North Pitt pulls away from North Lenoir after tight first half
Written by: Keith Spence
LA GRANGE — A tale of two halves unfolded at Bullock Field on Friday night, as North Lenoir couldn’t capitalize on a strong start and fell to North Pitt 28-0 in Three Rivers 4A Conference action.
Despite outplaying the Panthers early, the Hawks went into halftime trailing 6-0 and watched the visitors pull away with 22 unanswered points after the break.
“We’re not a team that can overcome multiple mistakes like tonight,” North Lenoir coach Larry Dale said. “We should have had the lead in the first half but we kept shooting ourselves in the foot.”
North Lenoir had multiple chances to seize momentum early, driving deep into North Pitt territory twice before penalties stalled both possessions. A missed field goal on the opening drive and a failed fourth-down conversion at the Panthers’ 20-yard line left the Hawks empty-handed.
“Those penalties killed us,” Dale said. “You can’t have drives end like that against a good team and expect to stay in the game.”
The Hawks committed nine penalties for 84 yards, including 50 in the first quarter alone. North Pitt didn’t fare much better discipline-wise, flagged 13 times for 145 yards, but the timing of North Lenoir’s miscues proved far more damaging.
After controlling much of the first half, North Lenoir’s offense sputtered in the second while North Pitt’s passing attack came alive. Panthers quarterback Bryce Cox connected on 8 of 12 attempts for 142 yards and two touchdowns in the final two quarters, finishing 13-of-17 for 175 yards and also rushing for two scores.
The turning point came midway through the third quarter when Cox, while being dragged down by multiple defenders, flipped a short pass to running back Juhron Clemmons, who turned it into a 51-yard gain that swung momentum squarely toward North Pitt.
A fumble inside North Lenoir’s 10-yard line later in the game set up one of the Panthers’ two fourth-quarter touchdowns, sealing the Hawks’ fate.
Devin Gray led North Lenoir with 49 yards on 11 carries, while Jaylen Wooten added 45 yards on six attempts. But the Hawks couldn’t sustain drives after halftime, leaving the defense on the field for most of the second half.
“Our kids fought hard, but we just ran out of gas,” Dale said. “When you can’t sustain drives on offense, it puts too much pressure on your defense. Credit to North Pitt — they capitalized on every opportunity in the second half.”
Up Next:
North Lenoir (1-6, 0-3) travels to Washington (0-6, 0-2), while North Pitt (3-4, 2-1) hosts Southwest Edgecombe.
