East Wilkes’ Hank Porter
MILLERS CREEK — The East Wilkes football team started off its 2022 campaign on the right foot with a 17-7 win over West Wilkes on Friday night at Window World Field.
Hank Porter, the Cardinals’ placekicker, gave East Wilkes (1-0) a 3-0 halftime advantage with a 32-yard field goal in the second quarter. The senior also had a pair of extra points.
After the Cardinals and Blackhawks traded touchdowns, East Wilkes made it a two-possession game for good a minute into the fourth quarter with a 20-yard rushing score from Easton Martin.
East Wilkes will open up the home slate of its schedule this Friday when it hosts Surry Central. Kick off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
Falcons drop tight opener with North Forsyth
EAST BEND — A Victor Wingate touchdown with around three minutes to play on Friday night catapulted North Forsyth to a 28-21 win against Forbush in the regular season opener.
The junior quarterback did a little bit of everything for the Vikings (1-0) as he finished with 211 rushing yards on 12 carries and three touchdowns. Wingate was also 13-of-19 passing for 188 yards.
The Falcons (0-1) found themselves down 14-7 after a quarter but battled back tie the game at both halftime (14-14) and after three quarters (21-21).
Andrew Hutchens turned in a strong performance for Forbush as he caught a touchdown pass and ran for a score. The senior had six receptions for a game-high 82 yards and rushed for 31 yards on eight carries. Hutchens also headlined the Falcon defense with seven tackles (six solo).
Nick Myers and Ethan Pipes finished six tackles apiece while Cristofur Martinez and Jesse Wooten had five tackles each.
Austin Choplin also intercepted a pass on defense for Forbush.
Bryson Taylor had a strong night under center — the sophomore signal caller was 14-of-19 passing for 120 yards and a touchdown. Taylor also had 15 carries for 75 yards.
Regan Ramey, who finished 36 yards on 12 carries, also rushed for a touchdown.
Forbush will look to break into the win column this coming Friday night when it travels to Trinity (1-0).
Fast start buoys Vikings to dominating win over Elkin
HAYS — North Wilkes’ football team erupted for 29 first-quarter points to earn a 44-14 win over Elkin on Friday night at Raner Wiles Stadium.
The Vikings (1-0) led 29-0 after one and 37-6 at halftime but Elkin got as close 37-12 early in the fourth quarter.
The Buckin’ Elks (0-1) will look to get into the win column when it hosts West Wilkes (0-1) on Friday night.