Jacksonville 48, West Carteret 7
Quarterback Josh Benton ran for 172 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries and threw for another score in the Cardinals’ home win over the Patriots.
Benton had a 61-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to give Jacksonville a 7-0 lead, had a 49-yard scoring run that extended the Cardinals’ lead to 20-7 and added a 5-yard touchdown run with 1:34 left in the second quarter to make it 27-7.
All of Benton’s rush attempted came in the first half. He also had a 50-yard touchdown pass to Shawn Jones early in the third quarter to make it 34-7.
Christian Constant added 87 yards on six carries, scoring on runs of 7 and 4 yards while Damari Gnatt added a 7-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter. Curtez Echols Jr., added 62 yards rushing on seven carries while Tristan Shapiro had four receptions for 87 yards for Jacksonville.
West Carteret’s score came Jamarion Montford threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Aidan Cooper with 5:52 left in the second quarter to bring the Patriots to within 14-7.
Jacksonville (3-0) kicks off Big Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference play next week at J.H. Rose. West Carteret (1-2), which topped Jacksonville 24-19 last season, plays host to East Carteret next week.
East Duplin 34, Croatan 7
Avery Gaby rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries to help leading the visiting Panthers to a win over the Cougars.
This was the first meeting between the teams since East Duplin won 21-13 at Croatan in the first round of the NCHSAA 2-AA playoffs in 2019.
Gaby had a 1-yard touchdown run that extended East Duplin’s lead to 28-0 in the third quarter.
The Panthers outscored the Cougars 21-0 in the first quarter.
Nick Cavanaugh threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Gause, Drew Henderson had a 3-yard scoring run and Cavanaugh had an 18-yard touchdown pass to Gaby in the opening quarter.
Evan King brought Croatan to within 28-7 with a 2-yard touchdown run early in the fourth, but Kade Kennedy followed with a 13-yard scoring run for East Duplin.
Henderson ended with 84 yards rushing on seven carries while Cavanaugh completed four of eight passes for 55 yards. Brayden Stephens ran for 58 yards on 12 carries for the Cougars.
East Duplin (3-1) visits James Kenan next week to open East Central 2-A Conference play. Croatan (1-2) visits Wilson Beddingfield next week.
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White Oak 48, Manteo 0
The Vikings posted 42 first-half points en route to a home victory over Manteo.
Quintrel Pearson gave White Oak an early 6-0 lead with a 1-yard touchdown run. Aleni Mageo added a 40-yard scoring run before Sidney Lee threw a 30-yard scoring pass to Sam Hatchell. Lee then threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jmon Hawkins while Mageo followed with a 57-yard touchdown run.
Lee threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Amir Sanders with 24 seconds left in the second quarter to make it 42-0. Blake Hughes recovered a fumbled for a touchdown in the second half for the Vikings.
White Oak (3-1) will play host to Trask next week. Manteo (0-3) visits Edenton Holmes next week.
Clinton 47, Northside 14
KJ Pollock threw two touchdown passes to BJ Sexton, but it wasn’t enough as the Monarchs dropped a home contest to Clinton.
The duo’s first scoring strike came in the third quarter from 30 yards to bring Northside to within 28-6. Pollock then threw another scoring pass to Sexton with 3:21 left in the game, this time from 75 yards.
Blake Smith scored on a 1-yard run and the Dark Horses added the two-point conversion to go ahead 8-0 in the game’s first three minutes. Smith added another 1-yard run to make it 14-0 with 11 minutes left in the second quarter and then he threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Morrissey with the two-point conversion making it 22-0.
Smith added a 4-yard scoring run with 17 seconds left in the second quarter to make it 28-0 as the Dark Horses won their fourth consecutive game over the Monarchs. Clinton defeated Northside 42-21 last season. The Monarchs have not topped the Dark Horses since a 25-21 win in 2017.
Northside (0-4) open Big Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference play next week at South Central. Clinton (2-0) visits Fairmont next week.
J.H. Rose 50, Southwest 12
The Stallions got a rushing score from Corbin Kerr and a receiving on from Jayden Gonzalez, but Southwest wasn’t able to produce more scores in a loss to the host Rampants.
Kerr’s 5-yard run in the second quarter brought Southwest to within 9-6 while Gonzalez’ 31-yard touchdown catch from a pass from Tanner Whitehead brought the Stallions to within 23-12 in the second quarter.
The Stallions fell to 0-3 for the first time since 1996. Southwest opens East Central 2-A Conference play next week when it plays host to Wallace-Rose Hill, looking to avoid its first 0-4 start since 1982 when it started 0-5. J.H. Rose (1-3) plays host to Jacksonville next week to kick off Big Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference action.
North Duplin 55, Lejeune 0
The Devilpups were shutout for the third time this season as they dropped a home game to North Duplin, which led 21-0 after the first quarter.
Lejeune (0-3) will play host to East Columbus next week. North Duplin (2-2) plays host to Pamlico next week.
Chris Miller can be contacted via email at chris.miller@jdnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @jdnsports.