Pam Pack pulls away from Rams

Every time Havelock got close, Washington would run away, literally.

Washington scored two touchdowns in a 33-second span of the fourth quarter to end Havelock's season with a 34-25 playoff victory Friday night at Washington High.

"We just didn't make enough stops," Havelock coach Jim Bob Bryant said. "The offense didn't help. We couldn't make first downs, and the defense was on the field way too long."

With the first-round playoff loss, Havelock finished the year 8-4. Meanwhile, Washington (8-4) advances in the 3A playoffs to play West Craven Friday.

"I didn't think we played well," Bryant said. "We had chances to make plays, and we didn't make them."

The Rams climbed to within 20-13 with 3:16 left in the third quarter when Octavus Coates caught a deflected pass from quarterback Danny Webster Jr. and turned it into a 27-yard touchdown pass.

Havelock then got the ball back when Webster recovered a fumble, but the Rams failed to get a first down, and the Pam Pack took over after a punt.

Washington rushed six straight times, with Donte Moore capping the drive with a 15-yard touchdown run to lift the Pam Pack to a 27-13 lead with 10:18 left in the contest.

Havelock's Justin Russell was intercepted on the next series, and Tony Turnage ran 33 yards for another Washington touchdown, giving the Pam Pack a 34-13 lead with 9:45 remaining.

"We knew what they were doing, but they just did it better," Bryant said of the Washington offense.

The Rams made a furious comeback. Webster threw two touchdown passes, one of 14 yards to Jerell Wallace and another of 86 yards to Alex Bell, the latter coming with 1:38 left in the game.

However, Havelock failed on the 2-point conversion, leaving the score at 34-25, and then failed to recover an onside kick. Washington then ran out the clock for its second victory over Havelock in three weeks.

"I hate losing to a team twice in one season," said Bryant, whose team fell 21-14 to Washington on Oct. 31. "They just had our number this year."

The Rams scored on their first possession when senior Mike Henderson spun out of a tackle at the line of scrimmage and then raced 30 yards into the end zone for a 7-0 lead.

Washington scored two touchdowns in the second quarter on a 1-yard plunge by Dakuan Spencer and a 9-yard burst from Turnage to lead 14-7 at halftime. The Pam Pack then got Austin Thompson's 5-yard scoring pass to Michael Godley in the third quarter to lead 20-7.

Defensively, Havelock could never slow the Pam Pack, but Mike O'Brien and Webster had two fumble recoveries each on a sloppy field from two days of rain.

The Rams began the season with a loss to East Duplin before running off eight straight victories. However, Havelock ended the year with three straight losses.

"We won eight games with a young team," Bryant said. "Our seniors fought hard all year. We have two on offense and two on defense, so we'll have a good group coming back next year."