Northside repeats as Anchor Bowl champ; Washington falls, PCA wins

Published 12:16 am Saturday, October 19, 2024

By Jason O. Boyd

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

YEATESVILLE, N.C. – The Anchor Bowl trophy is staying north of the Pamlico River for another year.

Northside scored five rushing touchdowns and put up 369 yards of offense in a 35-7 win over Southside on Friday. It was the 24th meeting between the schools since 2000. Northside has won five of the past six games.

North Pitt handed Washington its second straight loss in a 34-29 game. Pungo Christian went to Northeast Academy and picked up a 43-14 win. Details of their game was not available as of Saturday night.

 

Northside 35, Southside 7

Northside’s win took the sting out of losing 35-27 at East Carteret last week. The win also keeps the Panthers (6-3, 2-1 Coastal Plains Conference) in the regular-season title chase with the Mariners (4-4, 2-0). The Seahawks dropped to 1-7, 1-1.

“Well, after last week, we blew a lot of assignments and our tackling wasn’t great, and our blocking wasn’t real good,” Northside coach Keith Boyd said. “So we just concentrated on the fundamentals again, and all that stuff improved tonight.

“We’ve still got a long way to go, but we took a bigger step into getting first place in the 1A in our conference, and ultimately, that’s what it’s about, and continuing to grow as we get into the playoffs.”

Max Vansant turned the right corner on a sweep and scored from five yards out with 7:42 left in the first quarter. Blake Wainwright added the conversion kick for a quick 7-0 lead.

Southside had its moments where it moved the ball well but penalties and missed opportunities cost them. After a 15-yard penalty for roughing the kicker on Northside’s touchdown, Isaiah Knight took the kickoff at the 8 and rushed to Northside’s 44. The Seahawks pushed the ball to Northside’s 5 before quarterback Chance Haywood was sacked for a loss to end the drive.

Meanwhile, Northside continued to pound the ball with a mix of top rusher Sincere Columbus (193 yards, TD), Vansant (49 yards, 2 TDs) and Zanek Mcloud, who scored Northside’s second touchdown from a yard out to push the Panthers’ lead to 14-0.

MyQuan Clark, who rushed for a season-high 292 yards and five touchdowns (82, 7, 54, 52, 37) in last week’s win over Pamlico County, gave Southside another spark on the next offensive series. He turned a fumble into a 28-yard gain as the Seahawks continued to run well. However, the team was stopped on fourth down at Northside’s 25 to turn the ball over on downs.

Two plays later, a fake to Columbus resulted in a 75-yard touchdown by Holden Boykin and a 21-0 lead with 3:52 left in the first half.

“So I keep urging these guys to make sure that you keep the pedal down and don’t relax, because teams could come back on you quick and in a hurry,” Boyd said. “So I thought they even did a better job of that with the mental part of that, as knowing how to play with a lead, and they kept working and kept striving to put that ball in the end zone.”

Southside put together a seven-plus minute drive to start the third quarter, leading to a 2-yard touchdown run by Teddrick Minor with 3:19 left. While it gave the Seahawks new life, it was erased when Columbus hit a hole created by the offensive line, raced 67 yards down to Southside’s 3 then scored a play later for a 28-7 lead with 2:37 left in the third.

Vansant scored from 8 yards out with 39 seconds left for Northside’s final score.

Southside finished with 235 yards rushing, led by Minor’s 151 yards rushing. Tamari Moore led the Seahawks with eight tackles.

Zy’Marian O’Neal led Northside with 13 tackles while Texler Gray had 12.

North Pitt 34, Washington 29

WASHINGTON, N.C. — The Pam Pack put on a fourth-quarter rally but fell short as North Pitt took over second place in the Eastern Plains Conference with the win.

North Pitt led 26-10 after a 42-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Famous Wilson to Dontarius Roberson with 7:27 left in the third quarter. Washington answered quickly as Keondrick Melton broke free for a 64-yard touchdown run with 6:48 left in the quarter. Gabe West’s conversion kick cut the North Pitt lead to 26-17.

North Pitt extended its lead with 2:01 left when Davon Hudson caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Wilson. Roberson caught the two-point pass to give the Panthers a 34-17 lead.

Washington answered with two touchdown passes in a less than a minute in the fourth. Evan Makepeace found Jarryn Payne with an 11-yard score with 5:27 left. On the Pack’s next series, Makepeace found Anderson Thomas for a 22-yard scoring strike with 4:43 left.

Makepeace finished 12-of-23 for 181 yards and three touchdowns. He and Anderson hooked up on a 69-yard scoring pass with 9:12 left in the first quarter after Juhron Clemmons scored on a 45-yard run for the Panthers.

Melton had 180 yards and the touchdown on 21 carries. Gabe Davis had 13 tackles, one for loss, blocked a kick and recovered an onside kick. Marek Bates had 11 tackles, three for loss, three pass breakups and an onside kick recovery.

More Sports

Defense plays big role in Northside girls’ tourney wins

Raiders basketball young, full of hope

Local runners excel in Greenville race; two Washington wrestlers shine at tournament

Washington High grad Terry Moore makes AP All-ACC list

Print Article

SportsPlus

  • Polls

    How much of your Christmas shopping will be done locally?

    View Results

    Loading ... Loading ...