Knights Ground Game Carries West Bladen Past Union, 32-6

BLADENBORO, NC — West Bladen’s defense set the tone, their running game did the rest, and the Knights walked off the field Friday night with a 32-6 win over Union.

The victory moves the Knights to 2-3, already matching last year’s win total, but as Head Coach Preston Worley put it, “We’d love to be 3-2 going into the bye week. A win is a win, although it wasn’t pretty tonight and up to the standard and brand of football that we want to establish. But we’ll take the win.”

Early in the first quarter, the Knights needed a play to break things open, and Whittington delivered.

Reading Union’s quarterback perfectly, he jumped the route, picked off the pass, and raced 24 yards for the touchdown.

The sideline roared, and West Bladen had all the momentum.

“We fought well. We responded well to that early adversity,” Worley said, pointing to how that early defensive stand steadied his team.

Union struggled to get anything consistent going offensively.

The Knights’ front, anchored by Isaiah Robinson’s 11 tackles, swarmed to the ball.

Tashawn Carter added seven tackles, while Riley Kline and Omarion Robinson chipped in six apiece.

Whittington wasn’t done either, grabbing another interception to shut down a Union drive before halftime.

While the defense was holding firm, West Bladen’s offense leaned heavily on the ground attack.

Late in the second quarter, quarterback Devin Haire muscled his way across the goal line from a yard out with just three seconds left, giving the Knights a 13-0 halftime advantage.

After the break, it became the Ahmarie White show. The senior back carried defenders into the end zone from 10 yards out in the third quarter, then tacked on another touchdown in the fourth, including a bruising two-yard score that sealed the game.

White finished with 79 yards and two scores on 19 carries.

But he wasn’t alone. Sincere McKinley jolted the offense with chunk plays, piling up 168 yards on just eight carries.

Robinson added 66 yards on the ground and a touchdown, helping the Knights churn out over 300 rushing yards.

“We have to get more fundamentally sound on the offense and defense,” Worley said. “We had a lot of run through on the offensive line, and defensively we’re not always disciplined at the line of scrimmage. The bye week is a good time to work on that.”

Not everything came easy.

A couple of missed and blocked PATs kept the Knights from fully capitalizing on their dominance.

It was also the first night the team had a kicker available this season, that being Senior Jonah Bryan who just joined the team at practice this past week.

Worley was quick to point out that those details can’t be overlooked, “Those mishaps could cost us a game down the road. We just need to fix our alignment, work on the blocking, and execute better.”

Still, the Knights walked away with a win that not only tied last year’s mark but also built confidence before diving into a tough conference slate.

With a bye week ahead, the Knights will have time to reset and correct the issues Worley pointed out.

Then comes a conference opener at Whiteville on October 3rd, a game that will demand physicality and discipline.

“Moving on to conference play, it will ramp up, getting more physical and more intense,” Worley said. “We have to be prepared and ready to go. We view our record as 0-0 going into the conference schedule.”

---

Knights Ground Game Carries West Bladen Past Union, 32-6