MERRY HILL – Northeast Academy raced to a 3-1 record here Friday night, but not before facing a tough test from Lawrence Academy.

The Eagles scored just six minutes into the contest to take an 8-0 lead, but struggled on offense much of the game before getting two late touchdowns to win 32-6.

The Warriors moved the football on their first possession, driving inside Northeast territory, but had to punt the ball away.

The Eagles took over on their own 40-yardline and marched 60 yards on 12 plays to take the lead. Justin Francis got the bulk of the workload moving the ball down to the 47 before James Pope broke free on a 18-yard scamper for a first down. On the next play, Francis carried for 15 yards to move the ball to the Lawrence 28-yardline.

Three plays later, Northeast quarterback Brad Johnson punched it in himself from six yards out. Francis added the two-point conversion and the Eagles led 8-0 with 6:39 to play in the first quarter.

Lawrence responded on their next drive, going 55 yards on 10 plays to score their only touchdown of the night.

The first play of the drive saw Warriors’ quarterback Cade Larabee connect with Shane Leggett on a nine-yard gain. The Warriors picked up the first down on the next play when Larabee gained three yards on the ground.

Later in the drive, Larabee found Leggett again on a 10-yard gainer that got the ball deep into Northeast territory. Two plays later Blake Hill broke free for a 20-yard touchdown run to get the Warriors on the board. Northeast stopped the two-point conversion and held on to an 8-6 lead.

The Eagles fumbled the ball away on their next possession, but Lawrence couldn’t take advantage of the miscue and had to punt it away. Pope fielded the Warrior punt at his own 24-yardline and promptly ran 76 yards to paydirt. The conversion failed, but Northeast led 14-6.

After an exchange of punts, the Warriors threatened again when Leggett took the direct snap from center and went 66 yards all the way down to the Northeast three-yardline.

The Eagles’ defense, however stiffened and forced an attempted field goal which sailed wide left leaving Northeast with the eight-point edge.

Northeast, however, was able to find the endzone again before the half was over, driving 65 yards on 10 plays to score again. On the drive Johnson had two big pass plays, connecting with Justin Lassiter on a nine-yard gain and Caleb Newsome on an eight-yarder.

After driving to the Warrior seven-yardline, the Eagles turned to Pope who scored his second touchdown of the night on a seven-yard run. The conversion failed, but the Eagles led 20-6 heading into the intermission.

Neither team found the endzone in the third quarter, but Northeast sealed their third victory of the season early in the fourth when Francis scored on a one-yard plunge to give the Eagles a 26-6 lead.

Northeast added their fifth score of the night with 3:02 to play in the contest when Pope scored from 29 yards out. The conversion failed, but the Eagles claimed a 32-6 victory.

The Eagles improve to 3-1 this season as they head into next week’s home game with Hobgood Academy.