And then there was one.

Two Beaufort County football teams entered the second round of the 1-A playoffs on Friday, but only one emerged with a ticket to the third round. Southside soared past KIPP Pride, 60-8, behind a rejuvenated offense and still-consistent defense.

Northside’s best season in 12 years came to a heartbreaking close with a two-point, 16-14, loss at North Edgecombe. The No. 3 Panthers took the second-seeded Warriors to the limit. A missed 2-point conversion and 37-yard field goal was the difference in Northside being sent home.

Southside had incredible efforts across the board to score more touchdowns this week than it did points last week. Northside performed admirably in largely unchartered waters, too.

Here are this week’s gridiron standouts:

 

ZIKIJAH CRAWFORD

Southside’s offense exploded against KIPP Pride after only scoring one touchdown last week. Zikijah Crawford had a big part in that. He got things rolling right away with a 90-yard touchdown run on the Seahawks’ first offensive play.

In all, Southside had 483 yards of total offense. Crawford had over half of those yards. He ran five times for 183 yards and had a 77-yard catch. Defensively, Crawford also had an interception and three tackles (two solo).

 

DEMETRIUS EBRON

When the offense puts 60 points on the scoreboard, it can be easy to overlook the work done on defense. Southside bent, but didn’t break on KIPP Pride’s seven-minute opening drive.

Ebron was a big part of the exceptional defense as he led a stout secondary. Ebron had a 21-yard pick six in the third quarter, which was one of the four turnovers forced by the Seahawks. He also had a 34-yard touchdown catch.

 

JAMES BARROW

James Barrow and his fellow upperclassmen picked up their first playoff win last week. They had never been to the second round before, but Barrow and the Panthers looked like they belonged.

The Panther running back scored on a 17-yard run, and had a game-high 104 rushing yards. He kept his team in the game and gave it a chance to win. Ultimately, with the clock running down and no timeouts, Northside couldn’t get plays off.

 

MARSHALL MEDLOCK

Next week, Southside runs into Northampton County — a team it met in the second round of last year’s playoffs. Thanks to Marshall Medlock, the Seahawks have a different wrinkle in their offense this time around.

Johnny Sullivan completed four passes for 40 yards against the Jaguars last time. Medlock used his arm to torch KIPP Pride for 137 yards and two touchdowns. With a traditionally strong rushing offense, Medlock could be an x-factor moving forward.