Washington travels to West Craven. Northside hosts Pamlico County for its senior night. Both squads have plenty to play for and know their foes well.

The Pam Pack hasn’t played West Craven since 2014, but not much has changed about the prestige of the Eagles’ program. They’re the benchmark for the 2-A Eastern Carolina Conference just like they were the last time the two played in the same league.

The Panthers know the Hurricanes well as the two have been 1-A Coastal Plains Conference adversaries for some time now. This regular-season bout will decide which team finishes behind Tarboro in second place.

Here’s what local coaches remember about their Week 12 opponents:

 

West Craven at Washington, 2014

The last time Washington and West Craven played was a non-conference matchup as the Pam Pack was rolling through competition en route to a state-championship game. Xavier Clark and Markel Spencer each rushed for over 100 yards in a 35-7 win. Spencer scored twice and Clark added another. Stepfon Rodman also found the end zone on one of his three carries, and Javon Whitney had a touchdown catch. Phenom linebacker Lexroy Brown led the defense with 16 tackles.

“I remember them being a well-coached, super-athletic team that was always a test each year we played them,” Pam Pack coach Jon Blank said. “The old theory when we were 3-A was that you had to beat West Craven to win the conference. Clearly, that is still the case.”

 

Northside at Pamlico County, 2016

James Barrow ran for 206 yards and two touchdowns to help Northside to snap a three-game losing streak against Pamlico County. He scored twice. Tyrece Taylor, Jackson Midgette and Matthew Marslender each ran for touchdowns, too. Defensively, the Panthers kept the Hurricanes to just two touchdowns in the second quarter. The 34-16 victory also broke a three-game skid in the midpoint of one of Northside’s best seasons in recent history.

“I know we played on a Monday night,” Northside coach Keith Boyd recalled. “We got rained out on Friday. We jumped out early and kind of held on as the night went on. … We had an old group. We felt good about it. They were young. It was good at the midpoint of the season to spark our turnaround.”