PINETOWN — Hykeem Ruffin did everything in his power to will Washington to its first win of the season — a 36-32 thriller at Northside. The senior running back rushed for 203 yards and four of the team’s five touchdowns. He also came up with a last-minute sack that all but sealed the win.

His explosive performance also marked the first win under head coach Jon Blank. Doing so in a competitive outing in front of one of the most electric crowds a football fan will find in Beaufort County only made it sweeter.

WATCH: Washington coach Jon Blank and Northside coach Keith Boyd discuss the game

“It feels great. I got the Gatorade bath,” Blank said. “With a 36-32 win for my first win, I’ll take it. … It’s a great feeling. I’m ecstatic right now. It wasn’t pretty. I didn’t need pretty. I needed a win.”

PHOTOS: Washington at Northside

PHOTOS: Northside at Washington (J.V.)

Blank’s definition of “not pretty” was the way Northside commanded the first half of the game. In trying to turn the Pam Pack’s culture around, Blank watched his team compete to the final whistle when recent iterations may have given in.

The hosting Panthers forced Washington three-and-out on its opening drive. Backed up to their own 10-yard line, Northside coach Keith Boyd opened the playbook a bit on a 61-yard connection between quarterback Matthew Marslender and receiver Dawson Jackson.

That put the Panthers in Pam Pack territory and left the crowd behind them buzzing. Johnathan Clark shed tackles for a 21-yard gain that put Raydarius Freeman in striking distance for the game’s first score — a 4-yard scamper to the left.

“We felt like they were going to try and stack the box,” Northside coach Keith Boyd said. “We haven’t thrown it well all year. … We have a hard time. It’s just not what we do well. We try to stay away from it.”

Northside continued to bottle up Washington’s efforts to move the ball on the ground. Frederick Holscher looked to Dawson Elks on fourth-and-13, but the aerial attempt came up short of the conversion.

Marslender again thrived in the air. His screen pass to Clark was good for 21 yards, and Marslender kept on a read option to score from 14 yards away. It put Northside ahead, 16-0, with 9:51 left in the half.

After Ruffin put Washington on the board with 4:33 left in the half, Freeman struck for a second time thanks to Clark coming a yard shy of taking the kickoff to the house. Holscher avoided two-touchdown halftime deficit by hitting Drew Ferguson for a first down and then punching it into the end zone himself.

With the Panthers set to receive the second-half kickoff, the late score was more significant than the six points it added to Washington’s column on the scoreboard. It was a theme that carried over to the second half. Freeman found the end zone for a third time, but Ruffin answered with a 50-yard touchdown two plays later.

Freeman’s third score was all Northside’s offense would produce. Washington pitched a shutout for the remaining 19:29 of the game. Meanwhile, its offense went on to rally with two scoring drives that needed just four plays.

“We knew that we had them where we wanted them. Hykeem was running as much as he wanted to,” Blank said. “He was ready to carry us tonight, so we knew that if we could make some adjustments on defense, which we did, we’d be fine.”

A defensive stand deep in Panther territory gave the Pam Pack a short field as it looked for the game-winning strike. Cooper Anderson hauled in a pass for a fourth-and-5 conversion, and Ruffin barreled in from 15 yards out for the go-ahead score.

Washington returns home next week to host Bertie. Northside, with plenty of positives to takeaway, takes to the road for an encounter with former Pam Pack coach Sport Sawyer and Manteo.