Firebirds suffer 1st Big East loss in 6 years

Posted on March 22, 2021

Amberleigh Dornseif | Special to The Enterprise

Southern Nash junior Sammy Gandy (3) takes the pitch from quarterback Chason Royal as fullback Dawson May (10) leads Gandy during the first half of Friday’s game at Northern Nash. The Firebirds lost 39-14, their first 3-A Big East Conference regular-season loss since 2015.

Northern Nash 39

Southern Nash 14

SN NN

First Downs 13 9

Yards rushing 222 122

Yards passing 0 230

Passes-Comp.-Int. 3-0-1 13-10-0

Punts-Average 0-0 1-28

Fumbles-Lost 4-4 0-0

Penalties-Yards 8-68 8-64

Score by quarters:

Southern Nash 6 8 0 0 — 14

Northern Nash 13 3 20 3 — 39

Scoring Summary:

NN — D. Battle 7 run (kick blocked), 10:00, 1st.

SN — Ja. Vick 3 run (kick failed), 2:57, 1st.

NN — Freeman 65 from Engleking (Jenkins kick), 2:47, 1st.

NN — Jenkins 25 field goal, 8:51, 2nd

SN — Ja. Vick 1 run (Ja. Vick run), 2:48, 2nd.

NN — S. Battle 15 pass from Engleking (Jenkins kick), 9:30, 3rd.

NN — Whittaker 13 pass from Engleking (Jenkins kick), 8:16, 3rd.

NN — Engleking 1 run (kick failed), 5:36, 3rd.

NN — Jenkins 33 field goal, 9:55, 4th.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Jackson Vick 21-90, 2 TDs; Sammy Gandy 14-76; Xavien Smith 4-17; Terrence Raspberry 3-11; Zyshonne Pearce 6-26; Chason Royal 1-3; Brock Alford 1-minus 1.

PASSING — Chason Royal 3-0-1, 0 yards.

From staff reports

ROCKY MOUNT — Ushered in with a litany of fumbles, Southern Nash High suffered its first 3-A Big East Conference varsity football loss since 2015 with a 39-14 loss at Northern Nash on Friday.

The Firebirds, now 2-3 overall and 1-1 in Big East, fumbled on four straight possessions, as the Knights (3-1, 1-1 Big East) converted three into points. Northern Nash senior quarterback Thomas Engleking riddled the Firebirds’ pass defense with 10 completions in 13 attempts for 230 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Bryson Jenkins kicked field goals of 25 and 33 yards for Northern Nash.

The Knights led 16-14 when Firebirds junior Jackson Vick scored his second touchdown, this one from a yard out with 2:47 left in the second quarter. However, Southern Nash got the ball back and reached the Northern 1-yard line when the Firebirds coughed up their first fumble with 33 seconds left in the half.

The Firebirds fumbled on their first two possessions of the second half, resulting in TD tosses by Engleking, and then dropped the football on the kickoff.

Vick finished with 90 yards on 21 carries for the Firebirds, whose last Big East loss was a 35-14 outcome at Rocky Mount on Oct. 30, 2015. The last time Northern Nash beat Southern was in the first round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association playoffs on Nov. 12, 2010, a month after the Knights’ last regular-season win against the Firebirds, also at Northern Nash.

Southern Nash will host Hunt this Friday.