Greene Central rolls past Wake Prep in playoff opener
WAKE FOREST, N.C. — Greene Central’s offense needed time to settle in Friday night. Its defense and special teams made sure that hardly mattered.
A daring fake punt, a 30-yard interception return and a 69-yard fumble return highlighted the No. 17 Rams’ 42-6 rout of No. 16 Wake Prep Academy in the first round of the NCHSAA 3A football playoffs.
Greene Central scored on offense, defense and special teams, forced four turnovers and carried a 28-6 lead into halftime. The Rams added two third-quarter touchdowns, including another defensive score, to take command of the road matchup.
“We scored all three phases tonight: offense, defense, and special teams,” defensive coordinator Colin Lee said after the game. “So, love to see it.”
A fake punt flips the first quarter
The Rams started at their own 23-yard line and moved the chains twice before an interception ended their opening possession. Greene Central’s defense answered immediately, recording a 10-yard tackle for loss and forcing a three-and-out.
On the next series, two dropped passes left the Rams facing fourth-and-long. Rather than punt, Greene Central went to a direct snap to JoJo Sanders, who burst through the middle for a 36-yard touchdown. The extra point made it 7-0 with 4:12 left in the first quarter.
Just 53 seconds of game time later, Ben Ramsey jumped a Wake Prep pass and returned the interception 30 yards for a touchdown. The Rams suddenly led 14-0, and the Guardians were struggling to sustain a possession.
Greene Central builds its lead
Quarterback Joshua Cetnar then directed a scoring drive featuring three completions — two to Trey Bynum and one to Sanders — before sneaking across the goal line from a yard out. Greene Central went ahead 21-0 with 11:21 remaining in the second quarter.
Wake Prep finally broke through on third-and-long, connecting with No. 11 on a 70-yard wheel-route touchdown to trim the deficit to 21-6 with 6:45 left in the half.
But Greene Central answered before the break. Starting at its 37 with only 1:14 on the clock, Cetnar moved the offense downfield and put the Rams at the 1-yard line with nine seconds remaining. Kadeen Sutton finished the possession with a 1-yard touchdown run, sending Greene Central into halftime ahead 28-6.
According to Neuse News Sports’ unofficial first-half chart, the Rams rushed for 151 yards, including 58 from Cody Gaitor and 41 from Sanders. Wake Prep’s recorded rushing plays totaled minus-12 yards before halftime.
Offensive coordinator DeMarcus Whitehurst said Greene Central overcame an uneven start by playing at a better pace, crediting the offensive line for doing its job and helping the Rams finish drives.
Turnovers take over the second half
The defense wasted little time delivering another big play after halftime. On a deep third-down attempt, Bynum intercepted Wake Prep and gave Greene Central possession at its own 23-yard line.
Cetnar then connected with Sanders for a 27-yard completion along the sideline. Sanders tiptoed inbounds to reach the Wake Prep 11, and Cetnar followed with an 11-yard screen to Bynum for a touchdown. The score pushed the lead to 35-6 with 9:41 left in the third quarter.
The next defensive touchdown was even more dramatic. Jordan Lane sacked Wake Prep’s quarterback and forced a fumble. Linebacker Kaz Farrior recovered the ball and raced 69 yards into the end zone, making it 42-6.
Farrior later added an interception on a tipped pass, giving Greene Central three interceptions for the night, along with the recovered fumble. Ramsey, Bynum and Farrior each came away with a pick, while Lane’s strip sack created the scoop-and-score.
“We were aggressive. We were aggressive,” Lee said of the defensive approach. He credited the Rams’ work against the run, which forced Wake Prep to rely more heavily on the passing game.
Lee also said the return of a key defender had lifted the unit’s intensity in practice and games.
All three phases make a statement
Greene Central had demonstrated throughout the regular season that it could pile up points, scoring 49 against Kinston, 49 against Ayden-Grifton and 49 against Beddingfield in its final regular-season game.
Against Wake Prep, the Rams showed they could win in different ways. Sanders’ fake punt supplied the spark. Ramsey’s pick-six extended the early lead. Cetnar engineered productive drives, and Bynum made an impact on both sides of the ball. Lane and Farrior delivered the exclamation point with a long defensive touchdown.
The result sends Greene Central toward a much tougher assignment: a second-round matchup with No. 1 Northeastern, which had a first-round bye in the 3A East bracket.
For the Rams, the message from Friday’s performance was clear. In the playoffs, their offense is far from the only thing opponents must stop.