CHOCOWINITY — High school sports are slowly returning to action after Hurricane Matthew flooded the area last weekend. Northside and Southside resumed their rivalry on the soccer field Friday afternoon. The hosting Seahawks overcame a slow start to earn their 10th win in lopsided fashion, 9-0.

Both teams were a bit slow out of the gate, which was understandable considering local schools lost most of the week due to the flooding.

“We were fortunate enough to have optional practice Wednesday afternoon and a practice (on Thursday),” Southside coach Jay Petty said. The Seahawks didn’t appear lethargic after all the time off.

“One of the things the kids have been good about is the homework I give them over the weekends. Go home, get the ball out, get some touches, and a little bit of cardio.”

Northside coach Boggy Patton added, “I think that we just didn’t mentally show up for this game. We played a game before this one and played really, really well. We came together as a team. … We’ve had a nice vacation with the hurricane and were out of shape. It was a wake up call for us. We played a really good team.”

The Seahawks quickly rebounded five minutes in. They got goals from Caleb Petty and Fabian Ramirez within two minutes of one another to take a 2-0 lead seven minutes into the contest. The two-goal lead early on pushed the Panthers back on their heels.

Northside’s defense didn’t fold, though. Southside’s forwards put forth another flurry, trying to extend its lead, but the Panthers’ back four blocked a handful of shots. Goalkeeper Alex Daleo also made some impressive saves throughout the game, too.

Devin Guzman netted Southside’s third goal in the 18th minute. He forced a turnover and ripped a shot from outside the box. Daleo got a piece of it, but couldn’t stop it from bulging the twine behind him.

He scored again seven minutes later to push Southside’s advantage to 4-0 after just 25 minutes of action. Guzman found himself alone behind Northside’s defense and converted. He was the only Seahawk to score multiple times in the nine-goal effort.

“That’s something that I thoroughly enjoy watching, having multiple goal scorers,” Petty said. “It’s hard to defend when you have four or five guys up front that can put it in the back of the net. In my mind, the game of soccer is all about the pass. … When you do that, it gives you the opportunity to have multiple goal scorers.”

Senior defender David Romero made it 5-0 in the 30th minute. He pushed the ball past Northside’s defense, got behind an aggressive play by Daleo, and dumped the ball into the open net.

Panther midfielder Jesus Carrilo got an open look at goal late in the first half, but Southside keeper Chris Reiner stopped the shot to preserve the clean sheet going into the break. Southside’s defense was able to limit the Panthers to just a handful of clean looks.

“I know (Northside’s) Satoru Shinohra is a great player,” Petty said. “I warned them at the beginning of the game that their offense is going to center around what he’s able to do with the ball. Let’s keep it off his feet.”

Ethan Harris scored another goal in the final seconds of the first half to give Southside a 6-0 lead going into halftime.

The Seahawks added three more quick goals to end the game 13 minutes into the second half. Jairo Juarez stole a kickoff by Daleo and scored on the open goal. Santiago Serralde set up on the right side of the box before dishing a pretty pass to Johnathan Hernandez for the goal. Serralde then scored Southside’s ninth goal to end the game via the mercy rule.

Southside returns to action on Monday in a home meeting with Lejeune. Northside has a rematch with the Seahawks slated for Oct. 26. The Panthers are eyeing a few more wins to earn a spot in the playoffs.