AHOSKIE – The streak hit three.

But, not one the Bears were hoping for.

Last night (Friday), Hertford County High School’s varsity football team fell behind early and never recovered as Northeastern High School rolled to a 61-12 victory. The win gave the Eagles three straight victories over the Bears.

Things started poorly for HCHS and only got worse from there. Before taking the first snap, the Bears were penalized for a false start. Despite gaining 10 yards in the first set of downs, that five-yard setback forced the Bears to punt.

Northeastern made the home team pay dearly for the mistake, scoring on their fourth play from scrimmage. Sophomore quarterback Quaymon Williams got the Eagles started quickly, completing passes of eight and 30 yards to Travis McWilliams and Marquis Whidbee respectively.

A.J. Felton then rumbled 15 yards before William Simpson punched it in from the three-yardline. Brandon Swayne added the PAT and the Eagles led 7-0 with 9:04 still to play in the first quarter.

On the next drive, the Bears again were forced to a three-and-out and the Eagles again made it count.

After the punt return set them up in HCHS territory, the Eagles got a 13-yard carry from Simpson and a nine-yard scamper from Felton to get down to the 25-yardline. Williams then completed a 22-yard pass to Whidbee before Simpson had his second three-yard run for a score. Benedickt Svavarsson added the conversion and Northeastern led 14-0 with 6:12 to play in the first quarter.

The Bears appeared ready to make a go of it on the third drive, getting an eight-yard completion from Ryan Weaver to Dorrien Askew on second down, but Anthony Lassiter was stopped short on the third down attempt and the Bears were forced to punt.

This time the HCHS defense stiffened and held the Eagles to minus yardage on the drive. Northeastern was forced to punt.

From there, the two teams traded punts with Northeastern ending up with the football at their own 46-yardline. Felton, however, broke free on first down and roared 54 yards to paydirt. Swayne added the conversion and the Eagles led 21-0.

The first half misery didn’t end there for the Bears as they again punted and again the Eagles took advantage. Williams completed a 40-yard pass to McWilliams to set up a 21-yard run to paydirt for Felton. The conversion failed, but Northeastern led 27-0 with 8:32 to play in the second quarter.

Despite a solid performance by the HCHS defense for most of the quarter, Northeastern again found the endzone before halftime. Felton scored on a three-yard plunge, capping a seven-play drive. The two-point conversion failed and the Eagles led 33-0.

The second half started with the Eagles netting a loss of five yards on their first two plays, but Felton picked up 14 yards and a first down to keep the drive alive. Williams then connected with Whidbee on a 50-yard scoring strike which, combined with a Swayne kick, gave Northeastern a commanding 40-0 lead.

The Eagles scored again with 3:25 left in the third quarter. This time Ladon Jordan scored on an 18-yard run. Swayne added the conversion and Northeastern led 47-0.

The Bears got their first score early in the fourth quarter. The drive was set up by a fumble recovery from junior Kendrick Leary. He jumped on the loose pigskin at the Eagle 39-yardline.

Three plays netted only four yards, but as the fourth quarter started the Bears got an 18-yard run from Brandon Staton. Tyus Leary and Lassiter combined to move the football to the nine-yardline where Weaver carried for another eight yards. Weaver then stuck it in with 9:52 to play. The two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving Northeastern with a 47-6 lead with 9:52 to play.

Despite the comfortable lead, the Eagles kept Williams in at quarterback. He and Jordan combined to move Northeastern down to the two-yardline from where Williams scored. Svavarsson added the conversion and Northeastern led 54-6.

The Bears struck back quickly when Jquwan Ruffin returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a score. The kick was blocked leaving the Bears trailing 54-12 with 6:02 to play.

The Eagles weren’t done piling on the points, however, as they moved the football down the field and scored on a 17-yard run by Jordan. Svavarsson added the conversion to establish the 61-12 final.

Overall, the Eagles amassed more than 500 yards of total offense. They picked up 334 on the ground and added 174 through the air. Felton did most of the damage on the ground, picking up 194 yards on 14 carries. Jordan added 150 yards on 11 carries.

Williams was 8-of-13 for 174 yards passing with one touchdown.

The Bears, meanwhile, had just 108 yards of total offense, 82 of which came on the ground. Lassiter was the leading rusher in the absence of starter Kenneth Sharpe, who is injured. He had 41 yards on 12 carries.

The Bears (3-2, 0-1) will look to bounce back next week when they travel to Edenton while Northeastern (4-1, 1-0) will return home to host First Flight High School.