Nonconference streak over for No. 24 Northern Durham football, downs No. 20 Holly Springs
Northern Durham’s seniors had never won a nonconference regular-season football game heading into Monday night’s rain-postponed matchup with N&O No. 20 Holly Springs.
But the Knights came through with their best game so far this season.
Luke Fenlon completed seven of 13 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns, leading No. 24 Northern to a 20-13 decision at County Stadium.
It was Northern’s first regular-season nonconference win on the field since a 23-13 victory at Apex on Oct. 12, 2012. The Knights had lost 18 straight, not counting a game against Greensboro’s Dudley High on Sept. 26, 2014, that the Panthers had won 24-6 before having to forfeit.
Both teams are now 1-2 after the Knights avenged last season’s 25-20 road loss.
Daylan Fenton and Cade Barnhill caught the TD passes, while De’Shi Atkins ran for the Knights’ final score in the third period.
“We had let a couple of games go early,” Northern coach R.J. Wilson said. “It was good to play really well defensively and come out with a victory this time. We controlled the ball pretty well, but we still needed to get it into the end zone more. We executed well from 20 to 20, but we have to finish our drives.”
Bryce Wheaton scored both Golden Hawks touchdowns, one on a fumble recovery in the end zone in the first quarter and the other on a 20-yard Austen Wiegers pass with 44 seconds to play.
Holly Springs attempted a final onside kick, but it went out of bounds.
Holly Springs led 7-6 at halftime.
The Golden Hawks got on the board first with three seconds left in the first, as Wheaton pounced on an errant punt snap and Ryan DeBernardo added the conversion kick.
The Knights answered with 9:55 left in the half on a 33-yard pass from Fenlon to a leaping Cade Barnhill in the end zone. But the kick was blocked and the visitors held their one-point lead.
Northern struck quickly after receiving the second-half kickoff, as Fenlon hit Daylan Felton on the right sideline and the receiver sprinted for a 66-yard score. The duo connected for the conversion and it was 14-7.
And the Knights scored on their next possession, going 43 yards in six plays with De’Shi Atkins bulling in from five yards out to make it 20-7.
TURNING POINT
The 66-yard touchdown pass from Fenlon to Felton on the first play from scrimmage after the second-half kickoff.
THEY SAID IT
“I wish we had kept up our intensity the whole game,” Holly Springs coach Robert Furth said. “We’re just not playing as a team right now. We’re not acting as one. We’ve got too many people doing their own things. Bryce’s big plays fired us up, but we’ve got to get the rest of the team behind him.”
THREE TO KNOW
Luke Fenlon, senior, Northern Durham: The quarterback shrugged off two interceptions, throwing two highlight-film touchdown passes and managing the Knights’ offense after they established a lead.
“The receivers did a great job,” Fenlon said. “(The go-ahead play) was an audible. We had three receivers on the ‘trip’ side and only two DBs were on them. I called a little bubble route and that was it.”
Bryce Wheaton, junior, Holly Springs: The two-way speedster recovered the bad punt snap for a touchdown and caught a pass for another, disrupting the Knights with two interceptions.
“We didn’t do enough on offense,” Wheaton said. “We didn’t really pick it up until the fourth quarter. We have to sustain our blocks and fly to the ball.”
Daylan Felton, junior, Northern Durham: The double threat caught three passes for 88 yards and the long TD and rushed five times for 27 more.
BY THE NUMBERS
50: Rushing yards from Holly Springs’ Broderick Taylor.
51: Rushing yards by Holly Springs.
78: Rushing yards from Northern’s Jaylan Burton.
LOOKING AHEAD
Northern visits Millbrook on Friday night, the first of two more non-conference games before its PAC-6 opener against archrival Riverside on Sept. 23.
“We had a lot of good senior leadership tonight and set the tempo,” Northern junior cornerback Patric Harris said. “I know the seniors and coaches are happy about this one. Now we just have to keep it up.”
Holly Springs opens SWAC conference play at Green Hope on Friday night.
This story was originally published September 5, 2016 at 10:48 PM with the headline "Nonconference streak over for No. 24 Northern Durham football, downs No. 20 Holly Springs."