Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Nothing makes me think of springtime like high school football.

Wait. I mean nothing about high school football makes me think of spring, yet here we are.

For those of you keeping score, Southside High School had the longest wait between games. The Seahawks lost to South Creek in the first round of the 1A state playoffs November 14^th, 2019, while Washington High lost a week later in the second round.

Both schools made their delayed debuts Friday. The Pam Pack used a strong second half to turn a seven point halftime lead into a 41-19 rout of North Lenoir.

Terry Moore ran for 171 yards on just 11 carries, Jaden Hambric had 146 on nine attempts and the duo had two touchdowns each.

Southside took Northside down to the wire at home before falling 17-12 on a frigid Friday night for football.

Northside is off to great start at 2-0 with Friday’s game at South Creek next on the schedule, while Southside hosts Pamlico County for homecoming in yet another sign of spring (not).

It was great being at an outside sporting event after so long, even though I almost froze to death, but it struck me that not all of the fans were as happy as I was to being watching sports in person again.

Almost from the opening kickoff, disparaging comments about the officials rained down from the stands.

Admittedly, it was not this particular crew’s best game, but give them a break. They had been off for a long time also and were obviously rusty. Officials use pre-season scrimmages to get back into the rhythm of calling a game, but there weren’t any locally because of all the rain we’ve had.

Several fans sitting or standing near me (until I moved) seemed to be there just to take out their COIVD-19 induced (maybe) stress out on the guys in the striped shirts. The only time they seemed to stop was during halftime.

And guess what, all that yelling didn’t change a thing.

Hollering insults at referees and umpires is one of those time-honored traditions that probably should disappear. Remember, officials are human just like we are and make mistakes. Would you like a couple of thousand people yell at you the next time you mess up at work? I certainly would not. Thankfully, my editor does not yell when I err.

Also remember, they are in it for the love of the game, not the money, and are almost providing a public service. It’s no wonder there is a nation-wide shortage of officials. Who would want to put up with the abuse?

I wouldn’t and I guarantee you wouldn’t either. Let’s all try to chill out and enjoy the games. On to more positive topics.

Congrats to Seahawk seniors Davion Carter and Hundley Stallings, who committed to play college football last week. Carter is headed to Wingate, while Stallings will pack his bags for Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Mo.

Finally, at this moment, football, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls golf, boys tennis and softball are either playing or practicing. Your friendly sports reporter can’t be everywhere, so give me a break when your particular sport doesn’t get covered when you think it should. I have no biases and am trying my best.

The Pam Pack boys soccer team is 9-0 with the state playoffs next week. They mostly likely will have wrapped up their eighth straight conference title by the time you read this.

We’ll have coverage as they start the post-season.