DUBLIN — West Bladen hung right with visiting Whiteville for a quarter, actually holding a 13-12 edge after the first 12 minutes of play, but the Wolfpack erupted for 38 unanswered points before halftime Friday and went on to a 56-21 Three Rivers Conference win.
The Knights fell to 3-4 overall and 1-4 in the conference.
Whiteville took advantage of a West Bladen fumble to score a touchdown and take a 6-0 lead. But quarterback Tyre Boykin capped a Knights drive by scoring on a 10-yard run and Jose Garcia’s PAT gave West Bladen a 7-6 edge late in the first quarter.
The Wolfpack answered with a touchdown just 1:17 later, but couldn’t get the two-point try and led by a 12-7 margin.
Back came the Knights. Boykin hit Kerron Washington with a 45-yard pass and run to the Whiteville 11 and, after a penalty, B.J. Drake bolted for 17 yards and a touchdown to cap a 62-yard drive. The point after was missed, but West Blden regained the lead, 13-12, as the quarter ended.
Then came the Wolfpack’s explosion.
Whiteville scored a pair of rushing touchdowns, along with a score through the air, and added a pair of two-point conversions to open a 34-13 lead at halftime.
The Wolfpack clung to the momentum in the second half, scoring once through the air and once on the ground to take a 50-13 advantage after three quarters.
West Bladen stopped the Whiteville scoring surge when Drake busted into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown in the fourth frame and Boykin ran in the two-point conversion to pull the Knights within 50-21. But the Wolfpack tacked on a late touchdown to finish off the scoring.
Drake led West Bladen’s ground game with 102 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. Through the air, Boykin was 6-for-9 for 70 yards — Washington caught three passes for 57 yards.