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Southside’s season, along with its four-game winning streak, ended with a 34-14 loss to Bertie County in the first round of the 1A state playoffs.

The 22^nd seeded Seahawks (4-7) met the 11^th seeded Falcons (5-5) at Washington County High School in Plymouth because the Bertie field is being renovated.

Bertie fumbled on their opening drive and Southside senior Tequon (Tater) Moore capped a scoring drive with a six-yard scoring run. Myquan Clark added the two point conversion for an 8-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Bertie scored early in the second quarter, then took the lead for good on a touchdown pass with eight minutes left in the half for a 14-8 lead. Moore returned the ensuing kickoff to the Falcons 35, then Clark carried to the 20, but the drive stalled at the 15 as Bertie took over on downs.

Southside’s Zaykwon Tuten recovered a Falcons fumble at the Bertie 15, but the offense could only manage four yards in four plays.

“Not converting those two possessions inside the red zone really hurt us,” coach Jeff Carrow said. “After we couldn’t punch it in the second time we gave up a big pass right before halftime than swung the momentum.”

Bertie struck quickly with a 50-yard touchdown pass for a 20-8 halftime lead, then threw another 50-yard scoring pass on their first possession of the second half for a 26-8 advantage.

“We just gave up too many big plays, but I’m proud of the way the kids fought to the end,” Carrow said. “Tater (Moore) and two of our offensive linemen were hurt in the second half and he (Moore) does so many things for us that we struggled without him.

Southside’s Nolan Dixon recovered a Bertie fumble at their own two yard line and carried it in to cut the lead to 26-14 late in the third quarter.

The Falcons capped the scoring with an 80-yard touchdown drive for a 34-14 lead late in the fourth quarter.

Bertie will travel to #6 North Moore (9-2) for next week’s second round.

Northside (8-2) drew a first round bye and will host the winner of 13^th seeded East Bladen and #20 North Edgecombe next week.

Clark gained a team-high 81 yards rushing, while Moore finished with 51 and led the defense with five tackles.

“I’m proud of him and all the seniors for staying positive and helping us win four in a row,” Carrow said. “Our young guys will be better next year and our quarterback (Luke Bullock) will be a junior with a year of starting experience. We threw him into the fire this year and he learned a lot in tough situations. It’s always tough when the season ends, but we’ll get into our off-season program soon.”