WILSON – Jackson Parrish rushed for a career-high 221 yards and three touchdowns, and Barton football topped Chowan 28-21 in Conference Carolinas action Saturday afternoon.
Parrish’s 5-yard touchdown run with 2:14 left provided the game-winning points after the Hawks tied the game 21-21 earlier in the period.
Barton stalled Chowan’s final drive at its 37 to celebrate its second win in a row. The Bulldogs are now 2-5 overall, 2-1 in Conference Carolinas play. The Hawks dropped to 2-5, 1-2 in the league.
READ MORE: Check out our North Carolina D2 football Game Day thread for recaps of all the action on Saturday, Oct. 18.
Barton’s Big-Time Back
Parrish, a sophomore from Graham (Southern Alamance HS), won starter’s playing time late last season, responding with three 100-yard games in four outings. In his first game this season, Virginia State held the 6-0, 215-pounder to negative nine yards on nine attempts. The next week, he managed just 31 yards on 10 totes.
But the more Barton has fed Parrish the ball as the season has progressed, the more he has responded. And the more competitive the Bulldogs have been. Parrish went for 104 yards and three touchdowns against Conference Carolinas leader North Greenville, then rushed for 112 and a score the following week against D2 playoff regular West Alabama.
Delta State kept him corralled (10 yards on Oct. 4) but since then Parrish has been a wrecking ball. He earned Conference Carolinas offensive player of the week following Barton’s win over Ferrum on Oct. 11. Parrish is the first back in the league’s new football history to eclipse the 200-yard mark, finishing with 218 yards and one touchdown.
He may earn player of the week honors again after his performance against Chowan. Barton gave him the ball 39 times. He averaged 5.7 yards per carry. He rumbled for a 46-yard gain and tallied touchdowns on rushes of 2, 2 and 5 yards.
New Rivalry Born?
Barton and Chowan have played regularly since the Bulldogs restarted their program in 2020-21. Saturday marked the first time the two met as conference mates. Barton has won all four meetings, but the past two have been nip-and-tuck.
The latest showdown featured four lead changes. Chowan got on the board on its first drive, with quarterback Maurice Smith rumbling 16 yards for a touchdown. Barton blocked the PAT.
Al Lee answered for the Bulldogs in the second quarter on a 1-yard quarterback sneak. Andrew Bontekoe’s extra point gave Barton a 7-6 edge.
Smith threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Dezmond Randolph with 5:38 before half. Parrish scored his first touchdown at the 1:02 mark to give Barton the lead at intermission, 14-13.
Barton seemed to be taking control when Parrish scored again midway through the third quarter. But Chowan refused to go away and tied the game 21-21 when Smith connected with Malique Frazier on an 8-yard scoring play. Randolph caught the 2-point conversion pass to even things up.
Barton’s game-winning drive featured 10 Parrish rushes and took more than six minutes off the fourth-quarter clock. Chowan penalties aided the march, and Parrish paid it off by fighting through the defense on first-and-goal from the 5, tumbling into the end zone before dancing with delight after the touchdown signal.
Chowan turned to NyJal Johnson at quarterback for the final drive. Four completions and three Johnson rushes later, the Hawks had first down at the Barton 37 with 35 seconds left. But Chowan threw three incompletions and a pass-and-catch from Johnson to Jakobe Lane on fourth down ended up a few yards short of the sticks. Barton took a knee as the sun ducked behind the pines surrounding Electric Supply Company Field at Truist Stadium.
Barton Stat Leaders
- Parrish accounted for all but two of Barton’s net rushing yards. Al Lee completed six passes for 92 yards. Isaiah Jacobs had three receptions for 46 yards.
- Ja’Correy Bible swarmed around the ball all afternoon on the defensive side. He finished with 10 solo tackles, 12 total stops and one tackle for loss. Keno Jones added eight tackles.
- Javon Wesley intercepted a pass at the end of the first half.
- Bontekoe made all four PAT attempts and averaged 44.0 yards on three punts. His 59-yarder pinned Chowan at its 1-yard line in the third quarter. He also sent three kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.
Chowan Stat Leaders
- Johnson led Chowan in passing, completing 11-of-25 passes for 196 yards. Smith completed two touchdown throws and finished 10-of-12 for 101 yards.
- Luke Krall caught passes covering 66 and 41 yards. Randolph finished with four catches for 56 yards. Lane had four catches for 55 yards.
- Demarcus Carroll led the Hawks defensively with 12 tackles. Darian Whitaker had five tackles for loss and a sack.
- Laurence Wallace averaged 41.5 yards on two punts.
What’s Next?
Barton will celebrate homecoming next Saturday, Oct. 25, welcoming Shorter (1-7, 0-4). The Bulldogs travel to UNC Pembroke on Nov. 1 and then finish the regular season at home against Erskine on Nov. 8.
Chowan will tackle UNC Pembroke (6-2, 3-1) at home on Saturday, Oct. 25. A road trip to Erskine and a home finale against Ferrum concludes the Hawks’ regular season.
Conference Carolinas has a scheduling agreement with the SIAC for two Week 11 matchups on Nov. 15. Two schools from each league that don’t qualify for their respective championship games will be matched against each other.
