By LAIEKE ABEBE

For the Daily News

CHOCOWINITY — Perquimans was looking to win its first game of the season after an 0-2 start, while Southside was looking to start a winning streak. In the end, it was the Seahawks who came out with the last laugh. Southside (2-1) used its rushing attack to dominate from minute one against Perquimans (0-3) en route to a 47-0 victory tonight.

The Pirates began the game with a slow and methodical drive. However, the Seahawks managed to force a turnover on downs, beginning a scoring blitz for the home team. Following the turnover, Southside’s Hayden Mayo scored on a 36-yard run into the end zone for the first points of the night. After getting another stop by the Seahawks’ defense, Chris Brinkley scored a 17-yard rushing touchdown.

The Seahawks continued to put the pressure on Perquimans by blocking a punt to open the second quarter. The ball rolled out of the back of the end zone for a safety, giving Southside a 16-0 lead over Perquimans. After receiving the ball following the safety, the Seahawks were driving once again. But the Pirates recovered a fumble to stem the tide for the time being. However, Perquimans coughed the ball up on the ensuing possession, leading to the third Seahawk rushing touchdown of the first half. this time it was Jonquil Haywood with a 9-yard touchdown run. Luke Matthews kicked a field goal late to put the Seahawks up 26-0 at halftime.

Similar to the opening possession of the game, Hayden Mayo scored another rushing touchdown to begin the second half, this time an 8-yard run. The Pirates managed to have their best drive of the night on the ensuing possession, reaching the Seahawks’ red zone. However, the Southside defense forced another turnover on downs to preserve the shutout. Kenjray Coffield and Michael Smith added rushing touchdowns to end the third quarter and provide the final score.

Overall, it was a complete performance that head coach Jeff Carrow was looking for from his Seahawks.

“I thought the guys came out ready to play a full game this week,” Carrow said. “They came out energetic on both sides of the ball and it was nice to get a shutout defensively.”

Perquimans never managed to get its offense going, as Seahawks limited the Pirates to 146 yards of total offense. The rushing attack of Southside carried the Seahawks on the night, accounting for all 357 yards of offense and six touchdowns. Their next game is next Friday night on the road against Gates County.

“They’re a high quality team,” Carrow said of Gates County. “It’s a learning process for us and the team will have to learn how to win on the road.”