LA GRANGE --- East Duplin rallied from a halftime deficit Friday to beat North Lenoir, 22-12, in the Hawks’ first home game since Week 1.
It was the night of North Lenoir’s Athletic Hall of Fame induction, and alumni witnessed a great start before the Hawks fell short.
After an early touchdown off an East Duplin fumble, the Hawks lost traction coming back from halftime. North Lenoir led 12-8 but couldn’t find a way to stop the Panthers in the second half, allowing 14 points.
East Duplin forced the Hawks to punt with 9:17 in the third and scored on its next two possessions to win the game.
The 38-yard puntfrom North Lenoir gave the Panthers the ball in Hawks territory, as East Duplin took advantage and scored on a 55-yard drive. East Duplin recovered the ball after sacking North Lenoir’s Landon Baker on his own 11, but the Panthers used running back Anderson Dauveia five times to advance the ball to the eventual last touchdown.
“I thought we moved the ball all night,” East Duplin coach Battle Holley said. “I thought we stopped ourselves when we got stopped, with turning the ball over.”
The Panthers lost both their fumbles, while the Hawks fumbled once in their own end zone for an East Duplin safety in the second quarter.
ED handled the ball in its rushing game, gaining all of its 319 yards on the ground without much pressure from NL’s defense. Panthers quarterback Jarvarious Scarborough didn’t attempt any passes Friday, while rushing for 10 yards on three carries.
He handed off to a different running back on each of the Panthers TDs, who all rushed no more than 4 yards to score. North Lenoir running back Donyae Hopkins had the longest touchdown with a 17-yard rush up the left side.
Holley said the Panthers had trouble stopping the speedy Hopkins early on.
“They made adjustments,” North Lenoir coach Calvin Sutton said. “We were just basically taking what they gave us. We’ve got to play better and finish our games.”
The Panthers outgained the Hawks 319-134, while Dauveia led all rushers with 111 yards on 13 carries. Hopkins finished with 106 rushing yards.
“We knew coming in that North Lenoir had some athletes and some speed,” Holley said. “We just have to build off (the win) and limit our mistakes. … They’ve got a good team, and we’re just happy to come out with a win.”
North Lenoir hosts North Johnston (0-4) next Friday, as South Lenoir (0-5) travel to East Duplin.
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.
