North Duplin senior running back DuJuan Armwood escapes the grasp of Lakewood defender during their Carolina 1A football game in Salemburg on Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Carell Phillips (21) manages to bring down Lakewood running back Nakai Owens (5) Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Two Lakewood defenders attempt to stop North Duplin middle linebacker Ethan Turnage after he picked off a second-quarter pass Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Carell Phillips, with ball, looks for running room as Lakewood’s Dashaun Carr attempts to chase him down from behind. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Khamari Leak, left, is checked out by sports medicine staff member Taylor Edwards and head coach Hugh Martin, background, during the fourth quarter Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
SALEMBURG — Favoring his right shoulder, North Duplin’s Khamari Leak walked off the field under his own power after he endured a bone-jarring tackle late in the fourth quarter Friday evening.
His torn jersey further told the story.
Protective padding and sweat-stained T-shirts peaked through a sizable tear — well-earned badges from a physical contest that left the Rebels frustrated in their Carolina 1A football opener against Lakewood.
The Leopards halted two possessions inside the red zone during the final three-plus minutes of regulation and triumphed 23-15 at James E. Lewis Field.
“Two big stops for them,” ND head coach Hugh Martin said.
Trailing by a touchdown, North Duplin methodically moved the football down the field midway through the final period.
A short run set up a first-and-goal at the Lakewood 10-yard line. Four plays later, the Leopards’ defense forced a turnover on downs.
The Rebels coerced their hosts into a punt.
Working just outside the red zone, senior DuJuan Armwood attempted a fourth-down halfback pass that resulted in a defensive pass interference call. With no timeouts, the Rebels went into their two-minute offense from there, but the Leopards’ defense refused to budge.
Two tackles for loss exhausted the clock.
“They were taking chances off the edge and caught us in the backfield,” Martin said. “We didn’t make an immediate adjustment on the field. We had the players that know what to do in that situation, modifying blocking schemes on the spot. Things like that got us behind the chains a couple of times.
“The other stops, they were playing their basic defense [and] we just didn’t capitalize more.”
In a matchup of ball-control offenses, North Duplin seized the upper hand in the first quarter. Junior quarterback Luke Kelly orchestrated a near-perfect, eight-minute possession that ended with Bryan Zambrano’s 1-yard touchdown plunge.
Lakewood answered.
Calvin Lacewell’s six-yard scamper and subsequent two-point conversion pushed the Leopards in front 8-7.
North Duplin (5-2 overall, 0-1 Carolina 1A) turned the ball over on downs, but got it back when middle linebacker Ethan Turnage picked off Lakewood quarterback Rylan Godbold. The Leopards’ defense turned in a goal-line stand as time expired.
“We played a heckuva of a [first] half,” Martin said. “I told them let’s fix the little things we need to fix, let’s go back out there and do it again. It’s not complicated, just a matter of doing what we do, but doing it better. We’re not going to change stuff.”
DuJuan Armwood’s four-yard run and two-point lateral pass to Kelly put the Rebels in front, 15-8.
Lakewood appeared to stall on its next possession. An illegal substitution penalty, tackle for loss and incomplete pass set up a fourth down. Godbold unleashed a downfield bomb that Nakai Owens managed to snag between two North Duplin defenders.
Owens eventually scored from 16 yards out and punched in the two-point conversion.
Lakewood led 16-15.
“They made a couple of good offensive plays … real good speed and space that we didn’t get to, which hurt us, too,” Martin said.
After another turnover on downs, Owens broke free for a 26-yard TD.
That set up the thrilling finish, which resulted in the Leopards’ fourth league-opening conquest of the Rebels since 2018.
Martin delivered an intense and passionate post-game speech. He knew the loss “hurt” his players, but reminded them that Monday begins a new week.
“We’re going to have to heal because I know we’re banged and bruised up,” Martin said. “We’ll take the film work that we do over the weekend, show and point out things to them that we need to correct and do better at [executing]. We did a whole lot of good things tonight, too.”
The Rebels return home Friday to face Union. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at H.E. Grubbs Field. Lakewood (7-1, 2-0) is the guest of Hobbton next Friday.
Lakewood 23, North Duplin 15
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
ND — Zambrano 1 run (Reyna kick), 3:18
Second Quarter
L — Lacewell 6 run (Lacewell run), 10:23
Third Quarter
ND — Armwood 4 run (Kelly pass from Armwood), 4:11
L — Owens 16 run (Owens run), 0:31.4
Fourth Quarter
L — Owens 26 run (Espinoza kick), 7:24
