EDENTON – John A. Holmes High School erased an early 21-6 deficit and rallied for a 26-21 win over Hertford County here last night in Northeastern Coastal Conference football action.

It was a stinging loss for the Bears (1-5 overall; 1-1 in league action), who scored a trio of first quarter touchdowns, but mustered only 14 yards of total offense for the remainder of the game. Turnovers also plagued the Bears as they lost five fumbles.

However, it was a pair of Edenton turnovers that set the table for HCHS to grab a quick 14-0 lead with the game less than six minutes old. Lemarcus Bond’s 11-yard scoring run and Danny Dembry’s 13-yard TD pass to Kenny Lee off a fake field goal staked the Bears to their two-touchdown lead. Michael Burton added both PAT’s.

After Edenton quarterback Joseph Westbrook scored on a two-yard sneak with 2:01 left in the first period to slice the HCHS lead to 14-6, the Bears answered quickly when, three plays after the ensuing kickoff, Dembry heaved an 83-yard scoring pass to Bond. Burton’s kick made it 21-6.

Edenton rallied for two touchdowns over the final six minutes of the first half as Luke Williford scored on a 12-yard run, to cap a lengthy 18-play drive, followed by Brandon Hyman’s five-yard TD run to pull the Aces to within 21-20 at halftime.

Hyman scored the game-winning touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter on a three-yard run. That score was set-up when HCHS lost a fumble at their own nine yardline.

Dembry led HCHS with 158 total yards (106 passing and 52 rushing).

Hyman paced Edenton (6-0; 2-0) with 81 rushing yards on 25 carries.