The JV Warrior football team hosted the rival McEachern Indians on Thursday, September 9. NC blew a 12-6 halftime lead to lose the game on the final snap, 20-12.

The Warriors played fantastic defense the entire game, shutting out the talented McEachern offense in the first half. The defense prevented the Indian offense from completing any deep passes and McEachern failed to develop any consistency in the running game, as Warrior linebackers and defensive linemen aggressively swarmed ball carriers the entire game.

The biggest momentum change of the first half came when the Indians returned a punt for a touchdown against pitiful punt coverage, but the Indians missed the extra point. The NC offense managed to hold onto the ball, eventually scoring after junior Gabe Bryant snatched a deep ball and sophomore running back Christian Singleton pounded the ball into the end zone.

McEachern failed to score in the rest of the first half, but the Warriors managed to sneak in another touchdown with thirty seconds on the clock, as junior quarterback T.Y. Puryear hit Singleton up the middle of the defense 20 yards downfield. NC got the ball to start the second half, but a bad throw up the sideline landed straight into the hands of the McEachern defense, which returned the ball down to the Warrior ten yard line. McEachern took advantage of the short field to pound the ball into the end zone two plays later.

A few possessions later, a great McEachern punt pinned the Warriors down inside their own five yard line. The Warriors went three and out and McEachern took over inside the NC thirty, eventually scoring on a 12 yard rushing touchdown. Puryear led a fantastic drive down into the Indian red zone in five minutes of game time, completing a key first down to junior receiver Alex Harris and hitting  sophomore Daniel Hart over the middle of the field after pumping a screen. Junior running back Devin Suggs took a stretch run around the outside and stepped out of bounds at the Indian 23. Suggs pounded the ball inside for three more yards on the next play, and a McEachern personal foul pushed the ball down to the ten yard line.

Suggs pushed the ball down to the five on first down and set the Warriors up with third and goal from the one yard line on the following play. With forty seconds left on the clock the Warriors called a timeout to set a play for the next down. Sophomore running back Trestin Keys tried to push the ball into the end zone on the next play, but an Indian blitz caught him in the backfield. The Warriors used another timeout to set up a fourth down play, and broke the huddle with Keys and Suggs in at running back and junior Bradley Strausburg at tight end. NC tried to fake a handoff and dump the ball to Strausburg in the endzone, but Suggs knocked the ball out of Puryear and onto the ground, where Puryear barely recovered the ball and never got a chance to get the pass off. McEachern ended the game with the next play on a kneel.

The JV Warriors will play again this Thursday at home once again, this time facing off against the rival Kennesaw Mountain Mustangs.