In Their Own Words - Voices of the PAC-6 - Southern Durham vs. Southeast Raleigh (11/20/2010)

PHOTO BY JOHNNY JOHNSON

The good times can seemingly end so quickly and on Friday evening behind one of the best performances that the Bulldogs of Southeast Raleigh have put forth this season they emphatically closed the book on the 2010 season for the Southern Durham Spartans.  After rebounding from six straight hard-fought losses against top caliber competition to win six in a row and capture second place in the PAC-6 conference, the Spartans ran into a roadblock of monumental proportions on Friday evening and fell 38-7 to the host Bulldogs [DFBFan's Pick - Southern Durham 15, Southeast Raleigh 12].

The Spartans began 2010 as a team that knew they had a lot of maturing to do and the best way to do that in Coach Adrian Jones book was to hop right into the mix.  Out of Southern's first six opponents, all six made the playoffs.  Greenville Rose, perhaps the weakest of the group finished fourth in their conference and lost in the first round to a powerful New Bern team by 10 points.  But the remaining five teams were a stout group.  Only Millbrook lost in the first round in a close game to Wake Forest-Rolesville, while the Cougars, Middle Creek, Douglas Byrd and Hillside all made the second round of the playoffs.  On Friday, Wake Forest-Rolesville and Hillside moved on to the third round, while Byrd and Middle Creek both lost competitive games.  During those early games, the Southern defense played well enough to keep them in games, but offensively and especially when it came to running the ball they struggled - it wasn't until the Hillside game and afterwards that they appeared to find their stride offensively and began to put up consistently strong numbers week-in and week-out.

It appeared that going into their match-up with Southeast Raleigh that one of the biggest advantages that the Spartans would have centered around that tough early year schedule.  The Bulldogs had played relatively speaking a somewhat lightweight schedule and the experience of being tested early appeared to a be a plausible advantage for the Spartans [PAC-6 Breakdown (Week 2 Playoffs) - Southern Durham visits Southeast Raleigh - Spartans Continue Quest].  From the beginning, the Spartans appeared to have forgotten in many respects the journey and lessons they had learned and the Bulldogs capitalized with one of their more impressive performances on the year on both sides of the ball.  The Spartans struggled on offense, similar to their time during non-conference play, with limited success running the ball, but maybe more surprising was the fact that Southern's defense struggled to stop the Bulldogs both on the ground and through the air.

Every indication is that this Southern squad still has a lot of youth - that gained one of the most valuable things available during a season, experience - and it will be back in full force for the 2011 season.  The following quotes are from the voices of the PAC-6 and were included in articles from the News and Observer and Herald-Sun.  For more information on the game, follow the links provided at the end of the post.

After the game, Southern Durham head coach Adrian Jones explained what he observed from his team, specifically, that was a contributing factor to the loss.

"We kind of reverted to how we played at the beginning of the year," Jones said.

Southeast Raleigh head coach Daniel Finn spoke about what he saw from his squad on Friday night in relation to their game plan going into the contest.

"That is the first time we played a complete game," Finn said. "Offensively, we wanted to keep the chains moving.  We knew they were fast and the big plays would probably be slim."

"Defensively, on the tape we saw they had trouble moving down the field, so we tried to be patient and put them in long fields and make them make mistakes."

Finn went on to discuss their thoughts coming out of halftime with a 17-0 lead and what the Bulldogs needed to do to keep the momentum.

"I thought if we could stop them the first drive of the second half, then that would give us a chance," Finn said. "But if they came out and scored, I know how Southern Durham is -- we would have been in for a dogfight."

Coach Jones commented on a greater perspective for his team as they officially close out the 2010 season.

"Not too many teams can do what you all did," Jones said.  "Nobody can say anything bad about this team."

Wake Forest recruit and one of the key cogs in the Southern program over the last four years, Sherman Ragland III, discussed some of what he learned on his journey with the Spartans.

"I learned how teamwork wins games," Ragland said. "Sometimes I found myself trying to be the 'I' in team.  That doesn't work.  You have to win as a team."

Durham Herald-Sun (article by Steven J. Gaither)
News & Observer (article by Tim Candon)