On Friday night, the top teams in Raleigh faced off in a defensive slugfest. Leesville Road traveled to Cardinal Gibbons for a huge conference game for the 4A Cap 6 conference where Gibbons won in a tight 13-3 game.

The stadium was packed on both sides, Leesville Road’s full student section traveled to the game to match the enormous Cardinal Gibbons student section. Leesville Road took an early 3-0 lead with 11 minutes left in the second quarter as both teams traded stops in the first quarter. With big performances in the first quarter from Leesville’s defensive end Beau Atkinson (UNC commit) and Gibbons’ Carter Spence (who ended the game with 12 tackles), we had a 3-3 stalemate at halftime.

With more defensive performances in the third quarter led by Cardinal Gibbons’ Donovan Dozier, Gibbons chipped in 3 more points to start the second half. Dozier finished the night with 3 tackles for a loss. Offensively, Leesville Road dominated almost the entire game with 10 more first downs than Gibbons and out gained them yardage wise. Leesville had a costly fumble with :51 left in the third quarter that turned the momentum and gave Gibbons great field position. After a 29 yard pass completion, quarterback Connor Clark punched in a 1-yard rushing touchdown for Cardinal Gibbons to make it a 13-3 game with a quarter left to play.

Leesville Road was looking promising to return the score in the fourth quarter after having a 17 play, 7 minutes drive. But that drive stalled after Joshua Stoneking got a huge sack for Gibbons. Leesville’s missed opportunity resulted in a wide left 40-yard field goal. Leesville got one last try late in the game but QB Wil Murray threw an interception with under 1:30 left in the game to seal the win for Gibbons.

Next week #7 Cardinal Gibbons travels to Broughton for a conference game and Leesville Road is home against Athens Drive. Don't be surprised if these two meet again deep in the playoffs.