It was a night of firsts for the Reagan football team — its first home playoff football game, and subsequently, its first playoff victory.
Fitting, then, that it was No. 1 — Chandler Belk — who had the game of his life to help lift the Raiders to a 50-42 victory over visiting Kannapolis Brown in the first round of the NCHSAA Class 4-A playoffs on Friday night in Pfafftown.
Click Here
Belk had 10 catches for 266 yards and three touchdowns — all in the first half — as Reagan (11-1) got its first playoff win, and earned a second-round matchup up with North Davidson on Friday night.
“You know, we talked about before the game, we felt like we’ve put ourselves on the map locally, and now we want to do it on the state level,” Coach Josh McGee of Reagan said. “And to play at home in a playoff game against these guys with so much tradition and to come away with a victory, speaks volumes to our program and our players.”
The loss snapped Brown’s run of 36 straight seasons with a winning record, as the Wonders finished 6-6.
When Belk saw that the Wonders were willing to chance playing him man-to-man all night, his eyes lit up.
“I didn’t know it was going to be that kind of night at all, just came out and they put me in man coverage with one person, and I was like, ‘All right; it’s going to be a long night for them doing that.’”
Brown took a 21-14 lead in the second quarter after Reagan fumbled a handoff, but there was no panic on the Raiders’ sideline.
“Those guys have some running backs and a quarterback that can make plays, and you throw the Wing-T in there and it causes some problems,” McGee said. “Our guys are just resilient. They play with relentless effort, and they were able to do it again tonight.”
After Isaiah Anthony made a 33-yard field goal to make it 21-7, Reagan forced a punt and took over at its own 21 with 42 seconds remaining in the half.
Reagan wasn’t content to go into halftime behind, and instead, dialed up a bomb from Jake Easter to Belk down the sideline for a 79-yard touchdown.
There was nothing McGee saw in the Wonders’ coverage that suggested the play was automatic, but it ignited the Raiders and they never looked back.
“Just take a shot, what do you have to lose? Nothing in particular,” he said. “When you’ve got a guy like Jake who can throw it and you’ve got a guy like Chandler who can run and catch it, it’s always a good play.”
Easter completed 20 of 31 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 55 yards and two touchdowns, as the Raiders went to the ground in the second half to keep control.
Each time the Wonders inched closer in the second half, the Raiders answered with a rushing touchdown, as Easter scored on 10- and 23-yard runs, A.J. Ikwechegh broke one for 56 yards and T.J. Griffin went 56 yards up the middle for a score.
In all, the Raiders rushed for 191 yards, well above their season average of 123.
“It’s not that we want to run — we’d love to run the football more — but we have so much success throwing the ball,” McGee said. “T.J. Griffin, I’m so proud of him. He’s a senior who has worked so hard and he had a huge night for us.”
In all, Reagan piled up 522 yards of offense, while Brown amassed 482. Damon Johnson completed 14 of 22 passes for 265 yards for the Wonders, and Sandon McCoy had 120 yards on 27 carries.
The victory pushed Reagan’s winning streak to eight, including a 28-20 thriller against North on Oct. 31 that paved the way for the Raiders’ surprising Central Piedmont championship.
As for the rematch, McGee said the Raiders welcome the challenge.
“It’s going to be awesome — it’s playoff football,” McGee said. “Unfortunately, you’ve got to play somebody in your league, but hey — if you’re going to win it all, you’ve got to beat somebody great.
