A three-some of age-old rivalries and a pair of fairly new match-ups highlight the slate of high school football games Friday night.

During the evening a pair of local high schools will put their early-season undefeated streaks on the line as Hertford County’s Bears and Northampton-West’s Hurricanes, each 3-0, will go on the road to try to extend their perfect record.

Hertford County

The Bears are riding a three-game win streak under rookie skipper Dealton Cotton as they head into Friday’s contest with former conference rival James B. Hunt (Wilson) High School.

HCHS, fresh off a 38-14 win at Gates County, will feature a trio of backs in their offensive attack. Reggie Wiggins leads the team with 181 yards rushing on 27 carries while Lorenzo Benthall (29 carries, 154 yards) and Qwenton Valentine (24 carries, 128 yards) have each tallied over 100 yards rushing on the season.

Wiggins has been the leader of the Bears, scoring five touchdowns – two on punt returns, two rushing and one kick-off return. Meanwhile, it was Benthall and Valentine who each cashed in twice during last week’s win at Gates County.

The Warriors come in 0-2 after losses to 4-A powers Northern Nash and Rocky Mount.

Northampton-West

The Hurricanes continued sweeping through Halifax County Friday night with a decisive 36-21 victory over Roanoke Rapids.

Veteran Northampton County coach Diego Hasty guided his team to their third victory in as many starts by using the airways as well as what has been a rock-solid ground attack.

Quarterback Dean Ballard passed for a pair of touchdowns (one each to Darrous Moody and Jashaun Peele) to get the Hurricanes off to a 14-0 lead from which they never looked back.

Moody (121 yards rushing) led the way for Northampton-West while Andre Williams tallied 101 yards on the ground.

The win was West’s third straight victory over a Halifax County school as they topped Southeast Halifax to open the season and then added a victory over Northwest Halifax.

This week the Hurricanes travel to Northeastern Coastal Conference 2-A member Northeastern High School in Elizabeth City.

The Eagles are off to a 2-1 start with wins over Williamston and county rival Pasquotank before falling to Goldsboro Friday 19-0.

Gates County

Clark Harrell’s Red Barons are off a 1-2 start after Friday’s loss to Hertford County. This week they continue their non-conference slate with a visit from Pasquotank High School.

The Panthers are off to a 1-2 start with losses to Camden and Northeastern before bouncing back for the school’s second-ever victory (18-14 over Northampton-East) last week.

The Red Barons, who handled Northampton-East 47-6 earlier this season, have relied on senior fullback Fabian Hobbs offensively. Hobbs has posted 311 yards on the season, including a breakout 201-yard performance against the Rams.

Northampton-East

A week ago the Rams jumped off to a 14-0 lead before giving out of gas at Pasquotank and falling 18-14.

This week first-year skipper H.B. Harris will look for his first win at the Rams’ helm against another school looking for win number one on the season – Northwest Halifax.

While Northampton-East has fallen in succession to Roanoke Rapids, Gates County and Pasquotank, the Vikings lost to SouthWest Edgecombe, Northampton-West and Weldon.

Bertie

A schedule glitch caused the Falcons to be idle last week while J.H. Rose traveled to Scotland County to pickup win number three on the season with a 26-14 win.

This week the Falcons-Rampants game will be played Friday night in Greenville.

The Falcons, 1-1 on the season, will be traveling for the third time in as many outings when they take the field in Greenville. Following a season-opening 44-28 setback at E.T. Beddingfield, Bertie rallied for a 36-32 win against Goldsboro two weeks ago.

Roy Bond’s club will have to handle a Rose team who has given up only 14 points all season following Friday’s game at Scotland County as they started the season with shutout wins over Washington (47-0) and Kinston (70-0).