Morales leads RMHS past Northern Nash

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This rival match, well-attended for both teams, began with each team gathering as a group and demonstrating team spirit as they stepped onto the pitch.

The Gryphons started with a determined focus to dictate the tempo which resulted in excellent ball movement and several good scoring opportunities during the first half. Meanwhile, Northern Nash was limited to long through ball attempts. 

Midway through the half, senior Justin Marsigli outran the Knight defense, but was denied the goal when his shot struck the left post and bounced harmlessly away.

With tension mounting, Rocky Mount finally got on the board with seven minutes remaining in the first half. 

Matt Williams pushed the ball in front of the Knights' goal and was fouled just outside the 18. Morales took the kick for the Gryphons and struck a beautiful ball around the defensive wall into the top left-corner out of goalie Jeff Powell's reach. 

At the 36:05-mark, the Northern midfield committed a seemingly harmless foul at the midfield line. It, however, proved to be yet another costly error as Morales lined up to take the kick with all present assuming that a floating pass into the box was forthcoming. 

Rocky Mount's scoring leader hit a rocket that found the net - passing just under the cross bar that gave the Gryphons a 2-0 lead that held the remainder of the half. 

After intermssion, Rocky Mount came out with the fresher legs and continued intensity.  Just two minutes into the half, Marsigli again pressured the NN defense and delivered a well-placed ball which Morales finished from just inside the 18 for his hat trick goal.

At that point, Rocky Mount seemed to ease off of its ball pressure and settled into a more defensive play, while Northern began to build more offensive pressure. 

At the 51:54 mark, Northern's Nathan Jones sent a cross to Isai Gonzales inside the 18.  Gonzales handled the tough pass and quickly fired a well-placed shot to beat the Gryphon defense for the first and only Knight goal.

The remainder of the game saw several Rocky Mount plays that created several good offensive sequences, however, to no avail. The Gryphon defensive lineup of Robert Chambliss, Justin Hartney, Trevor Smith, Matt Boudreau and Paul Lilley continued to meet Northern's pressure - limiting the Knights' opportunities and rendering their press as no serious offensive threat ensued. 

For the game, the Gryphons were credited with 20 shot attempts while limiting Northern to 12 shots. Gryphon sophomore goalie Drew Gorham was credited with six saves while Powell was credited with seven for the Knights.

Afterwards, Rocky Mount head coach Drew Nick was very pleased with his team's effort. 

"We played hard and it was a good win," he said.

Rocky Mount improved its record to 13-1-2 on the season with a Big East record of 4-1 (its lone loss was at Wilson Hunt). RMHS returns to action Wednesday at home against league member Nash Central.