LAKE WACCAMAW—East Columbus shut down North Duplin’s high-powered offense with a 23-8 upset of the Panthers on Friday night.
The Gators defense held the Panthers to 121 yards of total offense. Late in the first quarter, Christian Norton recovered an offensive fumble deep in Panthers’ territory setting up a Demetrius Dexter five-yard touchdown pass to Dawson Crosby with 44 seconds left in the quarter. Andres Andronde added the extra point to give East Columbus an early 7-0 edge.
North Duplin got their offense going in the second quarter. Noa Quintanilla ran it in from four yards to give North Duplin an 8-7 lead with 14 seconds remaining in the half. Jayde Pope added the two-point conversion. That was all the offense would produce for the night.
Led by Crosby and Jacob Stukes, the defense stopped holes and made plays. Norton found Dexter on a 35-yard halfback pass with 7:09 on the clock in the third quarter to extend the Gator’s lead. Crosby added the 2-point PAT to give East Columbus a 15-8 lead over North Duplin.
In the fourth, Dexter hit JT Hudson for a 44-yard pass to connection to the 16-yard line. Dexter ran in the rest of the way on the next play to seal the victory for East Columbus 23-8. The upset moves East Columbus to 2-3 in the Carolina Conference and 4-5 on the season.
Dexter had one touchdown running, passing, and receiving in the Gators’ victory. East Columbus will wrap up the regular season at conference leading Lakewood (5-0, 6-3) on Friday. North Duplin will conclude its season finally hosting Hobbton (2-3, 2-7).
