Gridiron action heats up

Published 5:27 pm Thursday, October 17, 2013

Northside’s Rockne Butler (15) scored four touchdowns during the Panthers Anchor Bowl win over Southside last week. Tonight, Northside will host Pamlico at 7 p.m.

Northside’s Rockne Butler (15) scored four touchdowns during the Panthers Anchor Bowl win over Southside last week. Tonight, Northside will host Pamlico at 7 p.m.

With only four games remaining in the regular season area teams are heading down the homestretch of their schedule as they enter Week 9.
After securing a 46-38 victory over Southside in the Anchor Bowl, Northside will look to carry that momentum into tonight’s home matchup with Pamlico, while the Seahawks will attempt to bounce back on the road against Jones Senior.
A rejuvenated Riverside team scored a big win over Northampton in its Two Rivers Conference opener last week and looks to up its conference record to 2-0 at home against North Edgecombe.
South Creek, who dropped its Two Rivers Conference opener to Tarboro, is seeking rebound performance at home against Northampton, while Plymouth, the No. 2 ranked 1-A team in the state, will go about trying to preserve a winning streak that dates all the way back to last season at home against Perquimans.
Here’s a look at the matchups:

Pamlico (4-3, 1-0 Coastal Plains) at Northside (4-3, 1-0 Coastal Plains) at 7 p.m.
After one week of Coastal Plains Conference action three teams are tied for first in the standings with 1-0 records. Two of those teams will play tonight in Pinetown as the Panthers host Pamlico. (The other team, Lejeune, will host East Carteret).
“It’s a big game,” Northside coach Keith Boyd said. “I think in the preseason (Pamlico) was picked to win (the conference) and we feel that we have a chance to upset them.”
Northside has run hot and cold this year, but after its OT win over Southside last Friday it enters this matchup with momentum.
“I like what we’re doing right now,” Boyd said. “We’re moving the ball offensively. We have to sure up a few things on defensive, but if we do that we like our chances.”
The Hurricanes have been hot as well, having won three straight games, with their last one being a 47-7 victory over East Carteret.

Southside (2-5, 0-1 Coastal Plains) at Jones Senior (0-7, 0-1) at 7 p.m.
After winning two straight Southside suffered a setback last week when it was upended by rival Northside 46-38 in overtime of the Anchor Bowl.
The Seahawks offense looked strong in the loss as they rushed for 291 yards and threw for 105 to post their second-highest point total of the season.
“Offensively, we did well,” Southside coach Jeff Carrow said. “We got the ball outside. We rushed for close to 300 yards and threw for 100, so we were balanced the way I want to be.”
The Seahawks will look to put that loss in the rearview mirror tonight on the road against a Jones Senior team that is still searching for its first win of the season. Though the Trojans enter the contest with an 0-7 record, Carrow warned that is a mere byproduct of an extremely tough nonconference schedule.
“They’re athletic. If you look at their nonconference schedule it may be the toughest nonconference schedule in the state of any classification,” Carrow said. “They played Kinston, Havelock, Wallace-Rose Hill, Jacksonville, Southwest Onslow, Lejeune and Richlands. They have a murder’s row schedule for a 1-A school.”

North Edgecombe (4-2, 1-0 Two Rivers) at Riverside (4-3, 1-0 Two Rivers) at 7:30 p.m.
The Knights got off to a fantastic start in conference play as they handed Northampton only its second loss of the season with a 50-31 victory on the road last week despite not completing a single pass.
“It was a good win for us,” Riverside coach Asim McGill said. “At the time they were 5-1. We went down there to their home field, where they beat us last year in the playoffs, and the kids executed.”
The sophomore tandem of RB/QB J.J. Wilson and running back Malik Smith continues to be a potent one as the duo combined for five TDs. Wilson, who has continued to transition into the quarterback role, rushed for 177 yards and three scores, while Smith had 82 yards and two TDs.
North Edgecombe travels to Williamston with a head full of steam, having won three straight games, which includes last week’s 42-6 victory over Rocky Mount Prep.
Like many teams in the Two Rivers, North Edgecombe plays a ground and pound style on offense that ensures tonight’s game will be a smash-mouth one.
Northampton (5-2, 0-1 Two Rivers) at South Creek (1-6, 0-1 Two Rivers) at 7:30 p.m.
The Cougars fell 51-8 to Tarboro in their Two Rivers Conference opener, but there were reason to be encouraged. South Creek was able to move the ball on offense and gave a feisty performance on defense to keep it close in the first half.
“I thought we played really well,” said South Creek coach Jeremy Jones. “We had 250 yards of offense in the first half. We threw the ball for 147 yards in the first half and rushed for 100 and we had two touchdown passes that were dropped. We had a chance to be tied at halftime, which is a huge turnaround for us.”
South Creek, which has not won a game since its season opener, is hoping that last week’s performance can help it turn the corner as it hosts Northampton tonight.
“We came out and played hard. We had a couple of guys back from injuries and that gave us a huge boost,” Jones said.

Perquimans (4-3, 3-0 Atlantic) at No. 2 Plymouth (6-0, 2-0 Atlantic) at 7:30 p.m.
The defending state champion Vikings improved to 6-0 on the season as they rolled past Creswell 56-6. The victory not only preserved Plymouth’s perfect record, but upped its overall winning streak to 19 games.
Having lost a lot of key players from last year’s title-winning team, Plymouth coach Robert Cody said getting off to a fast start this season has been critical.
“I think it’s important because we lost a lot of kids from last year’s team, so every win gets us a little bit better,” Cody said. “Plus, we have a lot of young kids on offense but a lot of them have touched the ball. With every win they get a little more confident.”
So far this season the Vikings have outscored teams 256-50 and Cody said his team’s defense has been the key to their success.
“From the very beginning we’ve been a defensive team. That’s were I put most of my seniors,” Cody said. “(LB) Demetrius Davis has been super all year, along with (linebackers) Devonte Spruill and Bryan Wilkins-Roberson. Our best player (on defense) has probably been (LB) Jatron Simpson, he’s been doing a super job.”
Plymouth will look to keep that winning streak going tonight at home when it faces a Perquimans team that has won two straight with its last one being a 35-7 victory over Cape Hatteras.