The home stretch of the regular season is rapidly coming as all three Beaufort County teams enter the midway point of conference play. Southside and Northside both faceoff against familiar opponents with hopes of getting back on track.

Northside hosts South Creek, which is a newcomer to the 1-A Coastal Plains Conference. They may be new conference rivals, but the two have played each other in non-conference action for the past few years.

Southside and Jones Senior have a storied past in the league. The Seahawks fell short to the Trojans at home last year. They look back to their last trip to Trenton, which proved fruitful.

Despite Ayden-Grifton being in the next county over, the Chargers and Pam Pack have a scarce recent history. The 2-A Eastern Carolina Conference has shown to have some top-notch teams, so Washington recalls picking up big wins in its first year in the 2-A Eastern Plains Conference.

 

South Creek at Northside, 2016

Northside and South Creek know each other well, despite the Cougars being new to the 1-A Coastal Plains Conference this season. The Panthers, who were off last week, only had four days to prepare for South Creek a year ago. Tyrece Taylor had a fumble recovery for a touchdown and Jackson Midgette had a pick-six. The defensive scores allowed the Panthers to win the sloppy game, 24-7.

“It was ugly,” head coach Keith Boyd said. “They went ahead of us and Tyrece Taylor picked one up and returned it for a touchdown to even it up. It stayed that way. … To tell you the truth, if not for the two turnovers and immediate scores, it would have been a 1 or 2-point game.”

 

Beddingfield at Washington, 2013

It was Washington’s first season in the 2-A Eastern Plains Conference. Three weeks into league action, the Pam Pack knew it had stumbled into one of the toughest conferences around. Besides a winless North Johnston team, each squad had at least five wins on the season. Washington, behind 121 rushing yards and three touchdowns from Stevie Green, was able to blow past second-place Beddingfield, 33-7.

“One of the things that a lot of people might forget about is that when we first entered the Eastern Plains, it was loaded,” head coach Jon Blank said. “Beddingfield was playing great. Southwest Edgecombe was on the rise. Farmville Central entered conference play undefeated every single season it felt like. So, we had some battles it seemed like every single Friday night, even when we were at the top of our game.”

 

Southside at Jones Senior, 2015

Southside’s last trip to Trenton was kind to the Seahawks. They controlled the game, forcing five turnovers, en route to a 22-6 win. Zikajah Crawford had an interception. He, Johnny Sullivan, Nicholas Baugham and Demetrius Ebron all recovered a fumble, too. Lawrence Brown had nearly 200 yards of total offense while the likes of Hunter Sparks and Brandon Sullivan spearheaded the defensive effort.

“It’s a really tough place to play, actually. They had their crowd going. I believe it was Homecoming,” head coach Jeff Carrow said. “… This time around, we’re looking to make big plays. Same thing. We’re trying to get back on track and play ball the way we’re supposed to.”