ROCKY MOUNT – There’s no sin in getting beat by a better team.

Rocky Mount High School proved why it’s the top-ranked Class 3-A football team in the state here last night (Friday) where the Gryphons tallied four touchdowns before Hertford County could get on the scoreboard en route to a 42-14 spanking of the third-ranked Bears.

The loss was Hertford County’s first of the season after opening the 2008 campaign with four straight wins and averaging 50 points per contest in the process.

However, it was Rocky Mount who lit-up the scoreboard on this night as the home team scored early and often en route to 343 yards worth of total offense.

The Gryphons were on the scoreboard before the crowd got settled into their seats as Nick Hahula struck paydirt from three yards out, capping a four-play, 60-yard drive that took less than 90 seconds.

That was the first of three, first-half touchdowns by Hahula. He scored on a 27-yard run late in the opening period and, after his defense came-up with a fumble in Hertford County territory, he capped a 42-yard drive with a two-yard TD run.

Rocky Mount’s Jordan Ford added a 56-yard TD run to help his team take a 28-0 lead.

Hertford County failed to find the endzone until the last play of the first half. There, Darnell Vaughan hauled in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Antonio Vaughan to end a seven-play, 78-yard march. Richard Burns added the PAT as the Bears trailed 28-7 at intermission.

The two non-conference rivals traded third quarter touchdowns – Rocky Mount scoring on Ford’s 33-yard run while Ron Gatling scampered 12 yards to paydirt for the Bears.

Gatling led the HCHS effort with 121 rushing yards on 19 carries. The Bears tallied 288 yards of total offense.

Marqavis Alston’s three-yard TD run with 5:10 left in the game ended the scoring.

Hertford County will open its Northeastern Coastal Conference schedule at home next Friday (Sept. 26) with a 7:30 p.m. outing against Elizabeth City Northeastern.

(Gattis Hodges, the “Voice of the Bears” on WDLZ-FM, contributed the information for this article.)