WILSON n It was close, at least for 24 minutes.

Hertford County High School exploded for 35, second half points here last night (Friday), turning a narrow 27-18 halftime lead into a 62-18 rout of Wilson Fike in a non-conference football game.

The 62 points is an all-time record for the Bears in a regulation contest. HCHS scored 69 points in a six-overtime loss (70-69) against Tarboro during the 1994 season.

Hertford County's offensive fireworks were numerous over the final 24 minutes. The Bears ran only 13 offensive plays in the second half. Three of those went for touchdowns on runs of 68 yards (by Danny Dembry), 27 yards (Terrance Kinsey) and two yards (Leon Eason).

The Bears also excelled on defense and on special teams as Travis Green intercepted a Fike pass and darted 15 yards to paydirt while LaMarcus Bond scrambled 47 yards to the endzone on a punt return.

Meanwhile, the HCHS defense was pitching a second-half shutout, thanks largely in part to forcing the host Golden Demons into five, second half turnovers. Fike put up 224 yards of total offense in the first half, but could muster only 10 net yards over the final 24 minutes.

The Bears led 27-18 at intermission thanks to a trio of Bond touchdowns n runs of 36 and 63 yards plus a 79-yard kickoff return n and a 53-yard TD scamper by Dembry.

Including the returns, HCHS totaled a whopping 565 yards of total offense. On the ground, the Bears rushed 43 times for 350 yards.

Dembry was the top ground gainer, calling his number 15 times for 147 yards. Bond had seven carries for 93 net yards while Kinsey added 71 yards on eight carries.

HCHS, now with two straight road wins to open the season, will finally get a chance to play in front of the home crowd on Friday, Sept. 2, when they host Washington High School. Kick-off at Bears Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m.