At his worst, Hunt was making mental errors and throwing two picks -- one Northern Durham ran back for a touchdown.

But at his best, he dazzled, finishing 20-for-30 for 279 yards and two scores, leading the Spartans to a 20-10 victory over the cross-town rival Knights in the PAC-Six opener for both teams.

"Football is a team game," Southern Durham sophomore tailback Desmond Scott said. "The players kept him up and the coaches kept him up. He got his head back in the game and did the right thing."

Most of Hunt's miscues happened early in the game.

In the first quarter, after the Spartans (4-1, 1-0 PAC-Six) drove the ball 67 yards to the Northern Durham 13-yard line, Hunt threw a pass to the flats late and the Knights' Eric Bramlett jumped in front of the pass, running 90 yards for Northern Durham's (3-2, 0-1) only touchdown of the game.

On the next possession, Hunt again fumbled away the ball with his team driving deep in Knights territory, resulting in a Northern Durham field goal.

On the very next play from scrimmage, the Spartans tailback Desmond Scott, who was split out in the slot, caught a pass over the middle from Hunt and sprinted to a 68-yard touchdown, cutting the Knights lead to 10-7.

Just before halftime, Hunt connected with Eric Pettiford on a 14-yard strike, giving Southern a 13-10 lead heading into the intermission.

"We need to cut down our mistakes, but at the same time, we were able to overcome that adversity. We have a young squad, but they came to play ball tonight and I'm proud of them," Southern Durham coach Jeff Parker said.

The Southern Durham defense dominated Northern Durham the whole night, snuffing out a late Knights drive with a goal line stand late in the fourth quarter.

Scott finished with 135 yards receiving and 79 yards rushing on 14 carries and two scores for Southern, including a 5-yard run in the third quarter.

"It was about calling the right plays at the right time," Scott said. "We watched film on Reggie Bush and how he was used as a running back and a receiver and we thought why not use me as a runner and a receiver."