RALEIGH – Back in September, it was Cary's inability to stop Southeast Raleigh's rushing attack that led to its downfall. That was again the difference Monday night at John Baker Stadium.

The Bulldogs piled up the yards on the ground – led by senior tailback Kevin Howell, who rushed for 241 yards on 18 carries – and routed the Imps 34-14, eliminating them from the NCHSAA 4-A state playoffs.

"They ran the ball well," Cary coach Ben Kolstad said. "That's what beat us. We struggled all night against them. We couldn't tackle (Howell)."

It was the second time this season Howell was able to eclipse the 200-yard mark against the Imps. In the first meeting between the two, he tallied 231 yards and three touchdowns.

Kolstad said the focus this week in practice was on stopping Howell and the Bulldogs' ground game.

"We changed personnel and worked on different formations just to stop him," Kolstad said. "We just couldn't get it done."

Cary's running game began the game in similar fashion to Southeast's.

The Imps (4-8) answered an early Bulldogs score with an 11-play drive, capped by junior running back Ralph Chapman's 10-yard touchdown run with 13.3 seconds left in the opening quarter.

After that, though, it was tough sledding for No. 15 Cary.

The Imps managed just one first down in the entire second quarter, while No. 2 Southeast Raleigh (10-2) mounted a 20-7 halftime lead.

"They just wanted it more than we did," Cary senior running back/defensive back Bryan Wilson said. "Their defense really wanted to shut down our running game, and it just boiled down to them wanting it more."

The Imps did find themselves deep in Bulldogs territory early in the second quarter following an 80-yard Chapman kickoff return, but were stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. A field goal would've pulled Cary to within three at 13-10.

Kolstad questioned his decision after the game.

"If I could go back and do it again I would kick the field goal," he said. "That really killed our early momentum."

The second half was more of the same.

After holding the Imps to another three-and-out, Howell took the ball on the first Southeast play from scrimmage and went 82 yards to push the score to 27-7. Howell and the Bulldogs would tack on one more touchdown late in the third quarter.

"We saw some things on film we wanted to exploit," Southeast coach Daniel Finn said. "We felt like we could run it on them again, but we used more of a spread run offense this time and it worked well for us."

With the outcome no longer in doubt, the Imps were able to rebound a little offensively in the fourth quarter. They took advantage of good field position and drove to the Bulldogs' 8-yard line before they were again stopped on fourth down. On their next possession, however, senior quarterback Daniel Steed found Chapman in the end zone from five yards out with 3:57 left in the game.

The touchdown had no bearing who won or lost the game, but Kolstad was pleased with the fact his team didn't quit even though the score was one-sided in its opponent's favor.

"I'll never question the effort of this team," he said. "And from a coach's standpoint, that says a lot about the players you have."

Wilson echoed Kolstad's sentiments.

"I was proud of our team," he said. "It's hard to go out like we did, but we kept playing hard. And you have to go out some time."
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