Washington 34, Northside 23

In a very competitive battle, two teams gave it everything they had, and the Pam Pack made enough to plays down the stretch to come away victorious. The Panthers drove right down the field on their first possession and capped it off with a 4-yard touchdown run from Zakkai Wilson.

Washington leaned on Mykell Warren on the ensuing drive and he gashed the defense for a couple of big runs, and Kris Hill carried it in from just outside the goal line. Hill went on to score three times in short yardage on Friday night.

“I just wanted to do what i needed to do for the team,” Hill said. “We still have a lot to work on, but we ran the ball well and we believed. Our head was in it the whole time. Even when we were down our heads were still in it.”

Antwone Godley intercepted a pass on the ensuing drive, and then at quarterback he took an option keeper up along the sideline and dashed for a 54-yard touchdown run.

Northside would answer with a field goal, a defensive stop and Wilson followed it up with a 60-yard touchdown run to take the lead going into the half, 17-12.

After a Washington scoring drive, Northside’s James Gorham rushed up the gut for a 50-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, but that would the last lead for the Panthers. Hill and Jaden Hambric put the game away late with a touchdown at the four-minute mark.

“It all starts with execution,” Warren said after the game. “Coach said to come out and play fast and play physical. That’s what we did.”

The Panthers drove down the field and would have taken the lead on Carter Boyd pass to Tyler Turner, but a holding call negated the play and forced a fourth down and goal from the Pam Pack 15-yard line. They wouldn’t convert, and the Pam Pack scored to put it out of reach.

Carter Boyd, the quarterback of the Panthers explained that they were able to do some good things against a good team on Friday night.

“I didn’t throw the ball as well as I could have, but we still did some good things,” Carter Boyd said. “If we can hang with a team of their stature I think we’re doing alright.”

Washington’s offensive coordinator Perry Owens had a very positive outlook on his team after the victory on Friday night.

“It just goes to show, three years ago we were the weakest, slowest team in Beaufort County, now we’re the most physical and fastest team in Beaufort County,” Owens said. “We’re working on becoming the best program we can be for the betterment of our players.”

Northside head coach Keith Boyd commended Washington, but said that his team had their opportunities.

“I thought it was very evenly played. We’d get down and find a way to come back, Washington would come back and do the same thing,” Boyd said. “Hats off to them, they played well throughout the whole thing, but we had a couple penalties late that we couldn’t overcome.”

Washington head coach Jon Blank was pleased with his team’s fight, saying they never panicked when they trailed.

“Man, i’m super proud of our kids, we were down a little later than we wanted to be,” Blank said. “I told our kids to do what we do. We went out, played smart, fast and physical, especially in the fourth quarter and that proved to be the difference.”

 

Halifax Academy 50, Pungo Christian Academy 6

The Raiders played hard but some early mistakes were too much to overcome down the stretch. There were a number of good plays Pungo put together, but they couldn’t sustain drives throughout the game due to some penalties.

Late in the ball game Tristan Mann found Ryan Bishop for a touchdown, Bishop’s second of the year. Eddie Credle made a few big plays defensively for the Raiders, getting in on a sack and a couple tackles for loss.

Halifax threw it over the middle on a few occasions that led to three touchdowns. The Raiders drove down the field in the third quarter but were denied the end zone on four plays inside the 10-yard line. The Raiders next contest will be at Halifax Academy in Roanoke Rapids next week.

 

Granville Central 28, Southside 7

The Seahawks’ home opener didn’t go the way they wanted it to. Head coach Jeff Carrow explained that his team has to clean some things up after the game.

“We have to put four quarters of play together, there were too many mental mistakes,” Carrow said.

The Seahawks will have an opportunity to bounce back next week against North Duplin in Chocowinity, as the Seahawks will be in search of their first victory on the season.