Northside got down eight points early to Pamlico on Monday night, but the Panthers roared back with 22 unanswered points to pull out a 22-8 victory.
With the win, Northside improved to 2-0 on the season and after the game coach Keith Boyd was pleased with the effort of his defense, which has allowed 15 points in two games.
“We were pretty sound,” Boyd said. “They scored on a fourth-and-25, but other than that we really did a great job on defense. We tackled well and got after people.”
After falling behind 8-0, the Panthers’ Kentrell Washington scored from five yards out tie the Hurricanes and go into halftime locked at 8-8.
The score would stay that way up until the third quarter when Washington busted across the goal line from eight yards away to go up 16-8.
Northside cemented its win in the fourth quarter when 6-8 freshman Edrice Adebayo blocked a punt, which was recovered by the Panthers in the end zone.
Adebayo also caught two key passes on each of Northside’s scoring drives.
The win was a quality one for Northside, who went 0-9 last season but on Monday showed that a lot has changed since last year.
“They don’t ever quit,” Boyd said. “We got down 8-0 and we ran off 22 unanswered points. It was the first time we had been down this year and you don’t ever know where they will go.
“Last year we might not have done that but this year we pulled together and we found a way to win.”
Northside will be back in action on Friday when it plays at Washington.