Staff Reports

It was all or nothing in the final seconds.

After scoring a touchdown with 18 seconds left in the game to get within one of Chapel Hill, Westwood decided to go for the win instead of the tie.

However, Chapel Hill stopped Westwood’s two-point conversion attempt just short of the goal line as the Bulldogs held off the Panthers 27-26 Friday night in the season opener for both teams.

“We were going for the win,” Westwood head coach Kevin Anderson said. “I know people are going to second guess the move, but we felt like it was the right one and I would do it again.”

In a game that was dominated on the offensive side of the ball, with the two teams combining for 848 yards, it came down to a defensive stop as Westwood quarterback Tevin Watson hit a wall of defenders before he could get into the end zone on the two-point conversion try.

“I felt like we could put it in and help jump start us,” Anderson said. “We know we have an excellent kicker, we were just going for the win.”

Westwood was trying to put the finishing touches to a strong offensive effort, especially from Cameron Shead and Domanick Turner.

Shead, in his first varsity game at running back, rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns and caught the touchdown pass to put Westwood within one point.

“I felt like Cameron grew up tonight,” Anderson said. “We know we found our running back.”

At the receiver spot, Turner had seven catches for 192 yards and a touchdown.

“We really wanted to get the ball in Domanick’s hands and let him make plays,” Anderson said.

Chapel Hill’s Jordan Williams played the biggest role Friday night as the Bulldog backup quarterback. Williams scored all four Bulldog touchdowns as he came in and out of the game when Chapel Hill was looking for a threat to run the ball from the quarterback position.

Williams’ final touchdown — a 16-yard run — finished off a six-minute fourth quarter drive, giving the Bulldogs a 27-20 lead with four minutes to play.

Westwood converted a long third down on Watson’s 14-yard scramble to get to midfield and then found Des’Mone Williams for a 19-yard gain to get inside the 20-yard line.

Chapel Hill forced a fourth down when Westwood went to a screen pass to Shead, who caught the pass and out ran the Bulldog defense to the corner of the end zone for the touchdown and forcing the decision to go for the win or go for the tie.

Westwood’s big-play abilities allowed the Panthers to take an early lead in the first quarter.

Westwood scored twice on three plays, starting on the first play of the game, when Watson boot legged and found Turner with one-on-one coverage. Turner caught the short pass, slipped the tackle and went 73 yards for the touchdown, tying the game 7-7.

On the next possession, Shead had a 16-yard run and then broke one for a 64-yard touchdown and in three plays, Westwood led 13-7.

The Bulldog defense stiffened up for the rest of the half and Chapel Hill scored on 2-yard run by Williams early in the second quarter to take a 14-13 lead, which remained going into halftime.

In the third quarter, Westwood put together a nine-play drive, which included Turner catching a tipped pass off his teammates hands for 10 yards, putting Westwood on the Chapel Hill 10-yard line. Three plays later, Shead took the handoff and outraced the defense around the corner for a 9-yard touchdown giving Westwood a 22-14 lead.

Chapel Hill responded by scoring on its next drive to tie the game at 20-all, setting up the dramatic fourth quarter.

Notes: Chapel Hill has won the last three games against Westwood. ...Watson threw for 272 yards and one touchdowns. ...Westwood’s Nick Morrow had an interception late in the first half to stop a Chapel Hill drive. ...Both teams missed handled a snap on an extra-point attempt.

Chapel Hill (1-0) 7 7 6 7 27

Wetwood (0-1) 13 0 7 6 26

Chapel Hill — Jordan Williams 5 run (Alberto Lopez kick)

Westwood — Domanick Turner 73 pass from Tevin Watson (Tyler Dillon kick)

Westwood — Cameron Shead 64 run (pass fail)

Chapel Hill — Williams 2 run (Lopez kick)

Westwood — Shead 9 run (Dillon kick)

Chapel Hill — Williams 5 run (kick fail)

Chapel Hill — Williams 16 run (Lopez kick)

Westwood — Shead 18 pass from Watson (run fail)

Chapel Hill Westwood

First Downs 23 19

Rushes-Yards 42-164 27-191

Passing Yards 221 272

Total Yards 385 463

Att-Comp-Int 16-22-1 12-24-0

Punts-Avg 1-34 1-35

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 3-1

Penalties-Yards 8-75 6-65

Individual

Rushing — CH: Williams 10-63; Lairamie Lee, 9-62; Jay Reagan, 11-37; Troy Stanley, 9-18; Ke’Andre Goss, 1-0; Kedray Hollins 1-(-4); Anthony Kincard 1-(-12). WW: Shead, 11-127; Watson, 11-56; Turner, 5-8

Passing — CH: Stanley, 16-22-1-221. WW: Watson, 12-24-0-272.

Receiving — CH: Kincard, 7-66; Hollins, 3-74; Jimmy Wade, 23-59; Lee, 1-12; Reagan, 1-11; Williams, 1-(-1). WW: Turner, 7-192; Nick Morrow, 2-33; Shead, 1-18; Des’Mone Williams, 1-17; Bryce Lyman, 1-12.