Croatan 38, Havelock 26
For the second consecutive year, Croatan is 6-0 following a win against Havelock, this time winning on the road to top the Rams.
Andrew Boucher’s 25-yard touchdown run 46 seconds into the fourth quarter extended the Cougars’ lead to 38-14.
Havelock’s Michael Gatling returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown and added a late touchdown, but it was too little too late.
Boucher had a 76-yard touchdown run with 7:43 left in the third to extend Croatan’s lead to 31-14. Croatan went into halftime with a 24-14 lead following a 33-yard field goal by Kannon McBride that answered a touchdown by Gatling.
McBride set the tone with a 27-yard touchdown pass with Antoine Blunt and a 47-yard scoring run to make it 14-0. In the second, McBride found Blunt for 36 yards to make it 21-7.
The Cougars have won three staight over the Rams.
“We never beat them until last year, and now we’ve won three in a row,” McBride said. “Yet, there are still doubters.”
Croatan (6-0, 2-0) visits Northside on Friday while Havelock (2-4, 1-1) visits West Carteret.
“They threw everything at us and we handled the Rams attack,” Croatan coach Andrew Gurley said. “We got takeaways, and even though they knew we would run, we did anyway. Tonight’s win was a nice pinnacle, but we have more mountains to climb.”
Northside 53, Richlands 0
Northside allowed just 58 yards of total offense as the Monarchs remained undefeated with a Coastal 5-A/6-A Conference victory at Richlands.
Kainoa Clement and Kaleb Robinson each recovered fumbles for the Monarchs, who recorded their second shutout this season.
Reginald Gray III completed 11 of 18 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns. He threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Evan Wanga to extend the Monarchs’ lead to 15-0 in the second quarter. The Gray-Wanga combination struck again for 23 yards in the second to make it 30-0.
Gray also completed an 18-yard scoring pass to Gavyn Davis in the second. Davis had four catches for 93 yards.
Rahlai Anderson rushed for 117 yards on eight carries, scoring on a 16-yard run in the first. Zion Jones added 89 yards on four carries, scoring on runs of 28 and 18 yards. Northside also scored on a safety and got a short touchdown run by Casey Popalis.
Gabriel Mentor and Chase Boutwell each intercepted passes for the Wildcats.
Northside (5-0, 1-0) hosts Croatan on Friday while Richlands (1-5, 0-2) has an open date and will visit Croatan on Oct. 9.
Swansboro 55, West Carteret 0
Swansboro had no issue bouncing back from its first defeat as the Pirates overwhelmed West Carteret in Coastal 5-A/6-A Conference action.
The win snapped a 12-game skid against the Patriots. Swansboro’s last victory in the series was a 17-14 win in 2013.
Carmello Beasley scored four touchdowns, his first extending Swansboro’s lead to 10-0 in the first quarter. It followed a field goal by Cam Nilson.
Gavin Jones added a rushing touchdown while Nilson’s second field goal gave the Pirates a 27-0 lead at halftime. Jayden Glasson and Anthony Anderson also added touchdowns. Nilson also made seven extra points.
Swansboro (5-1, 1-1) hosts Dixon on Friday while West Carteret (2-3, 1-1) hosts Havelock.
Chris Miller can be contacted via email at cmiller@jdnews.com. Follow him on X @jdnsports.