South Lenoir broke an early winless drought with a victory over North Duplin last Friday.
It was a distinct win for a team who was voted last in The Free Press/News-Argus 2013 Coach’s Poll. Coach Ken Grantham said topping the then-undefeated Rebels may prove his pre-season predictions: South Lenoir can be successful.
“I think the guys really, really enjoyed it and I think they deserved it,” he said about the win. “They played hard the last two weeks, and to go out and play as well as they did Friday night is just so refreshing. It’s been a long time out here since they’ve had a win like that.”
The last time South Lenoir won a game was against Spring Creek in its 2012 season opener. North Duplin was 2-0 going into the contest Friday, with wins over Pinetown Northside (28-0) and Chocowinity Southside (27-12).
“That’s just the icing on the cake to not only win, but to win against a quality opponent who wins themselves,” Grantham said. “To come out and win against a team that was undefeated at the time and play good football just made the win even that much more special.”
The Rebels only scored in the second quarter, returning a fumble recovery two yards with 5:32 on the clock. North Lenoir quarterback Kyle Huffman accounted for all 15 Blue Devils points after carrying three times for 70 yards, including a 56-yard rush to the end zone.
Dion Jones led South Lenoir with 20 carries for 104 yards.
“South Lenoir is a big, physical team and they played well tonight,” North Duplin coach Hugh Martin told the News-Argus after the loss. “I thought we went toe-to-toe with them on offense and on defense, but we just made too many mistakes.”
Grantham said his team’s ability to rush and in turn stop North Duplin’s running attack helped the Blue Devils overcome the Rebels. Friday’s win was a turnaround from a harrowing loss to Harrells Christian Academyin Week 1.
The Crusaders went up 41-0 by the half, which was the final score after they won by forfeit.
“It’s a big difference,” Grantham said about Week 1. “We had a lot of discussion right after that Harrells game. It was acceptable.”
He added, “I was just impressed with the effort we’ve been putting forth on the field the last two weeks, even at Southwest Onslow. They’ve been playing hard as a team with extremely good effort.”
South Lenoir will have its home opener against Richlands Friday. It’s one of their only four home games this season.
“One of the things that (the win over North Duplin) is going to do is give us the confidence that we can play with other people,” Grantham said. “We’ll … take that into this week and try hard to do the same thing again.”
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.
