Hawks top Jags

Published in Sports on October 11, 2005 2:13 PM

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By DAVIS FISHER

Courtesy Kinston Free Press

LaGRANGE -- The North Lenoir Hawks snapped their four-game losing streak with a dominating performance.

The Hawks finished with 329 total yards of offense, including 260 rushing and returned an interception for a touchdown en route to a 35-24 win over Farmville Central in the Class 2-A Eastern Plains Conference opener for both teams Monday.

North Lenoir had three players with 81 or more yards rushing. Tyrone Spencer led the attack with 93 yards and one touchdown on nine carries. Zack Carter and Eric Whitfield finished with 81 yards and two touchdowns apiece on nine and 15 carries, respectively.

Farmville Central jumped out to a 6-0 lead after the first quarter, but North Lenoir came to life over the final three quarters.

North Lenoir (2-5, 1-0 EPC) outscored Farmville 35-18 over the final three quarters with a punishing running game and a pivotal interception return for a touchdown. North Lenoir scored 21 unanswered points in the second quarter, scoring on all three second-quarter possessions, for a 21-6 lead at halftime.

"I am extremely proud of this group of players," North Lenoir head coach Wayne Jackson said. "We played a very demanding non-conference schedule and have taken our bumps and bruises and to be able to hold it together like we have, I am proud of them.

"We came out a little flat in the first quarter but fought back."

Carter put the Hawks up for good in the second quarter scoring on North Lenoir's first two possessions. Carter tied the game at 6-6 when he scored on a five-yard run, capping a 10,-play 77-yard drive. North Lenoir took the lead for good when Carter took a toss pitch around the left side and hugged the sideline for a 45-yard score.

Whitefield scored on the two-point conversion for a 14-6 Hawks' lead.

Farmville Central (2-5, 0-1) opened the second half scoring on its first possession when Terrell Smith, scored on the second play of the half, on a 59-yard run.

The Jaguars looked like they were getting back into the game when North Lenoir's Whitfield delivered the knockout blow. Whitfield picked off a Brandon Austin pass and returned it 52 yards, giving the Hawks a 28-12 lead.

Farmville Central made a final run when it cut the Hawks' advantage to 28-24 with 4:21 remaining when Quintrell Cotton scored the last of his two touchdowns on a six-yard run.

North Lenoir responded, riding the back of Whitfield, on its next possession driving 55 yards in six plays for the final score. Whitfield scored on a 14-yard run.

The Hawks travel to Tarboro on Friday.