Panther’s pounce on Blue Devils mistakes in route to 22-0 shutout
Wrtten by: Ryan Pittman
KENLY—The South Lenoir Blue Devils opened their 2023 Football Season on the road against the North Johnston Panthers in Kenly, NC. The Blue Devils fumbled the ball three times during the sweltering matchup. Two of those fumbles were returned by the Panthers for touchdowns. The Panthers also added another TD on the ground in the first quarter. At halftime, the score was 22-0, which also became the final score.
The Blue Devils were able to put a few drives together but could not capitalize and find the end zone. Leading the way offensively for the Blue Devils was Freshman running back #2 Kendarius Bey. Bey had 14 carries for 32 yards. Bey also had the first fumble that was returned for a TD. When asked about Bey, Coach Harrell had this to say: “I saw spurts; some were good, some were bad. He looked like a freshman at times, and he looked like a junior at times.”
In the passing game, #6 Riley Hoover went 9 for 16 for 75 yards. Hoover connected with #28 Shamarr Rhodes for 33 of those yards and #3 Jo'Nathan Kennon for 23 yards.
South Lenoir will look to bounce back next week as they travel to Jones Senior. When asked about what this week will hold in preparation, Coach Harrell had this to say: “Hard-nose football practice.”
Without a doubt, this team is young, but they have a good core to build on. The defense only allowed 8 points to the Panthers during the game, while the offense looked promising at times. This is a long season that just got started, and without a doubt, Coach Harrell will have his guys prepared to play every game.
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