Keyed by two special teams plays, Statesville (3-0) defeated Hopewell (1-2) 24-21 Friday night.

Debuting their new turf field, the Greyhounds struggled at times to find their footing on offense but pulled out the win with a 4th down pass breakup by Cam Smith.

Joshua Ruiz Chavez’s 26-yard field goal turned out to be the game winner, putting the Greyhounds ahead for good with 5:54 left in the fourth quarter.

SLOPPY PLAY

The adjustment to the turf field Friday night was not the only sloppy part of the Greyhounds’ win.

Both Statesville and Hopewell struggled mightily with penalties. The two teams totaled over 200 penalty yards for the game, committing a combined 25 in the first half and over 30 in total for the game.

Statesville head coach Rydell Cowan put it bluntly in describing States

See Full Page