For the first time this season the stadiums will be dark in the Roanoke-Chowan area this Friday night as all six local high school football teams play away dates.  Northampton will begin their conference season and plenty of eyes will be on a pair of emerging teams: Hertford County at Pasquotank in Elizabeth City.

HERTFORD CO. at PASQUOTANK

Last Friday Hertford County beat its bitter rival, Bertie, 34-18, in a hard-fought contest at home in Bear Stadium.

“Both teams played hard,” said first-year coach Terrance Saxby. “We made some big plays and took advantage of their turnovers.”

This Friday Hertford County (2-5, 1-1, NCC) will visit surprising Pasquotank (3-3, 2-0, NCC) in a key Northeastern Coastal Conference game.

“Pasquotank is very explosive,” said Saxby, “and they have a lot of skilled players.”

Quarterback Christian Folston leads the bears with 801 yards passing and eight touchdowns.

“For us to be successful Friday night we have to have a good week of preparation.  We have to tackle well and not give up big plays on defense,” adds Saxby.  “Offensively we need to run the ball to set up our passing game.

The Bears will be going for their second straight conference win and first-ever two games win streak this season.

BERTIE at FIRST FLIGHT

As mentioned, Bertie lost to heated rival Hertford County by 16 points last Friday night, 34-18.

“We stopped ourselves on offense,” said first-year head coach Ty Hill. “Hertford County also made some big plays.”

This Friday Bertie (2-4, 0-1, NCC) visits Kill Devil Hills to play First Flight (2-5, 0-2, NCC) in another conference showdown.

“First Flight runs a lot of different formations, we have to be prepared for that,” said Hill.

Both teams will be trying for their first conference win of the season.

“For us to be successful Friday night we just need to play better offensively and defensively,” concluded Hill.  “My main concern now is our team as we must now try to get as many wins as we can.”

GATES CO. at CAMDEN CO.

Last Friday night Gates County beat Perquimans at home; the Red Barons’ third consecutive game where they scored at least 50 points.

“We played well and established our running game,” said head coach Matt Biggy, “and our defense put good pressure on their quarterback.”

This Friday night Gates Co. (5-1, 3-0, C10) visits Camden Co. (3-3, 2-1, C10) in the first of two meetings with the Bruins this year; and this one is a non-conference game.

“Camden has a lot of guys returning from last year,” said Biggy. “They have a strong fullback and a good tailback and their offensive line is solid.  The only loss they had so far in conference was to Plymouth.”

The Red Barons are already 3-0 in their conference race, tied with the Vikings whom they meet in the final game of the regular season.  For now, Gates is seeking its sixth straight win.

“For us to be successful Friday night we have to continue to play physical up front and run the ball,” closed Biggy. “On defense we need to play sound, get to the ball, and make tackles.”

NORTHAMPTON CO. at RIVERSIDE

Two weeks ago Northampton Co. lost to Bunn.

“The bye week helped us with our injury situation,” said Coach George Privott. “We will almost be at full strength as we are waiting to find out about one other player this week.”

This Friday Northampton (2-4) travels to Williamston to visit Riverside (2-4) in the Two Rivers Conference opener for both teams.

“Riverside is a heavy passing team,” said Privott. “They have a good quarterback who can run and pass and we have to prepare for both.  This is also a big game because it’s our conference opener.”

“For us to be successful Friday night we need to eliminate turnovers on offense and play sound defense,” concluded Privott. “We need to win our league opener as the conference race is wide open.”

LAWRENCE ACADEMY at CARY CHRISTIAN

Last Friday night Hobgood came to Merry Hill and spoiled Homecoming for Lawrence Academy, 68-26.

This Friday, Lawrence (1-5) is on the road at Cary Christian (1-5) in a very winnable Colonial 8-Man Conference football game.

Leading the way for the Warriors is quarterback Jarrett Harrell.

NORTHEAST ACADEMY at SOUTHAMPTON ACADEMY

Last Friday Northeast Academy was back on the field after missing a weekend of action due to a forfeit to Arendell Parrott two weeks ago.  However, the Eagles did not return with a win as they were shutout by Rocky Mount Academy, 58-0,

This Friday the Eagles (1-5) will visit Southampton (5-1).