Beaufort County Schools went 2-1 against their opponents Friday night. One team looks to avenge their loss and the other two are working towards winning streaks. This Friday night, all three teams are going to have to bring their A-games to bring home wins.

 

Washington vs. Tarboro

 

The consecutive defending 1-A State Champions come to Washington on Friday night. It may be a tall task for the Pam Pack to knock off a Vikings team that hasn’t lost a game in 31 straight matchups. However, Washington has a decent shot to knock off Tarboro, here’s why.

The Vikings haven’t played a full game in 2019. Last Thursday night, the Vikings attempted to host the Rocky Mount Gryphons, but thunderstorms rolled in mid way through the second quarter. The Vikings led 6-0 at the time, and were awarded the win due to a makeup date not being agreed upon.

Now, the Vikings will roll into week two without experiencing the fatigue that comes with playing a four-quarter game.

The Vikings have lost 41 seniors in the last two seasons in their 31-0 stretch. This year, another 22 seniors will trot onto the field for Tarboro.

The Pam Pack played the Vikings every year in recent history. Washington has not come away victorious since 2014 in a 42-7 route. However, the Vikings have shut out the Pam Pack each of the last three meetings.

It’s no secret what Tarboro does; line up with three of their athletic and talented running backs and let them find space after getting past a big, physical offensive line.

Defensively, the Vikings trust their corners and safeties enough in one-on-one coverage to stack eight players in the box to try and stuff the run. If that’s the case, the Pam Pack will likely try to balance out their attack with quick screens, outs and slants to get the ball out of Antwone Godley’s hands to open up the run game.

 

Prediction:

Washington – 14

Tarboro – 31

 

Northside @ North Duplin

 

The Panthers are coming off a 32-6 victory over Perquimans, and the North Duplin Rebels stroll into this game with a 1-0 record after defeating South Lenoir 22-0.

Last season, the Panthers defeated the Rebels at home in Pinetown by a score of 22-0.

North Duplin went 5-6 last season; including a playoff loss to Bishop McGuinness in the first round.

The Rebels are fairly small, and outsized at a lot of positions, but they make up for it with their speed. North Duplin averaged 22 points per game last season in their two-back offense. They like to get the ball out quickly to their playmakers due to their lack of size up front.
Last week, the Rebels rushed for 220 yards and three touchdowns, with sophomore running back Luis Olivos leading the charge with 136 yards. North Duplin only attempted one pass on Friday night.

The Panthers should outsize the Rebels and be able to run the ball effectively. Expect Northside to run the ball early and often on the way to its second consecutive victory to open up the season.

 

Prediction:

Northside – 29

North Duplin – 12

 

Southside @ Dixon

 

Dixon is a little different than the vast majority of smaller schools around the area. The Bulldogs like to spread the field and throw it around quite a bit. With three senior running backs and senior quarterback leading the charge, the Bulldogs trust their seniors with the offense.

In last week’s loss to Swansboro, Dixon threw the ball 38 times. Senior quarterback Corey Motes completed 19 of those for 281 yards for three touchdowns and an interception.

The Bulldogs usually line up with four receivers and a running back, allowing running backs to see space beyond the first level of linemen. With 156 yards rushing, it set up a balanced offensive attack for Dixon.

Defensively, Dixon comes out in a base 3-4 defense and will likely adjust how many linebackers are on the field with how many wide receivers they need to match up with.

The Seahawks are looking to avenge last week’s loss to Ayden-Grifton where their defense did a really good job of containing the Chargers when they weren’t given a short field to work with.

However, the Dixon defense gave up 46 points last week that included 129 rushing yards and 327 passing yards.

Last season, these two played in a 27-20 classic in Chocowinity where Southside came away victorious.

With the home field, and an offense littered with seniors, the Bulldogs may have the upper hand, but the Seahawks pull out the win.

 

Prediction:

Southside – 25

Dixon – 21