Playing on the road against the reigning three-time NCHSAA 2-A state champs without starting quarterback Jimmy Williams, Washington scratched and clawed at the Vikings but fell short 34-21 on Friday night.
The loss dropped the Pam Pack’s record to 1-1, but the team’s gutsy road effort raised the eyes of coach Sport Sawyer.
“It sounds crazy, I don’t think I’ve ever said this before, but I’m really proud of the guys even though we lost,” Sawyer said. “Tarboro was just a little bit of a better team tonight but I’m proud of the way we fought.”
Already facing an uphill battle having to play without Williams, Washington’s challenges grew as it fell behind 21-7 at halftime. Refusing to roll over, Washington rallied to outscore the Vikings  14-13 in the second half.
Playing in place of Williams, sophomore QB Patrick Thompson had a strong outing as he connected with Jack Rodman for a 23-yard touchdown and hit Stevie Green for a 30-yard score. Green would also rip off a 28-yard TD run.
“Patrick showed a lot of poise, those guys were coming after him and he made some pretty good throws,” Sawyer said. “He threw the ball very well tonight.”
Giving Thompson time to throw was the Pam Pack offensive line, who held its own against a quality Vikings defense led by star end Tyquan Lewis.
“I thought the offensive line did a pretty good job tonight,” Sawyer said. “They were a whole lot better than last week. They really got after it and there were no holding penalties.”
In its Week 1 28-20 win over North Pitt the Pam Pack’s new 4-4 defense gave a sturdy performance, a trend that Sawyer said continued on Friday versus a potent Tarboro attack.
“The defense had some big players make some big plays,” Sawyer said. “Our defense played pretty good. We gave up a few big plays but we did have some bright spots like (LB) Tarahje Burke and (S) Daniel Maultsby and (LB) Jaquez Columbus. We had a lot of guys step up and play well.”
The Pam Pack will return to action on Friday when it hosts Northside on Walk of Fame night.