The effort was there.
The physicality was there.
The scoreboard was not for West Bladen as it opened its high school football season Friday night at The Castle.
Jaheim Lambe rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns on only six carries as Pender defeated the Knights 34-12.
“I thought we fought hard,” West Bladen coach Preston Worley said. “We came out and we were hitting, the pads were popping. We were very physical.
“We just shot ourselves in the foot, offensively and defensively, with too many penalties on the offensive side of the football and, defensively, we did not stay disciplined enough.”
Ahmarie White scored both touchdowns for the Knights in the second quarter that were set up by the running of Sincere McKinley that pulled West Bladen within 14-12. White finished with 77 yards on 21 carries and McKinley rushed 11 times for 52 yards.
“We grinded it out,” Worley said. “It didn’t go our way, but from the way the culture has been in the past to how they played tonight, I think we’re moving in a positive direction.”
West Bladen has not won more than three games in a season in seven years.
The Patriots drove 69 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown on quarterback Austin Deal’s 4-yard scamper on the first possession of the game for a 6-0 lead.
West Bladen answered within the first minute of the second quarter on White’s first scoring run that capped a 10-play, 47-yard drive that made it 6-all. McKinley gained six yards on a fourth-and-one that kept the drive alive.
It didn’t take long for the Knights to take the lead. On the first play from scrimmage following the kickoff, defensive lineman Dawan Carter recovered a fumble at the Pender 18. McKinley ran the ball to the 1 and White followed with a bullish run up the middle that gave West Bladen a 12-6 advantage with 10:12 left in the second quarter.
Pender needed only three plays to regain a lead that it never would relinquish. Lambe scored on a 7-yard run and Kimon Moore ran the first of his two 2-point conversions that put the Patriots ahead 14-12.
After forcing West Bladen to punt, the Patriots went 80 yards in five plays for a score. Zeke Williams ran the final eight yards into the end zone and Moore, again, converted the 2-point attempt for a 22-12 lead at halftime.
Pender scored once in each of the final two quarters on a 3-yard run by Lambe and 15-yard run by Zyquan Murphy to account for the final score.
West Bladen never drove inside Pender’s 35 in the second half.
Justin Spaulding and Hunter Hester led the West Bladen defense with six tackles. Isaiah Robinson and McKinley each had five. Alvin Lacewell and Carter recovered fumbles.
The teams combined for 21 accepted penalties totaling 165 yards.
West Bladen is scheduled to play at county rival West Bladen next Friday in the “Battle for the Bell.”