0 lead with 30 seconds left in the first quarter.

P – Drew Rogers 9 run (kick blocked)

P – James Summers 36 run (run fail)

P – Rogers 25 run (Ryan Jackson kick)

WF – Safety

P – Orlando Hatfield 49 pass from Summers (Jackson kick)

WF – Bradley Rooney 1 run (Nick Maat run)

P – Rogers 19 run (Jackson kick)