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The Pam Pack take the field for their season opener. (Steve Barnes/Washington Daily News)

Junior quarterback Evan Makepeace looks for a receiver. (Steve Barnes/Washington Daily News)

Senior fullback Keondrick Melton fights for yardage. (Steve Barnes/Washington Daily News)

Senior Gabe Davis puts pressure on the Croatan quarterback. (Steve Barnes/Washington Daily News)

Senior linebacker Marek Bates brings down a Croatan ball carrier. (Steve Barnes/Washington Daily News)

The Northside Panthers opened the season with a victory at Camden Co., while Southside fell at North Duplin and Washington lost at home to Croatan. Pungo Christian Academy lost in Raleigh in 8-man action.

Northside: The Panthers scored three second half touchdowns after a 3-0 halftime lead on the way to a 24-3 victory at Camden Co.

Sophomore Blake Wainwright booted a 32-yard field in the second quarter before the home team answered with a 3-pointer of their own for a 3-3 tie late in the third quarter.
Junior quarterback Chase Hewitt combined with Zanek McCloud for a 67-yard scoring pass for a 10-3 advantage heading into the final quarter.

McCloud made it 17-3 with a 40-yard punt return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter and Sincere Columbus scored the final touchdown on a three- yard run late in the fourth quarter.

Junior Malachi Moore ran for 74 of Northside’s 142 yards, while Hewitt was 4-9 passing for 125 yards.

McCloud and Jack DeHoog had interceptions to lead the Panthers defense.

Washington: There were some things for the Washington High School football team to build upon and some not-so-good things to work on.

The Pam Pack began the season with a 21-6 loss at J.G. “Choppy” Wagner Stadium. An incredible touchdown pass on a busted play in the fourth quarter put some smiles on the faces of the Pack near the end. Quarterback Evan Makepeace hit Jarryn Payne on a 48-yard score with 1:37 left after the ball was bobbled on the snap.

“(Payne) this is his first year playing football,” Washington coach Matthew Taylor said. “He had a fantastic day (6 catches, 128 yards) and he showed us something nice.”

While the Washington defense had its moments, it was on the field a lot, especially after the first quarter. The Cougars used 17 plays to get their first touchdown in the second quarter for a 7-0 halftime lead. They used an 11-play drive to go up 14-0 in the third. A blocked punt later led to Croatan’s third score and a 21-0 lead with 6:18 left.

“That second quarter, I think we got the ball with about two minutes in the half,” Taylor said. “That’s their offense. They were doing a good job. That’s a good football team. Our defense played really hard. There were a lot of positives to take away from tonight.”

School starts on Monday, and Taylor told the team he’s excited to start the school year and return to the practice field. The Pack go to D.H. Conley on Friday then have an off week before hosting Kinston on Sept. 13.

Southside: The Seahawks found the going tough in a 50-8 loss at North Duplin. Isiah Knight ran for Southside’s only touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Seahawks trailed 23-0 at halftime and 44-0 after three quarters.

Pungo Christian: The Raiders held a 14-12 halftime lead in Raleigh against St. David’s School but ended up losing 36-14 to even their record at 1-1.

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