A busy week lies ahead for many teams in the Roanoke-Chowan area.

Postponements due to the effects of Hurricane Isabel will continue to be made up this week as a host of local schools will try to pull duty on Tuesday and Friday.

Key among those schools working on short rest will be the Bears of Hertford County, 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the league, who will face a pair of Northeastern Coastal Conference foes this week.

Rookie skipper Dealton Cotton’s club is coming off a NCC victory over Currituck Friday night when the Bears rolled to a 49-13 win led by seniors Reggie Wiggins and Lorenzo Benthall.

Wiggins scored three touchdowns and compiled 234 yards rushing on just five touches while Benthall added a pair of touchdowns and 117 yards on the ground on eight carries.

Cotton said he was looking for the two backs to have a big night.

&uot;I was expecting those guys to have that type of game at some point,&uot; Cotton said. &uot;If you look at their yardage per carry, all of our backs are pretty similar. They just don’t get the amount of total yardage other backs due because we have three running backs and a quarterback that can all run with the football.&uot;

While Wiggins and Benthall got a rest in the second half of the Currituck game due to the Bears’ 42-0 halftime lead, it will be back to work quickly when they host undefeated Edenton.

The Aces will come to Ahoskie with a perfect 6-0 mark on the season, including a 23-14 conference-opening win at Bertie last Tuesday.

&uot;I think we’ll be alright,&uot; Cotton said of the Friday-Tuesday turnaround. &uot;A lot of what Currituck runs, Edenton runs so in a way we could prepare for both, although we’ll put a few more things to face Edenton.&uot;

The coach said his team’s speed will be the biggest advantage they will have come Tuesday and that he thinks overall the Bears matchup well against the Aces.

&uot;They’re a little quicker than we are,&uot; Cotton said, &uot;and they’re coached very well. We have a tall task waiting for us, but I think we’ll matchup well with them.&uot;

After tonight’s game with Edenton, Hertford County will prepare for their third game in eight days as they plan to travel to Pasquotank Friday night.

In planning for that contest, Cotton said his club wouldn’t think about Pasquotank until after Tuesday.

&uot;We’ll worry about Friday after Tuesday night,&uot; Cotton said. &uot;Last week, we worried about Currituck until the game was over Friday night then we started thinking about Edenton. We will do the same with Edenton and Pasquotank.&uot;

While the Bears are in the thick of the conference race, the Bertie Falcons stumbled out of the gate in conference play, dropping to 0-2 Friday night with a 19-15 loss at Northeastern.

The Falcons will look to get on track inside the league Tuesday when they travel to Pasquotank County High School before heading home on Friday evening to face Currituck.

In the first two conference defeats, the Falcons have been in the contest right down to the wire before giving up late scores to cost them the victory.

Tied 14-all with Edenton, Bertie gave up a field goal and a touchdown in the fourth quarter to watch the Aces remain undefeated.

Then, leading 15-12 with just over three minutes to play Friday, the Falcons had a punt blocked that set up a Northeastern touchdown that gave them a 19-15 win.

While not pulling double duty, the Northeast Academy Eagles will play Tuesday night when they travel to Kinston for a makeup game with Parrott Academy.

Over in Merry Hill, Lawrence Academy heads back to the friendly confines of home when they play their home finale against Hobgood Academy.

The Warriors, who lost to top-ranked Harrells Christian Academy Friday, will look to seal their place in the North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association state playoffs. Standing 7-1 on the season, the Warriors have just one more regular season game after Friday’s contest with Hobgood. Lawrence will travel to Kenston Forest October 17 for their regular-season finale.

Northampton-West will host Louisburg Friday night where both schools will come in with identical 6-1 marks on the season and both undefeated in league play.

Both schools have been rolling on offense as West has compiled 169 points on the season, mainly due to the running of Darreous Moody and Andre Willaims.

Louisburg, meanwhile, has put up 192 points on the season in their offensive showcase.

&uot;They’re a quality football team,&uot; West head coach Diego Hasty said of Louisburg. &uot;We have a big game come Friday night and we better be prepared.&uot;

Northampton-East and Gates County are each idle this week.