CHOCOWINITY — The Southside Seahawks celebrated homecoming Friday night with a demonstrative offensive performance, tallying six touchdowns in a 48-12 rout of Spring Creek.

Coming off two-straight losses, the Gators visited The Nest for the second time in the calendar year, the first being a preseason scrimmage that featured Washington and Northside. Visually undersized and understaffed, Spring Creek’s defense came out strong, containing the wing-T attack early, but the Seahawks’ built momentum as the game progressed en route to a double-digit win.

“We didn’t play a good first half of football at all,” said head coach Jeff Carrow. “We didn’t come out with the physical nature that we’re used to. We made some corrections in the second half and had much better effort out of the whole team.”

Utilizing three different running backs on the first drive — Donshae Miller, Matt Baxter and Lawrence Brown — the Seahawks navigated their way down field and into the red zone. On the final play of the drive, senior quarterback Johnny Sullivan’s first throw of the contest found Baxter wide open in the end zone for six.

Penalties — 14 total in the first half — defined the early stages of the game and threw off each quarterback’s rhythm. For Spring Creek, the errors by the Seahawks’ defense offered them enough breathing room to stay within striking distance.

After a turnover on downs by the Gators, Jordan Hicks recovered a Brown fumble on the ensuing drive to put the ball back into the hands of quarterback Gary Williams, who single-handedly moved the chains on a series of quarterback keepers. Spring Creek tied the game after Logan Miller floated a pass to the corner of the end zone, finding tight end Jordan Hicks.

On the next drive, a botched onside kick put Southside at midfield. Dylan Lewis, who spent most of the first quarter on the sidelines, was the catalyst in the second, as the junior picked up yardage in bunches and eventually barreled his way across the goal line.

Both teams would tack on another touchdown to bring the score to 22-12 at the half. But for the final 24 minutes, defensive coordinator Andrea Quinerly’s defense limited penalty yardage and held the Gators scoreless.

“Coach Q talked to the defense at halftime and it was a little bit of a reality check for them,” Carrow said. “The defense stepped up big in the second half and the offense kept it going.”

A 36-yard run from Brown added to Southside’s total in the third quarter and in the fourth, as Sullivan would eventually put the game out of reach. The Seahawks’ quarterback found Miller in the open field for a 58-yard reception and on the next play, Sullivan stretched across the goal line for his second TD of the game.

With the second team in for the remaining nine minutes, Southside forced two fumbles and found the end zone twice — a seven-yard touchdown run by freshman Amari Peele and a bootleg by sophomore quarterback Marshall Medlock.

Sullivan finished 3-for-3 with a season-high 106-yards passing, while Lewis led the way on the ground with 94 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Brown and Miller each notched over 100-total yards.

“In 1-A football, in any football, it’s a week-to-week battle,” Carrow said. “We need to play with full intensity.

“If we eliminate a turnover here and there, our offense will be ok. We put ourselves in binds when we turn the ball over in bad parts of ballgames.”

Entering a bye week, Southside will use the next two weeks to get healthy, Carrow said. The Seahawks will travel to Robersonville on Oct. 3 to face South Creek.

 

EDENTON HOLMES 49, NORTHSIDE 12

The Panthers were unable to preserve a first-quarter lead against what is likely the toughest team on their schedule.

Northside led 6-0 through the first 12 minutes, but the Aces opened the game up with three second-quarter touchdowns. The Panthers found the end zone one more time in the first half, but were silenced over the final 24 minutes.

Northside tallied 195 yards and 10 first downs in the loss. Senior tailback Rockne Butler finished with 95 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, while Patrick Moore notched 73 yards and a touchdown.

Like Southside, the Panthers will have a bye next Friday before hosting their second-consecutive Class 2-A opponent in North Pitt the following week.