FOOTBALL CAPSULES: James Kenan @ North Duplin

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on October 6, 2016 10:23 AM

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JAMES KENAN (2-4, 1-1 CAROLINA)

at NORTH DUPLIN (3-3, 1-0)

Last time out: North Duplin defeated Lakewood 13-6; James Kenan defeated Rosewood 43-19.

Last meeting: 2015, James Kenan won 46-8.

Notable: The Tigers have won four straight over the Rebels and lead the all-time series 28-10 since 1958, according to CarolinaPreps.com. North Duplin has not beaten JK since 2003.

Coach, your team has won three in a row, how do keep that momentum going? "We've got to continue to do what we've been doing is come in each week that we've seen from the week before that we've got to work on (in practice)," ND head coach Hugh Martin said. "It's been a slow progression of getting a little better at things. We've been able to control the ball and that's been a big key for us, too."

What are your thoughts on playing James Kenan. That 2-4 record is a little bit deceiving, don't you think? "You looked at who they played... very tough non-conference schedule. They had to make that transition from what they intended to do with "Little Ken" (Avent III) to what they're doing now. They've made that transition now. We're going to go out there, do what we do and just play. Hopefully, we'll have a great crowd. They're out of the conference again next year, so it will probably be a while again before we're able to play."

James Kenan held the ball for 36 minutes (total) and had five drives that were 11 plays or longer. How can you prepare for them? "We've got to hold our ground up front. Our defensive linemen have got to do a real good job on the line of scrimmage. They do enough things, too, that you've got to be looking at the right things and not get caught of place. We've got to react to what we see. They've improved every week offensively to execute now what they're doing very well. Hat's off to Ken. He's a great coach. He's going to get them to do things to have a chance to be successful."

You guys are doing a "Pink Out Game" and "Outlaw Foundation Support." "The Outdoor Foundation... Bill Outlaw is a North Duplin alum does that to try to help support families as they deal with cancer treatment. We felt like supporting a local agency would be a good way to participate in everything that goes on this month. The last year couple of years I've asked the players if they've wanted to wear pink and that we also do some type of fund raiser... tangible in wearing pink. It's broadened out to include the school and the community as well because folks will have a chance to buy ribbons in honor or memory in honor of someone who has suffered from cancer. The school has been doing some other things with fund raisers and awareness regarding that. It's a chance for us to provide some things back to the community."