PINETOWN — In a heavyweight bout to remain in first place in the Coastal Plains Conference standings Pamlico threw the knockout blow when Naquan Gibbs delivered a 31-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter that sent Northside to the canvass and lifted the Hurricanes to a 21-10 victory.
Gibbs finished the day completing only four of his 10 attempts for 75 yards, but two of his passes resulted in touchdowns and the senior QB ran for another to lead the Hurricanes (5-3, 2-0) to victory.
“We played hard and they played hard,” Northside coach Keith Boyd said. “I thought the biggest difference in the game was that they had a pretty darn good player at quarterback. He did some things that you can’t coach and they did a good job of getting the football in his hands. When they needed a big play he came through for them.”
It was an intense affair from the get-go as Northside (4-4, 1-1) and Pamlico took turns delivering bone-jarring hits to one another in a contest that was marked by big defensive plays and plenty of penalties.
The Hurricanes struck first as they pieced together a 73-yard scoring drive on their first possession that ended when Gibbs threw a short pass to Cameron Moore, who scrambled his way 43 yards down field for a 6-0 lead.
Pamlico looked poised to add another score, but the Panthers defense held strong, forcing Hurricanes coach Kevin Yost to try for a 32-yard field goal.
The attempt missed its mark and Northside recaptured the momentum as it retaliated with a 79-yard scoring drive that was fueled by the running of Rockne Butler and Antonio Woods, along with a few Pamlico penalties. The drive ended when Butler rumbled across the goal line to take a 7-6 advantage right before the end of the first half.
Despite forcing two fourth quarter turnovers, the Panthers would not reach the end zone again as Pamlico outscored them 13-3 in the second half.
“We were undisciplined in the first half with our penalties. It was uncharacteristic for us,” Yost said. “The difference in the second half was that we played our game and focused on us instead of letting other stuff get in our head.”
The Hurricanes reclaimed the lead midway through the third when Gibbs darted for a 27-yard score to go ahead 13-7.
Northside was able to string together a solid drive on its ensuing possession but it stalled at the nine, forcing the Panthers to settle for a 26-yard field goal by Woods.
The Panthers forced and recovered two fumbles in the fourth quarter, but neither resulted in points, and on Pamlico’s third possession of the fourth it put the game out of reach when Gibbs connected with Josiah Simmons for a 31-yard TD pass on third down to expand the lead to 21-10 with 3:53 left in the game.

Pamlico    6    0    7    8    —    21
Northside        0    7    3    0    —    10
                PHS          NHS
First downs                     8           10
Rushes-yards           36-165      39-27
Comp-att-int           4-10        2-3-1
Passing yards              75            7
Fumbles-lost               3-2           1-1
Penalties-yards           8-70           5-55
Punts                      0           5-23

Scoring Summary
P — Cameron Moore 43 pass from Naquan Gibbs (kick blocked), 8:21, 1st.
N — Rockne Butler 2 run (Antonio Woods kick), :44, 2nd.
P — Gibbs 27 run (kick good), 6:50, 3rd.
N — Antonio Woods 26 field goal, :25, 3rd.
P — Josiah Simmons 31 pass from Gibbs (William Becton two points), 3:53, 4th.