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YEATESVILLE, N.C. – Classes resumed at schools all over the area this week. It’s safe to say there were several teachable moments for Northside’s football team in Thursday’s 21-7 loss to North Duplin.

The Panthers (1-1) were stunned early when the Rebels (2-0) scored on a 62-yard touchdown run on the first play. Northside also had its first pass play intercepted during its opening offensive series. The saving grace for Northside’s defense was forcing the Rebels to turn the ball over on downs after a 16-play series that ended at the Panthers’ 2-yard-line.

However, two quick-play runs by the Rebels put Northside in a 21-0 hole with 5:31 left in the first half. North Duplin scored on runs of 18 and 1 yard by patiently waiting and hitting the holes the offensive line created.

On the other side, Northside struggled at times on its offensive line, giving up a sack after driving to the North Duplin 9 late in the first half. The Panthers also had some critical dropped passes that could have given the team some momentum heading into halftime.

“We kind of came out … I feel like we were ready,” Northside coach Keith Boyd said. “They just kind of jumped on us real quick.

“My lord, the dropped passes we had in the first half … you don’t ever know. I know of two touchdowns that were dropped, possibly a third and you win that ball game 28-21.”

The Panthers did connect on a beautiful pass play with 8:36 left in the third as quarterback Chase Hewitt hit Holden Boykin for a 34-yard scoring strike. The Northside defense also rose to the occasion in the second half, recovering a fumble after the Rebels’ offense put together a 15-play drive. The Rebels also had a 10-play drive in the fourth quarter that Northside’s defense stuffed on fourth down at the Panthers’ 31.

Boyd said his team played with more energy in the second half, especially on defense. The challenge now is to find others who can do that while also finding leaders to answer the call when needed.

“Right now, our major concern is offensive line,” Boyd said. “Defensively, we came out in the second half and held them scoreless. We scored one, we won the second half.

“We just didn’t make plays when we had to. We are young, and we are going to keep evaluating. It’s like I told the seniors, it doesn’t matter if you are a senior, junior, freshman or sophomore. We are going to evaluate you and you are going to have to go to the sideline because you can’t find any fire. We are going to find somebody who wants to play Northside football. I think we found 11 on defense in the second half.”