Tabor City-South Columbus saw an early special teams play and lead all go for nothing as the Pender Patriots rolled past the South Columbus Stallions 62-29 Friday night.
South Columbus is now going into conference play with a three-game losing streak. The Stallions started the game with a little trick. The onside kick was implemented and successful by Oscar Valdez as the Stallions recovered the ball at the Patriot 40-yard line.
With 9:11 on the clock, Easton McPherson ran it in from seven yards on a reverse to give the Stallions the early lead. Valdez hit the extra point to give the Stallions a 7-0 lead. Then Pender erupted on the field, scoring 38 unanswered points.
The first score happened with a ZaQuan Murphy rushing touchdown. Austin Deal added the two-pointer to give Pender a 8-7 lead with 6:57 left in the first period. South Columbus fumbled on their next possession leading to another Patriot score. Austin Deal added the two-point conversion and Pender lead the Stallions 16-7. Pender got the ball back with just under one minute left in the period when Zeke Williams ran a TD in to put the Patriots leading 22-7 at the end of the first period…