WINSTON-SALEM – The experts predicted someone else to win.

Hertford County faced just too many obstacles to get out of the gate quickly Friday night. A new coach, changes on offense and defense and a team made up of underclassmen just couldn’t get it done against a program with state notoriety.

No one told Diego Hasty and the Bears as they pulled off perhaps the biggest upset of the opening night, shocking Parkland High School 22-6.

“I feel wonderful,” Hasty said by telephone from Winston-Salem. “The kids played hard. We made some mistakes, but the effort was there.

“I told the guys after the game, we weren’t pretty, but it’s not how you look, it’s the end result,” he added.

The Bears got on the board early in the contest after Bears’ corner Michael Jackson picked off a Darryl Adams pass and returned it 60 yards to the Mustang five-yardline.

Two plays later, Ron Gatling punched it in from two yards out and that, coupled with a Richard Burns extra point, gave the Bears a 7-0 cushion.

Hertford County added to the lead early in the second quarter. Senior defensive back Lamar Monger picked off another Adams’ aerial and returned the ‘pick’ 75 yards to paydirt.

Gatling added the two-point conversion and Hertford County grabbed a 15-0 advantage.

Parkland appeared poised to rally at home when they scored midway through the third period. Adams connected with Gabre Murphy on a touchdown pass. The conversion pass failed, leaving HCHS with a 15-6 lead.

The Bears stormed back, driving 70 yards on nine plays to seal the upset victory.

Antonio Vaughan had the key play on the drive, picking up 15 yards on a fourth-and-eight play deep in Parkland territory to continue the drive.

Gatling again capped things off with a one-yard plunge at the 2:20 mark of the third quarter. Burns’ PAT made it 22-6 and gave the Bears an unlikely season-opening win.

HCHS had 180 yards of total offense led by Gatling’s 54 yards on 11 carries.

“I didn’t know much about Parkland,” Hasty admitted. “I wanted us to play to the best of our ability and to play our style.”

He continued, “The guys did that from the opening of the game when we got the turnover. We drove the ball and were consistent.”

Hertford County (1-0) will look to continue their winning ways next week when they play host to Durham’s Southern High School.

“We want everyone to come out and support us next week,” Hasty said. “It’s important to have the folks there when we play at home for the first time this season.”