WINDSOR – Two once proud programs in the midst of rebuilding met on the gridiron here last night.

In the end, the Edenton Aces were able to walk out of Roy L. Bond Jr. Stadium with a 48-19 victory over the home-standing Falcons.

In the early going, it didn’t look like the Aces would be walking away with anything resembling a victory as they turned the ball over on their first possession and Bertie capitalized.

Tyreese Rascoe jumped on the loose pigskin to give the Falcons possession at the Edenton 11-yard line.

On the first play from scrimmage, Falcon quarterback David Watford connected with Johnathan Wilson to pick up six yards. An Eric Bowen carry and an Al Ameen Sharif pick up gave Bertie a first down at the one-yard line.

Three plays later, Watford scored from that point and then Wilson added the conversion to give the Falcons an early 7-0 lead.

Edenton, however, returned the favor quickly. After taking over on their own 25-yardline, Deshon Fleming picked up 28 yards on the first play from scrimmage. Moments later, he capped the drive with an eight-yard scamper. Josh Laverty added the conversion and the game was tied at 7-all.

The Aces scored again on their next possession when a blown coverage assignment allowed Deron Capehart to find Trevon Jackson on a 48-yard touchdown pass. The conversion was good and Edenton led 14-7.

Edenton then forced a Falcon punt and took over on their own 35-yard line.

On the second play from scrimmage, Fleming was stopped in his backfield, but slipped away from defender, caught his balance and went 65 yards to paydirt. Laverty added another conversion and the Aces led 21-7.

The Falcons weren’t done, however, as the home squad came back with a 13-play, 75-yard drive. Sharif did the bulk of the early work, moving the ball from midfield to the 31-yard line.

From there, Watford connected with Jaquil Hafiz on a 26-yard gainer down to the five-yard line. A sack moved the back to the 11, but Sharif scored from there to close the gap. The kick failed, but Bertie closed to within 21-13 with 2:11 in the half.

Edenton, however, got a 33-yard scamper from Fleming, who totaled five touchdowns and 216 yards rushing. The kick failed, but Edenton led 27-13 going into the intermission.

Bertie had a chance to get back in the game again midway through the third quarter when Pashon Cherry recovered an Edenton fumble at midfield and returned it to the 23-yard line.

The Falcons moved the ball to the 26, but the drive stalled and they turned it over on downs.

A fake punt led to Edenton’s next score, which was a 35-yard Fleming run. He added the two-point conversion to give Edenton a 35-13 lead.

A Bertie fumble led to another Edenton score just over a minute later when Fleming went in from 13 yards out. The kick was good and Edenton led 42-13.

The Falcons came back for another touchdown when Watford led the Falcons on a 60-yard drive as he completed three-of-three passes including the 37-yard scoring strike to Shykie Mitchell. The conversion failed, leaving the Falcons down 42-19.

The Aces scored another touchdown late when, despite leading by 23 with just over two minutes to play, Aces coach Wes Mattera called a pass play and Capehart threw the scoring strike with just 2:37 to play. The kick was blocked, leaving the Aces with a 48-19 win.

The Falcons dropped their first game at home this season, falling to 2-2-1 for the year and 0-1 in the Northeastern Coastal Conference. Next week, the Falcons take the road to Elizabeth City where they meet Pasquotank County High School.

(Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald Sports Editor Thadd White contributed to this story.)