LUMBERTON – It took 15 seconds into the Friday’s season opener for Lumberton coach Zach Jones to throw his hat to the ground in disgust. Thankfully for Jones, that feeling didn’t last long.
North Forrest returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown to quickly grab the 7-0 lead, but the Panthers scored 44 unanswered points on their way to a 44-7 statement win Friday night at The Pit.
“You don’t want to know what I thought,” Jones said about the opening kickoff return. “We have to sure that up. There are some things we have to fix, and we were by no means perfect. But, it was a good way to start the season.”
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The momentum was on the away team’s side of the field after the kickoff return, but a good way for a team to withstand the quick turn of events is a solid running game. That’s exactly what Lumberton had and it executed the plays almost perfectly for the rest of the night.
As a team, the Panthers totaled 406 yards on the ground of 52 carries, and four different players found pay dirt in the contest, too.
“I knew if we played hard, we’d have a really good chance to win the football game,” Jones said. “I didn’t really expect that score. I didn’t really think about that. I’m really proud of our kids. I thought we dominated the football game on the line of scrimmage, and I thought we ran the ball well.”
Sophomore Robert Henry led the offense with 180 yards and three scores on 18 carries, while senior Davion Edwards added 85 yards and a touchdown on seven attempts and junior fullback Kavoris Howard put together 61 yards and two scores on six rushes.
Lumberton only dropped back to pass the ball four times, as senior quarterback Jared Tribett completed 2-of-3 passes for 46 yards. His first drop back resulted in a fumble when North Forrest had the 7-0 lead. It was the only turnover for Lumberton.
“It’s nice to know we have a good offensive line, and we have a plethora of backs,” Jones said. “Knowing we can run the football when we want to is big.”
Henry followed up his stellar freshman season with a big performance Friday night, making his opponents know last season wasn’t a fluke. He took his second carry of the night 34 yards down the left sideline to help set up his 5-yard rushing score to cut North Forrest’s lead to 7-6.
He added touchdown runs from 39 and 12 yards before he was done for the night in the third quarter.
“The line blocked good, we had to convert, so we did what we had to do,” Henry said. “I’ve been working hard in the weight room and on the field with my guys. We do what we do.”
The Panthers’ defense played just as dominant as the rushing attack on offense. Sophomore Denarius Edwards recovered a fumble when Lumberton trailed 7-6 to set up a touchdown by Davion Edwards, then senior CK Bowens hopped on a loose ball on North Forrest’s next possession. Henry scored his 39-yard touchdown two plays later to push Lumberton’s lead to 18-7 near the end of the first quarter.
Junior Jayson Buckley picked up a fumble in the second quarter, which resulted in another Lumberton touchdown to push ahead 32-7, and senior Claudio Williams scooped up another one on a North Forrest kickoff return. The Panthers cashed in that mistake with their final touchdown of the night – a 10-yard scamper by Howard.
Lumberton held the Eagles to 81 rushing yards and 54 passing yards.
“That’s a really good football team, I don’t care what anybody says,” Jones said of the Eagles. “I don’t think they’re any different than they’ve been in the past few years. I think they’re just as good. That’s a really good win for our football team.”
Lumberton travels to Bay High next Friday, while North Forrest will host Magee.
Lumberton 44,
North Forrest 7
Score by Quarter
North Forrest 7 0 0 0—7
Lumberton 18 14 12 0—44
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
NF — Brisco 95 kickoff return, (kick successful), 11:45.
Lum — Henry, 5 run, (2-point failed), 6:29.
Lum — Edwards, 8 run, (2-point failed), 2:46.
Lum — Henry, 39 run, (2-point failed), 1:34.
Second Quarter
Lum — Tribett, 2 run, (2-point successful), 10:22.
Lum — Howard, 3 run, (2-point failed), 2:07.
Third Quarter
Lum — Henry, 12 run, (2-point failed), 10:05.
Lum — Howard, 10 run, (2-point failed), 8:05.
TEAM STATISTICS
North Forrest -- Lumberton
First Downs 6 -- 24
Rushes-Yards 17-81 -- 52-406
Att-Comp-Int. 19-8-0 -- 3-2-0
Passing Yards 54 -- 46
Total Plays-Yards 36-135 -- 55-452
Punts-Avg. 3-34 -- 0-0
Fumbles-Lost 5-4 -- 2-1
Penalties 7-50 -- 3-36
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
North Forrest: Jones 7-59; Pollard 1-14; Robinson 5-4; Anderson 1-3; Brisco 3-1.
Lumberton: Henry 18-180 3 TDs, Edwards 7-85 TD, Howard 6-61 2 TDs, Toney 8-44, Pittman 3-26, Jessie 4-8, Parker 2-2, Tribett 4-0 TD.
Passing
North Forrest: Jones 6-12, 43 yds.; Pollard 2-6, 11 yds.
Lumberton: Tribett 2-3, 46 yds.
Receiving
North Forrest: Brisco 4-36; Robinson 2-21; Grant 1-(-1); Reed 1-(-2).
Lumberton: Young 1-34, Williams 1-12.
