GASTON — As the rain began to fall to start the second half at Wes-Del High School on Friday night, Eastern Hancock’s Cole Rainbolt lived up to his name.
Initially, the senior supplied the Royals with a 12-7 cushion during a slow-building first half behind a 1-yard rushing touchdown that turned a one-point deficit, 7-6, into a one-possession advantage.
Later, Rainbolt struck with a pair touchdowns in the second half, including a 57-yard punt return in the fourth quarter, to power the unbeaten Class 2A Royals towards a 47-7 blowout victory over Wes-Del and their third consecutive victory.
“I wish it was (a sign),” Rainbolt laughed about the light rain falling overhead. “Those are my boys, and I try to do a good job to be a good teammate.”
Rainbolt achieved his goal, rushing for 94 yards on 13 carries and a pair of touchdowns. His second TD run measured 3 yards and capped a seven-play drive that spanned 78 yards in 2 minutes, 37 seconds, which put the Royals ahead 26-7 in the third quarter.
His final score pushed the game out of reach as he sprinted down the Royals’ sideline and into the end zone for an eventual 33-7 lead and a 2-0 start in Mid-Eastern Conference play.
“In the second half, we’ve been coming out and doing really well, so I knew I had to kick it into gear. When I saw the open field I was trying to break it for a touchdown,” Rainbolt said. “I knew I had blockers on the outside, so I felt confident I was going to get there.”
The Royals (3-0, 2-0 MEC) got off to sluggish start, however, turning the ball over on downs twice and failing to convert on two fourth-down situations in the first half.
Quarterback Houston Swan connected with Zach Arnold for the Royals’ first score on a 38-yard passing touchdown late in the first quarter to highlight the team’s second offensive series.
Swan finished with 135 yards passing on 8 of 11 completions while rushing for 15 yards and a second-half touchdown.
Rainbolt’s first TD run made it 12-7, as the Royals missed PATs after both scores, and the defense surrendered four third-down conversions in six Wes-Del (0-2, 0-1 MEC) attempts.
An interception by Eastern Hancock’s Brayden Tincher on third-and-goal from the Royals’ 20 late in the second quarter foreshadowed the potential for a turnaround.
In the final 24 minutes, the Royals outscored the Class A Warriors 35-0. The defense collect two more interceptions by Cameron Volz and Landon O’Neal, while Reed Hedrick, Evan Arthur and Caden Nation each recorded key sacks.
“We’re just like Jekyll-Hyde as far as not playing very well in the first half, but we come out in the second half and looked like a totally new team,” Eastern Hancock head coach Phil Morris said. “We’re going to have to figure something out as far as coaches and get out to a better start. One of these days we’re going to have such a big hole in the half that we’re not going to be able to get out of it.”
The motivation was a given for the Royals, who are focused on chasing down the MEC title this season.
“This was another championship game, a conference game, and they stepped up and did the job,” Morris said. “It wasn’t anything we did, it was the kids stepping up, just waking up.”
“We knew we had to come out in the second half and flip the switch,” Rainbolt added. “That’s what coach tells us all the time. In the second half, if you’re not doing well, you have to flip that switch and get it going.”
The Royals opened the second half with a seven-play, 52-yard drive that Swan ended with a 1-yard sneak into the end zone.
After Rainbolt’s punt return for a touchdown, Arnold added a 51-yard rushing score and O’Neal ran back his interception back for a 20-yard touchdown that finalized the score with 7:40 left in the game.
The Royals defense locked down the Warriors, holding them to five turnovers and two punts after their lone touchdown run in the second quarter that gave them a brief 7-6 lead.
Arnold rushed for 79 yards on five carries with runs measuring 20 and 51 yards. Rainbolt hauled in two catches for 37 yards, while O’Neal had 33 yards on three receptions.
Wes-Del was limited to 129 yards passing and 98 yards rushing with 11 first downs. The Warriors were called for 13 penalties, including 10 of 10 or more yards.
“We knew we didn’t play as well as we could have in the first half. We knew we had some mistakes that we needed to fix and we fixed them well in the second half,” Swan said. “It’s a goal to win conference for us. We’re 3-0, but we have bigger goals.”
The challenge Swan spoke of is 2A No. 6 Heritage Christian next Friday at Eastern Hancock for homecoming.
“It’s just one more step to Heritage Christian. We’ve been eyeing that prize of Heritage Christian for the entire summer, and we’re ready for the competition,” Rainbolt said.
Eastern Hancock 47, Wes-Del 7
EASTERN HANCOCK (3-0, 2-0);6;6;14;21;—;47
WES DEL (0-2, 0-1);0;7;0;0;—;7
EH—Zach Arnold 38 pass from Houston Swan (kick failed), 1:31
WD—Devin Grow 5 run (Ryan Gillespie kick), 8:37
EH—Cole Rainbolt 1 run (kick failed), 5:45
EH—Swan 1 run (2pt good), 8:36
EH—Rainbolt 3 run (kick failed), 3.2
EH—Rainbolt 57 punt return (Aaron Redmon kick), 10:46
EH—Arnold 51 run (Redmon kick), 8:44
EH—Landon O’Neal 20 INT (Redmon kick), 7:40
