ST. PAULS — No one breaks free quite like No. 23.

St. Pauls junior running back Kemarion Baldwin broke his own school and county rushing record Friday, running for 447 yards and six touchdowns.

And the Bulldogs needed every bit of it.

After Roanoke Rapids had an answer for every Baldwin score in regulation, the Bulldogs scored and then got a stop in the extra session to earn a 44-36 overtime win in the second round of the 2A state playoffs.

“Adversity — that’s just the playoffs,” Baldwin said. “There’s going to be ups and downs. The game was going our way but they came back. We just had to pull through because we’re a good team. Our bond keeps us together and helps us get through these situations.”

Baldwin’s half-dozen touchdown runs included dashes of 80, 71 and 51 yards; he also scored three of the team’s four two-point conversions in the game. His record-breaking rushing total is unofficially the 13th most rushing yards in a game in North Carolina High School Athletic Association history, and comes just five games after he set the previous Robeson County record of 409 yards against Clinton on Oct. 12.

“You always hear big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games, and that’s what he is,” St. Pauls coach Mike Setzer said. “It’s time to get him an offer, time for something big to happen for him.”

“My offensive coordinator told me I had to be physical this week,” Baldwin said. “That’s my intention going into any game; being physical is my main focus, punish the defense. Because most teams we play play both sides (of the ball), so we try to tear them down, and then when they get on offense it’s going to be easier for our defense.”

The fifth-seeded Bulldogs (10-0) will travel to No. 4 Whiteville for the third round next Friday.

While Baldwin was the star of the night, the game ended on a defensive play by the Bulldogs. After Baldwin scored his sixth touchdown on the game on a 4-yard run on St. Pauls’ overtime possession, the Roanoke Rapids (7-5) faced fourth-and-goal from the 18-yard line; Eddrick James intercepted the fourth-down pass to seal the win.

“Coach Bridges told the (defensive backs) to stay on the 5-yard line,” James said. “We got out there; I set up on the linebacker, who was next to me, and told him what to look for. I hiked the ball, he rolled out, I waited on it, sat on it, and we just took what they gave us.”

“I’m super excited about, as a defense we’ve got to get some more positives, because our offense is getting so much praise,” Setzer said. “These guys are going to see that we had a positive, big-time stand, and I think that’s going to catapult us going forward.”

St. Pauls never trailed in the game, but 12th-seeded Roanoke Rapids tied the score three times after the Bulldogs had taken the lead, including a pair of 14-point leads.

The Yellow Jackets tied the score at 28-28 with 6:52 remaining when Jon Temple, who totaled 130 passing yards, found Wayne Wilkins on a 45-yard touchdown pass. Baldwin’s longest run of the night came on the very next play from scrimmage, an 80-yard dash to the end zone; he also ran in the conversion for a 36-28 lead with 6:36 to go.

Matthew Macnichol scored on an 11-yard run to provide the answer for Roanoke Rapids, and Macnichol got inside the pylon to convert the two-point try and tie the score at 36-36 with 2:27 to go.

The Bulldogs overcame adversity to earn the win, including an injury to starting quarterback Mikail Breeden and two key second-half turnovers. Breeden is considered day-to-day with a shoulder injury as the Bulldogs prepare for the third-round matchup with Whiteville.

Baldwin scored the play after Breeden’s injury on a 12-yard run and added the conversion to go up 28-14 with 5:28 left in the third. On St. Pauls’ next drive, Austin Geary recovered a fumble and scored on a 55-yard return. The touchdown that tied the score at 28-28 came on the Yellow Jackets’ next drive.

After Roanoke Rapids’ second fourth-quarter score tied the game at 36-36, Josh Coker intercepted Bulldogs quarterback Theophilus Setzer as St. Pauls tried to create a game-winning drive. The Bulldogs went on to force a Yellow Jackets punt in the final seconds of regulation, sealing the tied score at the conclusion of regulation.

“It felt like we kept getting the opportunity to put it away, but the ball would bounce back the other way,” Mike Setzer said. “This team, for a while, has been built on not giving up, and that’s how we beat this team tonight. That team was very well-coached and played hard, but our team has an element about not giving up.”

Behind Baldwin, St. Pauls outgained Roanoke Rapids 484-287, even as the score was even at the end of regulation.

Baldwin began his record-setting performance immediately at the game’s outset, scoring on a 51-yard run on the third play from scrimmage; Breeden ran in the conversion for an 8-0 lead. Baldwin scored again on the next drive on a 71-yard run; the conversion attempt failed and St. Pauls led 14-0 with 4:49 left in the first.

A long Yellow Jackets drive ended with a 3-yard touchdown run by Geary on the second play of the second quarter; the extra-point kick was blocked. On the next Roanoke Rapids drive, Geary scored on a 19-yard run and Macnichol ran in the conversion to tie the game at 14-14 with 5:49 to go in the half.

Wilkins intercepted Breeden near the goal line on the next St. Pauls drive, but after a three-and-out by the Yellow Jackets in that field position the punt attempt was blocked by Houston Hunt; two plays later Baldwin scored on a 15-yard run to take a 20-14 lead just before halftime. The Baldwin touchdown just after Breeden’s injury came on the Bulldogs’ first second-half drive.

The Bulldogs will advance to face a familiar opponent, after facing Whiteville each of the last eight seasons as conference foes before the NCHSAA’s most recent realignment left them in different leagues.

“We live to fight another day; that’s what it’s all about. Once again, we’re going to have to get back to the drawing board and clean up some of our insufficiencies in our armor, or whatever you want to call it,” Mike Setzer said. “I think Whiteville’s always been well-coached and has great athletes, and I think we’ve got the same, so I think whoever comes out of that game will earn it.”