<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3YALVY_0w2nnYaw00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3YALVY_0w2nnYaw00" width="1500" height="1071" ><figcaption>Northwood's Raje Torres (7) runs for extra yards after a reception in the Chargers' win over Seaforth on Oct. 4.</figcaption></figure>PITTSBORO — In Northwood’s (4-3, 4-1) 9-6 victory over Seaforth (2-3, 2-2) in the third Battle of Pittsboro Friday, the claiming rights to both team’s hometown wasn’t the only thing for the taking.As if the keys to the city rattled around in the footballs, the two defenses got their fair share of hands on it. Both teams came away with two interceptions each, but a Seaforth fumble near the goal line late in the fourth quarter became the deciding exchange of the night.The Hawks had the Chargers’ backs against the wall after driving all the way down to the Northwood five yard line with just three minutes to go thanks to a 38-yard completion to junior receiver Patrick Miller and a physical 11-yard rush from sophomore quarterback Duncan Parker.Seaforth tried to punch it in with the option following Parker’s run, but the pitch hit the ground, and the Chargers jumped on it.On the ensuing possession, Northwood took advantage of a fatigued Seaforth defense and ran right at them, running the clock down to the final buzzer thanks to multiple first downs.“It’s always good to win a rivalry game,” Northwood coach Dalton Brown said. “I tell the guys, ‘One more point than them,’ and that’s our goal. Coach Hall called at me at the end, and he said, ‘Not all wins are pretty. Some of them are ugly,’ so that’s what tonight was.”Seaforth’s “ugly” finish was just the tip of the iceberg for the unfortunate events both teams had to overcome throughout the night. For instance, the game-winning fumble recovery wasn’t the first time the Chargers used a turnover to crush a promising Seaforth drive in scoring range.With the Hawks threatening to tie the game at six apiece in the second quarter following an interception from senior David Greenway on the other end of the field, Northwood sophomore Willie Boynton intercepted Parker’s pass over the middle at the Chargers’ 2-yard line.“Coaches and the defense drew up great plays that put me right in the perfect spot to get that pick,” Boynton said.Seaforth returned the favor with on the next possession as Miller negated senior Isaiah Blair’s impressive catch at the 1-yard line with an interception in the end zone.And on the very next play, Parker threw it right back to Northwood sophomore Raje Torres, who high pointed the pick by the Northwood sideline.“When we watched film, we saw what they would do,” Torres said. “So, I just had to play over top, and he threw it right to me.”Although Northwood’s offense rushed for 210 yards (senior Robert Tripp rushed for 114 of them) and had multiple chances to put points on the board, the Chargers didn’t find the end zone outside of junior Mikell Wilson recovering sophomore punter Travis Mann’s dropped snap for a touchdown in the first quarter.Torres’ interception led to a 30-yard field goal from junior Leo Mortimer to put the Chargers up 9-0 at the halftime buzzer.Going into the locker room with the lead in a messy slugfest, Brown’s message to his team at the break was to simply “finish.”“We needed to play the second half better than we played in the first half,” Brown said. “Offensively, we didn’t do that, but defensively, we did. That was the difference in the game.”While the offense struggled to produce points, the defense held things down with its constant pressure and activity in the backfield. The Chargers came away with two sacks (one each from Mortimer and senior Hayes Burleson) and four other tackles for loss (Rhone-Mason led the team with two). That pressure also contributed to the two interceptions as Parker often had little time to find open receivers and throw the ball accurately.Seaforth completed just three passes the entire game and didn’t find the endzone until a three-yard run from junior Raiden Flowers in the beginning of the fourth quarter. The Hawks couldn’t find much offensively outside of Parker’s 81 rushing yards and another big 35-yard completion to senior George Weaver in the fourth quarter that set up their lone score.“We take pride in holding guys to low scores, low yardage, so we preach all week to do your assignment,” Northwood defensive coordinator Derrick Lee said. “If you do your assignment, we’re fine. As long as everybody is doing their assignment, the play on the field is going to show.”After the victory, Northwood moved to over .500 for the first time this season, and now, it has a stronger hold over the third-place spot in the Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference.But after three straight wins over its cross-town foes, Northwood’s hold over the keys to Pittsboro is just as strong until the teams put them on the line once again in another season.</div></body>

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Late-game turnover lifts Northwood over Seaforth, 9-6, in third Battle of Pittsboro

PITTSBORO — In Northwood’s (4-3, 4-1) 9-6 victory over Seaforth (2-3, 2-2) in the third Battle of Pittsboro Friday, the claiming rights to both team’s hometown wasn’t the only thing for the taking. As if the keys to the city rattled around in the footballs, the...

Late-game turnover lifts Northwood over Seaforth, 9-6, in third Battle of Pittsboro

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