From Staff Reports

ROCKY MOUNT – The old saying is he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword.

That certainly came true here last night (Friday) when Hertford County suffered a 21-20 setback at the hands of Rocky Mount High School. The loss was the first of the season for the Bears, who had won three straight close games (including two by finals of 21-20).

Last night it appeared the Bears would not be in a close contest at all as Rocky Mount raced to a 21-0 halftime lead before the Bears rallied back.

Trailing 21-0 and having posted just 50 yards of total offense in the first half, Hertford County finally got rolling in the second half.

Late in the third quarter, the Bears got their first score when they drove 75 yards on nine plays capped by the first of three Petey Boone touchdown passes.

Boone connected with Justin Watson with 1:40 to play in the third quarter for the first HCHS touchdown. Senior placekicker Brandon Warren added the extra point to close the Bears within 21-7.

After forcing a three-and-out by the Gryphons, Hertford County again put points on the scoreboard. The Bears drove 87 yards in seven plays. Boone again connected with Watson on the scoring pass, this time on a 34-yard strike.

Warren added the PAT and the Bears trailed 21-20 with 8:44 to play in the contest.

Hertford County got the ball back with 1:49 to play in the contest still trailing by seven. Boone directed a seven-play, 68-yard drive to again get the Bears in the endzone.

Boone this time connected with Dontez Tyler with 41 ticks left on the clock. The extra point, however, was blocked and Rocky Mount held on for the victory.

Overall, the Bears rolled off 219 of their 269 yards of offense in the second half while holding Rocky Mount to just 50 yards offense.

In the first half, it was all Rocky Mount.

After picking off a Boone aerial, the Gryphons marched 59 yards on nine plays to take the lead with 6:41 to play in the first quarter. Nah’Jerrelle Graves scored on a five-yard run and Fernando Alfaro added the conversion.

The Gryphons scored again quickly after forcing a three-and-out by HCHS. This time Nathan Hines capped a 78-yard drive with a 12-yard run. The kick failed and Rocky Mount led 13-0.

Rocky Mount (2-2) scored what proved to be the game-winner with 11 seconds left in the first half. Quarterback Michael Hines scored from five yards out and Nathan Hines added the conversion to make it 21-0.

The Bears will host Terry Sanford High School of Fayetteville next week in their final non-conference outing.