Northside repeats as Anchor Bowl winner; PCA wins, Washington falls

Published 12:16 am Saturday, October 19, 2024

By Jason O. Boyd

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

YEATESVILLE, N.C. – The Anchor Bowl trophy is staying north of the Pamlico River for another year.

Northside scored five rushing touchdowns and put up 369 yards of offense in a 35-7 win over Southside on Friday. It was the 24th meeting between the schools since 2000. Northside has won five of the past six games.

North Pitt handed Washington its second straight loss in a 34-16 game. Pungo Christian went to Northeast Academy and picked up a 43-14 win. Details of both games were not available when this story was published.

 

Northside 35, Southside 7

Northside’s win took the sting out of losing 35-27 at East Carteret last week. The win also keeps the Panthers (6-3, 2-1 Coastal Plains Conference) in the regular-season title chase with the Mariners (4-4, 2-0). The Seahawks dropped to 1-7, 1-1.

“Well, after last week, we blew a lot of assignments and our tackling wasn’t great, and our blocking wasn’t real good,” Northside coach Keith Boyd said. “So we just concentrated on the fundamentals again, and all that stuff improved tonight.

“We’ve still got a long way to go, but we took a bigger step into getting first place in the 1A in our conference, and ultimately, that’s what it’s about, and continuing to grow as we get into the playoffs.”

Max Vansant turned the right corner on a sweep and scored from five yards out with 7:42 left in the first quarter. Blake Wainwright added the conversion kick for a quick 7-0 lead.

Southside had its moments where it moved the ball well but penalties and missed opportunities cost them. After a 15-yard penalty for roughing the kicker on Northside’s touchdown, Isaiah Knight took the kickoff at the 8 and rushed to Northside’s 44. The Seahawks pushed the ball to Northside’s 5 before quarterback Chance Haywood was sacked for a loss to end the drive.

Meanwhile, Northside continued to pound the ball with a mix of top rusher Sincere Columbus (193 yards, TD), Vansant (49 yards, 2 TDs) and Zanek Mcloud, who scored Northside’s second touchdown from a yard out to push the Panthers’ lead to 14-0.

MyQuan Clark, who rushed for a season-high 292 yards and five touchdowns (82, 7, 54, 52, 37) in last week’s win over Pamlico County, gave Southside another spark on the next offensive series. He turned a fumble into a 28-yard gain as the Seahawks continued to run well. However, the team was stopped on fourth down at Northside’s 25 to turn the ball over on downs.

Two plays later, a fake to Columbus resulted in a 75-yard touchdown by Holden Boykin and a 21-0 lead with 3:52 left in the first half.

“So I keep urging these guys to make sure that you keep the pedal down and don’t relax, because teams could come back on you quick and in a hurry,” Boyd said. “So I thought they even did a better job of that with the mental part of that, as knowing how to play with a lead, and they kept working and kept striving to put that ball in the end zone.”

Southside put together a seven-plus minute drive to start the third quarter, leading to a 2-yard touchdown run by Teddrick Minor with 3:19 left. While it gave the Seahawks new life, it was erased when Columbus hit a hole created by the offensive line, raced 67 yards down to Southside’s 3 then scored a play later for a 28-7 lead with 2:37 left in the third.

Vansant scored from 8 yards out with 39 seconds left for Northside’s final score.

Southside finished with 235 yards rushing, led by Minor’s 151 yards rushing. Tamari Moore led the Seahawks with eight tackles.

Zy’Marian O’Neal led Northside with 13 tackles while Texler Gray had 12.

More Sports

Senior-led Pack aspiring for more in individual, dual team tennis playoffs

NCHSAA releases dual team tennis playoff brackets

Anchor Bowl 2024: Northside junior RB having breakout season

Shot in the arm: Southside optimistic last Friday’s first win of season can lead to more against Northside

Print Article

SportsPlus

  • Polls

    What is your preferred method of voting?

    View Results

    Loading ... Loading ...