By By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
Leading into their matchup, both Washington head coach Sport Sawyer and Northside coach Keith Boyd knew the running game would play a pivotal role in their Friday night battle.
Both coaches were right.
Washington was able to pound the ball behind the efforts of speedy tailback William Ellegor and powerful fullback Marquin Hill to the tune of 325 yards and six rushing touchdowns, while Northside’s ground game was grounded by the Pam Pack defense in its 40-0 loss to Washington.
Hill carried the ball 16 times for 77 yards and to two TDs, while Ellegor galloped for 82 yards on 11 attempts and tallied two scores as well. Both backs did not receive a carry in the fourth quarter.
Hill, who last season was crowned the state wrestling champion in the 285-pound, 3-A division, was honored at halftime by The Takedown Report’s Roy Heverly, which named him the top returning wrestler in Eastern North Carolina.
Also honored at halftime was the 1959 Pam Pack football team which went 7-0 in the Northeastern Conference and made it all the way to the state semifinals.
Overall, it was a good night for Washington as their victory over the Panthers was its first of the season.
“It feels good, the guys have really worked hard the last couple of weeks and we just have not capitalized on some things,” Sawyer said. “I think tonight Northside played very hard, it was a lot closer than the score looks; especially in the first half.”
The Pam Pack (1-2, 3-A, Coastal Conference) looked impressive from the get-go as its defense forced a turnover on downs at their own 16-yard line then proceeded to ride the back of Hill and Ellegor down the field. The drive ended when Ellegor plunged into the end zone from two yards out for a 7-0 lead.
The Pam Pack defense stood tall all night and held Northside to only 40 yards rushing and 55 yards passing.
Washington pieced together another lengthy drive on its second possession of the game as it continued to effectively run inside with Ellegor and Hill, then strike outside with Darnell Windley, Keane Graham and Derick Cannon.
Washington took a 14-0 lead when Hill scored his first TD of the day from four yards out with 7:03 left to play in the second quarter.
After a quality defense stand, the Pack was able to get the ball back and score right before halftime as Ellegor rushed for a two-yard score to make it 21-0 at the half.
The Panthers (1-2, 1-A, Four Rivers) were never able to get star running back DeMarquez Martin in a groove as Washington dominated up front on the line of scrimmage.
“They had two big kids in the middle (defensive tackles Hill and Kevin Chapman) that were giving us problems,” Boyd said. “When we went bone they would put nine or 10 in the box and brought people and we just didn’t do a great job of picking it up. There were some times where there some seams there during some trap plays and stuff but we just didn’t run the right hole. We kept wanting to bounce out everything.”
The second half was all Pam Pack as the Panthers failed to recover an on-side kick, giving Washington the first possession of the second stanza. The Pack capitalized and after a few plays took a 27-0 lead on Hill’s second TD of the game.
Things got worse for Northside as it failed to catch a short Pam Pack kickoff, which was recovered by Washington who gained possession on the Panthers’ 32-yard line. Washington fumbled it back to the Panthers four plays later, but Northside was unable to get its offense in gear and had to punt.
Washington would add one more score in the third quarter when it recovered a Panthers’ fumble at the Northside 36-yard line, and strung together a short drive that was ended this time by quarterback Jimmy Williams who scored on a one-yard keeper.
Washington’s last score of the game came at the 6:09 mark in the fourth quarter when Derick Cannon took a handoff 12 yards away from the end zone, bounced out to his left then streaked down the sideline and as he neared the pylon dove with his arms extended to pick up the TD and a 40-lead.
Washington and Northside will both have some extra time to recover from Friday night’s game as they enter a bye week.
Northside Washington
3 First Downs 19
19-40 Rushes-Yards 51-325
30 Passing Yards 55
2-2 Pass-Comp-Int 2-5
1-15 Punting 2-25
1-1 Fumbles-Lost 3-2
5-45 Penalties 7-95
Northside 0 0 0 0 — 0
Washington 7 14 13 6 — 40
Scoring Summary
W — William Ellegor 2 run (Johnny Broadway kick), 4:44, 1st.
W — Marquin Hill 4 run (Broadway kick), 7:03, 2nd.
W — Ellegor 2 run (Broadway kick), :15, 2nd.
W — Hill 3 run (Broadway kick failed), 9:26, 3rd.
W — Jimmy Williams (Broadway kick), 2:49, 3rd.
W — Derick Cannon 12 run (Broadway kick failed) 6:09, 4th.