SOUTHPORT — A back-and-forth game between Red Springs and South Brunswick on Friday saw the Cougars score last and earn a 40-36 win over the Red Devils in the Southeastern Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
“They got a few swing plays during the game,” Red Springs coach Tim Ray said. “I always tell the boys it’s one or two plays that make a big difference. They had a big kick return, we had some plays that got called back. It was a great ballgame, as most of our games have been all year.”
Red Springs (2-4, 0-1 SAC) now has three of its losses by a total of 14 points, along with a 32-30 win over Anson in the season opener.
“It just means we’re not done working, we’ve got a lot of work to do, we’re knocking on the door but we’re not closing it,” Ray said.
Chase Boone, T.J. Ellerbe, Kylee Thames and Damiren Cooper all scored touchdowns for Red Springs.
After the teams swapped scores throughout, Red Springs led 29-28 with 11 minutes to go. South Brunswick (4-2, 1-0 SAC) took a 34-29 lead with eight minutes left, the Red Devils scored to go up 36-34 with six minutes left and the Cougars answered to take their 40-36 lead with five minutes left. Red Springs punted back to South Brunswick on its next drive, and the Cougars were able to run out the clock.
Red Springs hosts South Columbus next week.
“I haven’t seen much on South Columbus, but knowing traditionally what Coach (Russell) Dove does, he stays in his system, so I’m hoping with us getting back home these next couple of weeks, we can just lock in and finish off some wins. We’ve just got to get on the other side of that win column this week.”
Fairmont falls to South Columbus
Fairmont’s quest for its first win of the season saw a close game for a while, but the Golden Tornadoes ultimately struggled defensively against the South Columbus run game and the Stallions ran back to Tabor City with a 55-36 win in Friday’s Southeastern opener.
“We just could not stop their outside run game,” Fairmont coach Scott Loosemore said. “We needed to have a better scheme; I didn’t do a very good job of putting together a good game plan to stop what they do. We’ve just got to figure out how to get our players in a better position to play teams that run that type of offense.”
Fairmont (0-6, 0-1 SAC) led 8-7 early; South Columbus (3-3, 1-0 SAC) took a 21-8 lead, but Fairmont closed to 28-20. South Columbus led 35-20 at the end of the third quarter, then scored 20 more in the final period.
Fairmont will travel to West Bladen next week, hoping to snap a 17-game losing streak that dates back to a 2023 win against the Knights.
“I honestly thought we’ve have a chance to win (against South Columbus),” Loosemore said. “We’ve been playing better defense than we played tonight. But we’ll have a chance next week. We’ve got to get that first win and try to get some confidence. We’ve played a pretty tough schedule, our opponents have won 70% of their games, so it’s been a tough road for us. Hopefully we just keep the kids moving in the right direction.”
Lumberton shut out by Cape Fear
Lumberton faced a big deficit quickly and was never able to recover as the Pirates were shut out 36-0 at Cape Fear to begin Tri-County Conference play Friday in Fayetteville.
Cape Fear (5-1, 1-0 TCC) took a 28-0 lead in the first quarter and led 36-0 at halftime.
Lumberton (2-3, 0-1 TCC) hosts Gray’s Creek next week.
Rams dominated by Terry Sanford
Purnell Swett also struggled in a TCC road game, falling in a quick hole early in a 48-8 loss at Terry Sanford.
Terry Sanford (5-1, 1-0 TCC) led 21-0 in the first quarter, 34-0 by the midway point of the second quarter and 41-0 at halftime. The Bulldogs extended the lead to 48-0 in the third quarter.
The lone touchdown for Purnell Swett (2-4, 0-1 TCC) came in the fourth as Malachi Jacobs connected with Kersyn Hunt-Locklear on a 31-yard pass. Jacobs ran in the 2-point conversion.
Purnell Swett hosts Cape Fear next week.