PLYMOUTH — The Seahawks made them sweat, but in the end the Vikings were too hot as they scorched Southside 60-6 to win their 10th straight game and advance to the third round of the NCHSAA 1-A playoffs.
No. 5 Southside (6-6) gave top-ranked Plymouth (12-0) arguably its toughest match from a 1-A team all year as the Seahawks trailed only 22-6 at halftime. However, a disastrous third quarter in which they fumbled on two of their three possessions was too big of a margin of error to overcome as the Vikings turned both miscues into touchdowns and headed into the fourth quarter with a decisive 36-6 lead.
“Southside came ready to play,” Plymouth coach Robert Cody said. “They ran the ball, took time off the clock and if they could have hung on to the ball in the third quarter it could have been a really good football game but we were able to get some big long runs on them and that probably put some distance between us.”
The loss marks the end of an era at Southside as Seahawks longtime coach DeWayne Kellum announced earlier this season that he would be retiring at the end of the year.
“I guess I got to find something else to do,” Kellum joked as he walked off the field. “I’m not going to miss it right now, but we’ll see when the fall gets here next year. And who knows, I may one day get back in it.”
After falling behind 14-0, the Seahawks were able to get back in it when Rokeem Miller broke free for a 64-yard TD run that energized the Southside sideline.
Plymouth would regain the momentum when Carl McCray sprinted for a 49-yard TD run to give the Vikings a 22-8 halftime lead.
From the third quarter on it was all Plymouth as it put forth a tenacious rushing attacked spearheaded by McCray, Kendrick Pitt and Quadree Pettiford.
McCray finished the game with TD runs of 49, 1 and 13 yards, while Pitt reached the end zone on runs of 64, 18 and 15 yards and also scored on a 60-yard interception.
Overall, the Vikings rushed for a whopping 469 yards on 33 carries to advance to the third round of the playoffs for the fifth time in seven years.
“It’s great,” Cody said of the win. “I’m trying to make sure the kids enjoy every win because the next one it might be us who gets beat. You have to enjoy it and feel good about what you have done. We won a conference championship and will advance to the third round.”
At the end of the day, the Seahawks felt pretty good about themselves too as they as the hung with the No. 7 ranked team in the state for a half and forced one of the most explosive offenses in the East to punt three times.
“With the speed Plymouth has and the backs they got they remind me a lot of some of my teams in the past,” Kellum said. “We played our ‘A’ game and did the best job on defense we have all year. They usually just blow people out but we were in the game for a half. I wished it turned out different, but I wish them good luck.”

Southside    6    0    0    0    —    6
Plymouth   14    8    14    24    —    0

                             SHS          PHS
First downs            6           9
Rushes-yards         36-144      33-469
Comp-att-int          2-3-1        5-10-0
Passing yards        25           41
Fumbles-lost          3-3           2-0
Penalties-yards      3-35           6-55
Punts                  4-31           3-37

Scoring Summary
P — Carl McCray 13 run (Quadree Pettiford two points), 7:16, 1st.
P — Kendrick Pitt 64 run (two points failed), 3:47, 1st.
S — Rokeem Miller 64 run (two points failed), 1:42, 1st.
P  — McCray 49 run (Quadree Pettiford two points), 3:05, 2nd.
P — Pitt 18 run (two points failed), 9:50, 3rd.
P — McCray 1 run (Shamontez Ferebee two points), 8:37, 3rd.
P — Pitt 15 run (Pitt two points), 7:27, 4th.
P — Pitt 60 interception return (Chris Kelly two points), 5:46, 4th.
P — Chad Dance 3 run (Demarkius Price two points), 3:47.