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YEATESVILLE, N.C. – Patience is a virtue. Sincere Columbus and the Northside football team are benefitting from that now.

Columbus, a junior running back, has been a big reason why Northside goes into Friday’s 24th annual Anchor Bowl playing pretty well. Despite a setback at East Carteret in last Friday’s Coastal Plains Conference game, the Panthers (5-3, 1-1 CPC) have won four of their past five, including a forfeit from Fairmont.

The series is the 24th between the schools since 2000 with Northside winning four of the last five. The Panthers will try to win at home on Friday, something a team has not done since 2020.

If Columbus and the Panthers win on Friday, that will break that streak and will be a feather in the Panthers’ hat during a season that has tested the team’s patience at times, but not through Columbus’ play.

“I feel like I’m doing a pretty good job. I definitely feel like there’s more things that I can get better in, such as seeing holes very quickly and trying to explore through that,” Columbus said. “Because I went to watch the film, I’ve seen a lot of holes that I’ve missed, and wish I could go back to some of the games and do it again.

“There are two important games that we’ll have, East Carteret then Southside,” Columbus said last week. “It’s always been a rivalry (with Southside) and we’re looking forward to that game.”

Columbus said he styles his game after Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb. At 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, he certainly knows how to bang it out for extra yards like Chubb. And when he finds a hole, Columbus can also turn on the jets. He’s had several scoring runs of 30 yards or more this season. Against Rosewood, he nearly converted a 70-plus yard run into another touchdown before being caught by a defender.

“It’s a real young group,” Northside coach Keith Boyd said. “And, you know, they’ve all accepted practice and practicing hard. And they understand what it can do for you, what the weight room can do for you.

“And each practice, each game, each day, we see improvement. And, you know, I don’t know what our ceiling is, but we like the way we’re trending. And, you know, they get along well together, and they’re meshing together.”

Last season, Columbus had to wait behind another talented running back, Jamie Corprew. The senior rushed for over 2,000 yards in a successful offensive scheme that Columbus runs out of, too. Columbus said he learned a lot doing that and is now trying to help his team to that same success this season.

“He can hit the holes and pound the ball, but he breaks free,” Boyd said. “And like the Rosewood game and many others, he breaks away for long runs. So he’s deceivingly quick and certainly can pound the ball too.

“So he’s got a little bit of both elements, I guess, from that. He’s got a thunder and lightning kind of thing.”

Columbus said his mother once read the word sincerity and liked it so much that she told a friend at the time that’s what she wanted to name her son. He’s displayed that attitude on the field and hopes to continue the success he’s had so far. He had three touchdowns against East Carteret last week as the Panthers tried to claw back into the game. The week before, he scored the winning touchdown in overtime to beat Pamlico County.

Patience … as he and the team works to get better. It’s something he hopes continues on Friday.

“I feel like school-wise, I feel like I’m a pretty good student,” Columbus said. “And athlete-wise, I mean, I play basketball and track and all that. But football has always been my main priority that I wanted to play.

“I do want to mention my O-line because we’re definitely not as big as we need to be but we play hard every play, I believe so. And they give me holes, and I just take it. My coaches have been very big for me, too.”