North Duplin handed first defeat of season

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on September 8, 2013 12:00 AM

• Print
• Email

rhanchett@newsargus.com

CALYPSO -- North Duplin failed to convert on a pair of scoring opportunities in the second half.

South Lenoir took advantage and held on for a 15-7 win at H.E. Grubbs Field on Friday evening.

The Rebels suffered their first loss of the season. On the opposite sideline, the victory was the Blue Devils' first of the year and the first under new head coach Ken Grantham.

"South Lenoir is a big, physical team and they played well tonight," North Duplin head coach Hugh Martin said. "I thought we went toe-to-toe with them on offense and on defense, but we just made too many mistakes."

Neither team could get anything going on offense in the first quarter as penalties and negative plays defined the first 12 minutes.

North Duplin (2-1 overall) got a break in the second quarter. A bad snap on a South Lenoir punt was recovered by Daquan Goodman and returned five yards for a touchdown. Antonio Jaimes converted the extra point and put the home team ahead 7-0.

South Lenoir answered on the next drive when quarterback Kyle Huffman raced up the middle on a quarterback sneak and scampered 56 yards for a touchdown. Huffman, the Blue Devils' holder on extra points, picked up another errant snap and raced into the end zone for a two-point conversion.

South Lenoir's lead remained 8-7 until the intermission.

The Blue Devils (1-2 overall) pulled ahead 15-7 midway through the third quarter when Huffman capped a seven-play drive with a two-yard touchdown drive.

North Duplin embarked on a 17-play series that spanned more than six minutes and pushed the ball inside the red zone. A fumble on third down was recovered by the Blue Devils which ended the threat.

The Rebels got the ball back with four minutes to play and once again marched down the field. A holding penalty put North Duplin behind the chains and the drive ended when quarterback James Britt was sacked on fourth down with 40 seconds left on the clock.

"A penalty here, a missed assignment there, that was the story," Martin said. "We have some little things that we did not do well and it cost us the chance to make a big play to change the game."

Kaleb Brock led the Rebels with 50 yards rushing on 12 carries. Britt added 35 yards on 11 totes. North Duplin's leading rusher Daron Goodman left the game in the second quarter with an undisclosed injury and tallied just seven yards on three carries.

Dion Jones paced South Lenoir with 93 yards on 19 rushes. Huffman delivered 70 yards on three runs and completed one pass for 27 yards.

South Lenoir plays host to Richlands next, while North Duplin is the guest of Dixon.