GASTON – A pair of unbeatens will square off here Friday when the Hurricanes of Northampton County High School-West play host to the Edenton Aces.

West, fresh off a come-from-behind win at Northeastern, will look to close out the non-conference portion of their schedule with a perfect mark while the Aces, who topped Williamston 35-18, will be aiming to accomplish the same feat.

Veteran coach Diego Hasty said his Hurricanes are continuing to improve, something that will be key once they enter play in the Tar-Roanoke 1-A Conference.

&uot;We’re getting better each week,&uot; Hasty insisted. &uot;We’ve still got a lot of things to work on, but we’re getting there. We’re not fancy, we just do what we do.&uot;

What they do is mount up offense, behind the running of Darreous Moody and Andre Williams. The two senior backs have combined for more than 600 yards of total offense already on the season.

Last week, Moody led the comeback for West, rushing for 138 yards on the night and scoring three times. It was Moody’s defensive efforts, however, that provided the spark for West as he scooped up an Eagle fumble and rumbled 74 yards to paydirt to erase a 9-8 halftime deficit.

&uot;I was very pleased with the way we bounced back last week,&uot; Hasty said. &uot;When we got down, there was no finger-pointing; we just kept playing.&uot;

While Moody and Williams (17 carries, 52 yards last week) have been the center-piece of the Hurricanes’ offense, Hasty said fullback Allen Price is also an important factor in the West scheme.

&uot;They’re (the backfield) doing their job,&uot; the coach said. &uot;They’ve been together for a few years and they work very well together – not just Darreous and Andre, but Allen Price as well. He doesn’t get the same amount of carries, but he makes them count when he does.&uot;

In matching up with Edenton, the key for this week’s contest will come early on, according to the veteran skipper.

&uot;Last year we were down 14 before we could blink,&uot; Hasty said. &uot;It will be important for us not to let that happen again this year.&uot;

He said the reason early on will be key is the overall team speed Edenton brings to the game.

&uot;We’ve played some quick teams, but Edenton is supposed to be fast – and there’s a difference between quick and fast,&uot; Hasty commented. &uot;We need time to adjust to their team speed and we don’t need to fall behind early while we’re doing it.&uot;

Kickoff for this contest is slated for 7:30 p.m. in Gaston.