BAYBORO — In a fight between two second-year head coaches looking to add a conference championship to their resume, Pamlico County’s offense in the second half lifted the Hurricanes to a 34-16 win over Southside.

Battling a slew of injuries in key places, the Seahawks braved a chilly, misty November evening, lining up against the top offense in the Coastal Plains Conference in hopes of reclaiming the Fossil Bowl trophy. But with their standout senior fullback Dylan Lewis on the sidelines, yards came at a premium in the first half.

“They had a good game plan and stacked the box,” said head coach Jeff Carrow. “We knew they would do that going in. We have to do a better job of holding our blocks, blocking for each other and playing as a unit. We knew it was going to be a hard-fought ballgame.”

For the Hurricanes, it took just six plays to post the first touchdown of the game, leading rusher Tony Credle being the primary offensive weapon. Credle began to slowly pick apart the Southside offensive line. Then, just a minute into the contest, the senior opened up for a 43-yard touchdown run, one that silenced a packed visiting section.

Despite the quick hit to their psyche, the Seahawks would respond with shutdown defense, though the offense struggled to find the end zone.

Junior running backs Lawrence Brown and Matt Baxter led the ground game and with a collection of small-yardage runs on the first drive, fought their way into the red zone. But the Pamlico County defense came through with a successful goal line stand and cut the drive short on the two-yard line. The initial drive set a precedent for the remainder of the game. It was the closest Southside would come to the end zone in the first half.

“We put the defense in bad field position and put their backs against the wall,” Carrow said. “That’s on the offense. We have to help them out.”

Credle and the Hurricane running game continued its success, but it was the Seahawks secondary that held quarterback Josiah Simmons to just one completion for 12 yards on eight attempts through the first 24 minutes. And in the red zone, defensive coordinator Andrea Quinerly’s front seven, along with a collection of costly penalties, stunted drives and disrupted the offense’s tempo.

Pamlico County led 7-0 at the half. It was a score that kept the Southside fans, players and the coaching staff hopeful.

But as the temperature continued to plummet, so did Quinerly’s defensive production, as the once solid front seven tightened up and the secondary began to allow big plays through the air.

With 4:49 left in the third quarter, Credle notched another 43-yard touchdown run, widening the deficit to 14. On the ensuing drive, Credle came up big again, this time by intercepting a Marshall Medlock pass and returning it 35 yards.

Simmons took advantage of the great field position and connected with his receivers on a series of passing plays, eventually working his way into the five-yard line, where middle linebacker Connor Hough got the call and punched it in.

On a prolonged, five-minute, fourth quarter drive, gritty running from Brown, a facemask penalty and a 40-yard touchdown reception from Baxter resulted in Southside’s first touchdown, but Pamlico County had a quick response.

On the next play, Simmons aired out a pass to receiver Cameron Moore, who took it to the house for a 60-yard touchdown. Following the momentum-erasing play, two Southside fumbles two minutes apart led to another Hurricanes score.

“Some mistakes in the second half, turnovers, dumb penalties, they bit us in the butt,” Carrow said. “Hats off to the guys for fighting hard and hats off to Pamlico, they had a good game plan.”

For Southside, Brown finished with 101-yards rushing on 18 carries, while Baxter notched 50 yards on 15 carries and also caught four passes for 96 yards. Donshae Miller, who entered in the third quarter for Medlock, recorded 109 yards through the air and another 26 on the ground.

Credle moved over the 1000-yard mark for the season with a 187-yard, two-touchdown performance.

With the loss, Southside closes the regular season with a reputable 8-3 (4-1 CPC) record, quite the improvement from last season’s 3-9 finish. Carrow expects his team to earn a middle-of-the-table seed in the Class 1-A state playoffs, which begins next Friday.

“I’m extremely proud of each individual player on that football team,” he said. “We’ve overcome adversity time and time against this year.”