PINETOWN — Northside leaned on its new passing attack to knock off Creswell, 30-12, Friday night at Bing Mitchell Stadium.

First-year starting quarterback Jackson Midgette had a productive first game at the helm, completing 7-of-11 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Chris Slade was his favorite target, reeling in five catches for 117 yards and a touchdown.

“I thought (Midgette’s) poise was great,” said head coach Keith Boyd. “I think he had one bad throw all night, but his vision was good and he moved well. For the most part, he made the correct reads. There were passes he had to put touch on and he was able to do so.”

Against a sizable Tigers line, the Panthers running attack held its own. Junior James Barrow led the way with 11 carries for 80 yards and a touchdown, while Tyrece Taylor and Cashmir Blount also had productive nights.

Overall, Boyd was proud of his team’s opening-night performance against a solid opponent, but was displeased with the game’s tempo.

“It was messy. I think there were close to 40 penalties,” he said. “I thought it took the crowd and both teams out of it. Looking back at it, I was pretty pleased for being as young as we are. Creswell had all juniors and seniors starting, real big up front.

“Defensively, I thought we really played well. We gave up a couple long pass plays, which allowed them to keep the score close, but overall I was pleased.”

With the game scoreless at the start of the second quarter, Midgette broke the deadlock with a 22-yard pass to Slade, followed by an 8-yard touchdown run from Taylor. Creswell would later score with 18 seconds left in the half, knotting the game at six heading into the break.

The second half was all Northside, as Midgette found Dawson Jackson on a slant for a 17-yard touchdown minutes into the third quarter. Despite a fourth-quarter score from Creswell, Northside managed to balloon its lead to two touchdowns on some nice passing from Midgette, including a 42-yard connection to Slade.

Northside will face off against North Duplin next Friday in Calypso.