LA GRANGE --- It was Darryl Goff’s first time returning to North Lenoir since 1997.
Wayne Jackson wore his East Duplin coaching hat Friday night as dozens of Hawks recognized his coaching success during halftime.
And Paul Dunn III and Jason Roach were with their families just hours before the official induction.
The quad became the 2013 North Lenoir Athletic Hall of Fame class Friday night. They join the likes of other former standout North Lenoir athletes and coaches in a tradition that began in 2007.
“I thought the (Hall of Fame) was going to be a drudgery, another added … responsibility when we already had our plates full, but it’s turned out to be a pleasure,” said Wayne Barwick, NL’s assistant athletic director and 2009 inductee. “There’s been a lot more going on than people think over the years. There’s a wealth of things that we hadn’t uncovered yet.”
The school holds the induction every fall during the Hall of Fame game’s halftime, which was against East Duplin this year.
Jackson is an assistant coach for the Panthers, and spent Friday on the ED sideline trying to beat his former school. East Duplin won, 22-12.
“You can’t blame him there, but he’s still a Hawk,” Barwick said of the conflict. “He graduated a Hawk. It was time to recognize him; he coached here for 10 years and had some success.”
Goff, a former wrestling standout who went undefeated his senior year, said the Hall of Fame shows North Lenoir’s appreciation for its athletes and coaches.
“It just says they want to show pride in their past athletes and maybe introduce some of these new athletes to what we did,” Goff said. “Maybe we can all help here in the future. As far as the Hall of Fame, I’m glad they started it.”
The Hawks wrestling program ended in 1997, but will start up again this winter. Goff is hoping to offer volunteer hours.
Goff works and resides in Kinston and was proud to be inducted.
“It feels great,” he said. “I never thought it would happen.”
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.