PINETOWN — Southside got its first chance to line up against another team when it traveled to Northside on Wednesday for scrimmages. The Seahawks, which paved their way to the eastern regional final using a potent ground assault, didn’t seem to miss a beat.

Junior running back Ronald Dennis received the handoff on the offense’s first play against Manteo’s defense. He took it along the right side and exploded for a touchdown. It was a strong showing that followed up the defense’s stout performance against Northside’s offense.

“We got out of that scrimmage exactly what we needed,” coach Jeff Carrow said. “We got a lot of guys in. It’s a big evaluation tool for us. I thought we started out well, but we needed to finish better. I didn’t feel like we finished as strong as we should have.”

Southside first saw live, full-contact action late this past Friday. The team split up and scrimmaged against one another. Wednesday evening at Northside gave the Seahawks more complete footage to review, which was one of their first orders of business on Thursday.

Right off the bat, Carrow was pleased with the way the defense got to the ball and forced turnovers. Even though tackling was just added to the mix recently, he’d like to see the team tackle better in open space.

The Seahawks are getting leadership from exactly where they expected at this point in the season. On the field, linebacker Hunter Sparks and quarterback Marshall Medlock have helped things run smoothly on their respective sides of the ball.

The defense faced a tall task in stopping Northside’s strong option-based offense. The Panthers had an advantage in size upfront and returned most of last year’s key offensive pieces. It helped give Southside a good idea of where it stands with stopping the run.

“We’ve got a few things. We’re not as deep at linebacker as we’d like to be. That’s due to some injuries we have right now,” Carrow said, adding that he is hoping for good news soon about Brandon Sullivan’s knee injury.

“That would be an extra linebacker back in the mix and an extra fullback, too. Overall, defensively, we’ve got to tackle a little bit better, especially in open space. As far as getting to the ball and knowing where to lineup, I thought we looked great.”

Southside’s preseason culminates Friday when it hosts a five-team jamboree scrimmage. There will be strong competition all around from Beaufort County rivals Northside and Washington, as well as Smithfield and Plymouth.