PINETOWN — The rain never came but there was plenty of thunder as Southside rumbled for 412 rushing yards and five touchdowns to make sure the anchor remained in Chocowinity for at least one more year as the Seahawks topped the Panthers 36-12 in the Anchor Bowl on Friday night in both team’s regular season finale.
This year’s edition of the Anchor Bowl was the final one for Southside coach DeWayne Kellum, who has won the anchor each year the game has been played between Northside and Southside except the first one, and on Friday night the retiring coach couldn’t help but smile as he hoisted the trophy above his head and presented it to his players for the last time.
“It means a lot to me because since they started this it has always been a good rivalry and I was scared to death that (Northside coach) Keith (Boyd) and his team was going to get us and that I’d give it away my last year and be remember for that,” Kellum said. “It scared me to death.”
Kellum and his Seahawks would not have to relinquish the anchor as the only thing that was scary on Friday was the rushing of running backs Rokeem Miller and Andrew Jones.
Miller blasted through the Panthers’ defense for 213 yards and two scores, while Jones added two scores himself thanks to a tremendous effort by their offensive line.
“That’s the thing that worried me the most, was their size up front,” Boyd said. “I thought we fought hard, but ultimately it came down to that they had 260-pound guys blocking 210-pound guys. We were trying hard but they just lined up and powered it at us. We moved people around, we had 10 in the box but we couldn’t overcome their size.”
The Seahawks (5-6, 3-4) capitalized on three Northside (4-6, 2-4) turnovers in the first quarter and took a 7-0 lead when Miller scored on a 10-yard run.
Southside would extend  its lead to 15-0 in the second quarter when Jones reached the end zone on a 13-yard dash and scored on the ensuing two-point conversion.
The Panthers retrieved momentum late in the first half when running back Antonio Woods took a pitch and pulled up and fired a 15-yard strike to Edrice Adebayo, and the 6-8 freshman leapt over two defenders and tucked the ball in and broke away from the defense for a 64-yard TD with :54 remaining in the second.
The Panthers attempted a two-point conversion and appeared to recover their own fumble in the end zone, but an inadvertent whistle killed the play. Northside was given the opportunity to do it over but could not capitalize on it.
The Panthers moved the ball well at times but were their own worst enemies as their four fumbles (one lost) and two interceptions sapped their momentum.
After Miller scored his second TD of the game on a 34-yard run in the third, Northside responded with its final score of the night when Kysheem Mackey turned a screen pass into a 29-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 23-12 midway through the third.
However, the Seahawks pulled away from the Panthers in the fourth when a Jones TD was followed by a Cole Kellum three-yard run.

Southside    7    8    8    13    —    36
Washington    0    6    6    0    —    12

   SHS          NHS
First downs            13           7
Rushes-yards         50-412      26-147
Comp-att-int          1-3-0        5-11-2
Passing yards        10            151
Fumbles-lost          4-2           4-1
Penalties-yards      3-25           3-15
Punts                  1-27           1-30

Scoring Summary
S — Rokeem Miller 10 run (Kyle White kick), 3:34, 1st.
S — Andrew Jones 13 run (Jones two points), 10:49, 2nd.
N — Edrice Adebayo 64 yard pass from Antonio Woods (two points failed), :54, 2nd.
S — Miller 34 run (Miller two points), 10:16, 3rd.
N — Kysheem Mackey 29 pass from Noel Howson (two points failed), 7:09, 3rd.
S — Jones 7 run (White kick), 9:03, 4th.
S — Cole Kellum 3 run (White kick failed),  3:58, 4th.