After a bye week, the Bertie Falcons fly into Bear Stadium where Hertford County is still licking its paws over the Edenton loss.  Meanwhile, Gates County is back at home this week looking to go to 3-0 and keep pace with Plymouth in the 1A Coastal-10 Conference.

BERTIE at HERTFORD COUNTY

Hertford County dropped its conference opener in Edenton Friday night, 35-9, to the J.A. Holmes Aces.

“The game was 7-7 late in the second quarter and then Edenton scored two quick touchdowns to lead 21-7 at halftime and they went on to win,” said Hertford County head coach Terrance Saxby.  “Edenton is very good and they’re very athletic.”

This Friday, Hertford County (1-5, 0-1, NCC) will host Bertie (2-3, 0-0, NCC) for the Falcons’ Northeastern Coastal Conference opener.

“Bertie has a strong running game,” said Saxby. “They have good athletes and they have kids that can run and are also very aggressive on defense.”

Christian Folston leads the Bears with 514 yards passing and five touchdowns.

“For us to be successful Friday night we have to correct some things and also have a good game plan offensively and defensively,” the coach continued.  “We need to have good blocking and tackling.”

“It’s a rivalry game and winning it is important to both teams,” Saxby concluded.

Two weeks ago Bertie lost to West Carteret down in Morehead City leaving them quite a long time to lick their wounds.

“We made some mistakes that you can’t make against a good team,” said Falcons head coach Tyris Hill.  “We’re also coming off a bye week which helped us with our injury situation.”

“Hertford County is a good team,” Hill continued.  “They’re better than their 1-5 record.  They’ve found a good quarterback who can throw the ball, their receivers can catch the ball, and their defense is solid.  We have our work cut out for us, plus this is a rivalry game.”

Bertie is led by senior running back Alameen Sharif who has rushed for 720 yards and scored six touchdowns.

“For us to be successful Friday night we need to take care of the football,” concluded Hill.  “We need to play well offensively and defensively.  We are focusing on this game and looking forward to this game.  It’s our conference opener and a big game for us.”

PERQUIMANS at GATES COUNTY

Last Friday Gates County beat Creswell.

“We came out and made big plays in our passing game,” said Red Barons’ head coach Matt Biggy. “We had some big explosive runs.  Both the offense and the defense played well.

This Friday Gates Co. (4-1, 2-0, C10) will host Perquimans (2-3, 2-0, C10).

“Perquimans likes to throw the ball as their quarterback has passed for over 1,000 yards,” said Biggy.  “They also have good running backs and a solid defense.”

Gates County is led by running back Mark Ricks who rushed for 220 yards against Creswell and also rushed for 280 yards against Pasquotank.

“For us to be successful Friday night we need to have good pass coverage and to put pressure on their quarterback,” closed Biggy. “They beat us last year in a close game.  This is a big game for both teams as we try to stay undefeated in conference play.”

HOBGOOD at LAWRENCE

Lawrence Academy’s win streak didn’t last as the Warriors lost to Rocky Mount Academy while Hobgood Academy suffered a loss to Southampton Academy.

This Friday Hobgood (2-3) will be in Merry Hill for a game with Lawrence (1-4) on what will also be Homecoming Night for the Warriors.

NORTHEAST at ROCKY MT. ACADEMY

NortheastAcademy (1-4) will also be on the road this week, traveling to Rocky MountAcademy (5-0) this Friday.

The Eagles had to forfeit their home game in Lasker last Friday to Arendell Parrott Academy.