By COREY KEENAN

For The Washington Daily News

 

Washington’s defense continued to shine as it posted a shutout for the second straight week Friday night as Pam Pack notched the home win over Kinston, 21-0.

The backfield combination of Zay Clark and Markel Spencer carried Washington, while timely passes from Patrick Thompson helped to give his team an early lead.

Kinston won the possession battle in the first quarter, but neither team put points on the board. Pam Pack broke the tie early in the second.

Washington had the ball on the Kinston 27-yard line to open up the second quarter. A two-yard Spencer run set up a third-and-four situation. The Vikings lined up to stop the run, but a play-action pass caught the defense off guard.

Thompson rolled out to his right and found Rayekwon Satterwaithe on the right sideline. Satterwaithe bolted in from five-yards out and pushed over the goal line to put Washington up 7-0 with 11:15 left in the first half.

Thompson’s quarter was not done, however. Less than three minutes later, Thompson would find fellow senior Zac Bridgeman in the end zone.

After a quick three-and-out for Kinston, a weak punt landed at the 19-yardline where a Washington lineman fell on the ball.

A holding call pushed Pam Pack back to the 28-yardline. Thompson took the snap and rolled right before pressure forced him to juke a defender. Thompson slid to his left and hit Bridgeman with a pass as he fell back in the end zone. Pam Pack hit the ensuing extra point to go up 14-0 and did not look back.

Washington’s defense, led by senior Eric Peartree, allowed just 15 yards of offense in the second quarter.

Pam Pack head coach Sport Sawyer had high praise for his stingy defense.

“Our defense just got after it – every week they’re out there making plays,” said Sawyer. “That’s a goose egg for two straight weeks, so that’s very good.”

For the game, Washington allowed just 47 yards on the ground thanks to Peartree and Jayshawn Rome. The two combined for five sacks.

Spencer said as an offense, having a strong defense playing behind them makes things less stressful.

“The defense played awesome – they do all the time,” said Spencer. “They give us so much momentum when they go out there and shut it down.”

Spencer logged 21 first-half yards, but an explosive second half brought him to a final mark of 114 yards. After being named homecoming king during halftime and being separated from his team, Spencer notched 68 yards in the third quarter including a touchdown.

“I came out striding, they had been keying in on the run,” Spencer said. “I just got a lot of momentum and caught breaks. Next week, it’s another game and I’ve just got to press even harder.”

After opening third quarter with the ball on the 35-yardline thanks to an illegal procedure on the kickoff, Spencer marched the ball down the field for Washington.

He opened the quarter with three straight rushes totaling 38 yards, including a 22-yard blast up the middle on the first play of the half. A 12 yard pass from Thompson to Bridgeman over the middle moved the ball to the 13-yardline and Spencer did the rest.

He broke through the line and bowled over two defenders before being met at the three yard line. The hit popped his helmet off, but his feet kept driving and he pushed over the goal line. Spencer’s touchdown gave Pam Pack a 21-0 lead that would hold up as the final.

“I felt pretty good today all around today,” said Spencer, who is closing in 4,000 yards for his career. “Lately, everything has just been going perfect.”

Sawyer noted the impressive play of Thompson, who completed four of five passes for 63 yards with two touchdowns.

“Thompson can throw and we’ve got to build more passing in there,” said Sawyer. “We’ve been ground-and-pound … Zac Bridgeman caught some very big key passes, so we’ve got to add more passes into our game plan.”

Bridgeman logged 40 yards in the game and is a big target a 6-foot-5.

Pam Pack will meet Farmville Central (6-0) next Friday in what will likely be Washington’s toughest 2A test of the season.