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Big third quarter carries Carrick past Perry 26-16

Tagged under: District 8, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| October 6, 2023

Pittsburgh – Carrick exploded for 20 third-quarter points en route to a 26-16 victory over Perry Traditional Academy Thursday night at George Cupples Stadium.

The Raiders also gave first-year head coach Dennis Wolford his first victory. Wolford played slot receiver and kick returner at Carrick from 1989-1993.

“The boys fought, and they fought for each other tonight,” said Wolford. “They dug down deep, and then they pulled it out. That’s been the message all season. It finally all came together; I couldn’t be happier.”

Following a scoreless first half that saw Carrick amass only 62 yards of offense – the Raiders racked up 144 yards in the third quarter alone.

Carrick broke the stalemate when Ashton Smith caught a 50-yard touchdown pass from Zion Frye following a 5-play 65-yard drive.

“We saw some of the things that they were doing, and we knew we had some receivers that can make plays,” Wolford said. “That one time it popped open, and we just got it rolling. That play gave us the spark that we needed.”

Brian Babjak intercepted a Santonio Barnett pass on the Commodores’ ensuing possession and returned it to the 6-yard line.

“I turned around like, wow, he intercepted that,” he said. Wolford. “I was even shocked we intercepted it, but like I said, they fought for each other and found a reason to fight, and they made it work.”

Two plays later, Frye scored on a 3-yard run, succeeding a three-and-out.

 The Raiders pushed their lead to 20-0 when Kejaun Johnson caught a pass over the middle from Frye and used some shifty moves to get into the end zone from 51 yards out following a 73-yard drive.

Zion Frye completed 9-of-18 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns while intercepting a pass on defense.

Two plays after Frye’s interception, following a bad snap – Alijah Freeman returned a fumble 60 yards for a touchdown to put Perry on the scoreboard.

They say turnabout is fair play, and on the Commodores’ next possession, Tymir Beasley scooped up a fumble and raced 43 yards for a touchdown.

Perry concluded the scoring when they held Carrick on downs at the Raiders’ 16-yard line with 23 seconds to play – Julian Walker then scored on a 16-yard run with 14 seconds to play, closing the scoring.

Julian Walker rushed for a game-high 150 yards on 20 carries while the rest of his teammates accounted for negative eight yards of offense.

“We knew we had to stop Julian,” Wolford said. “All the other players on their team are ball players, but we knew that team runs through Julian. If we could hold our water against him, we felt we had a chance.”

Both teams are now 1-6 on the season.

Carrick will conclude their season with a tall task against West Virginia powerhouse Fairmont Senior.

“This game tonight showed everybody we can do this,” concluded Wolford. “It shows some of our guys that have doubts that we can win football games, and it’s a great feeling. We had some momentum building from the Brashear and Brownsville games, and then we lost it last week. But this win will go far for us moving forward.”

Game Highlights:

Carrick 26 Perry 16

Score by Quarters

Carrick – 0 0 20 6 – 26

Perry – 0 0 0 16 – 16

Scoring Summary

Third Quarter

C – Ashton Smith 50 yd pass from Zion Frye, (rush failed), 7:50 – 5-65

C – Frye 3 yd run, (pass failed), 6:56 – 2-6

C – Kejaun Johnson 51 yd pass from Frye, (#18 from Frye), 1:41 – 7-73

Fourth Quarter

P – Alijah Freeman 60 yd fumble return, (Julian Walker rush), 10:08

C – Tymir Beasley 43 yd fumble return, (rush failed), 7:40

P – Walker 16 yd run, (Taymir Smalls from Santonio Barnett), 0:14 – 1-16

Individual Stats

Rushing: C – Tymir Beasley 11-40, Zion Frye 14-6, Team 5-(-40)., Isaiah Johnson 1-(-4), Smith 1-2, Sherron Beasley 1-(-3). Totals: 33-1. P – Julian Walker 20-150, Jeremiah Hall 1-(-4), Barnett 5-2, Tristan Taylor-Phillips 3-7, Team 2-(-20). Totals: 31-135.

Receiving: C – Marcus Fields 3-46, Beasley 2-18, Isaiah Johnson 2-18, Smith 1-50, Kenjaun Johnson 1-51. P – Smalls 1-6, Hall 1-0, Khayyam Smith 1-4.

Passing: C – Frye 9-for-18, 183 yards, 2 TD. P – Santonio Barnett 3-for-15, 7 yards, 2 INT.

Interceptions: C -Brian Babjak, Frye.

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