By DAN BISER
Sports Editor

It’s often interesting how much difference a week can make.

Just seven days after claiming one of its biggest conference victories ever, the Whiteville High football team on Friday night at Legion Stadium suffered one of its most disappointing state playoff losses ever.

The Wolfpack, which had claimed its first outright Waccamaw Conference football championship in 14 years by defeating South Columbus 21-15 on Nov. 3, absorbed a 24-20 opening round setback at the hands of a visiting North Brunswick Scorpion team that entered the playoffs with only four victories. NBHS had finished tied for fourth in the Waccamaw Conference with a 2-4 league record.

The Scorpions took advantage of favorable field position for most of the night and utilized the power running of 225-pound senior tailback Josh Balloon and several strong scrambling runs by sophomore quarterback Jesse Riley to snap a six-game WHS winning streak and hand Whiteville its third loss in 12 games.

Whiteville went into the game as the top seed in the East 2A bracket while North Brunswick had a No. 16 seed.

Coach Garry Bishop’s Scorpions, who had fallen to the Wolfpack 14-6 two weeks earlier on the same field, jumped to a 10-0 lead. Whiteville battled back to take third-quarter leads of 13-10 and 20-17 before North Brunswick regained the lead in the final quarter.

Coach Mark Little’s Wolfpack squad, which got all three touchdowns on passes from senior quarterback Harrison Jordan to senior tight end Alex Royal, had a big opportunity for regaining the lead in closing minutes when wide receiver David Mosley dropped a would-be touchdown pass from Jordan. Mosley was well beyond the NB coverage on a fourth-down play when the ball bounced out of his hands.

Missed opportunities were just a part of the reason for the loss, according to Coach Little.

“The bottom line is we got outplayed,” Coach Little said. “We didn’t get the job done. Our special teams play was particularly disappointing. Poor kick coverage kept allowing them to get good field position.”

The loss marked the first time this season that the Wolfpack had yielded more than two touchdowns in a game.

Coach Bishop said that his NB team has treated the playoffs as “a brand new season.

“We’re just tickled to get in the playoffs this year and that has given us a new focus,” Bishop said. “We’ve felt all along that we had a team that could pull it all together.

“I’m really proud of our players,” Bishop said. “They battled hard all the way against a very strong football team.”

North Brunswick set the tempo from the opening whistle when Daryl Mosely returned the opening kickoff to the Whiteville 26-yard line. Only a tackle by Whiteville’s David Mosley kept the Scorpion returner from going all the way.

The Whiteville defense halted the first Scorpion possession at the 21, and NB kicker Adam Herring booted a 38-yard field feld goal for 3-0 lead.

The Scorpions drove 58 yards on its next possession to score the game’s first touchdown. Balloon and Riley doing all the ball-carrying. Balloon scored on a one-yard blast on fourth down on the opening play of the second quarter.

Whiteville got on the scoreboard late in the first half when it drove 79 yards in eight plays. The drive included a high-leaping one-handed catch by Royal of a 46-yard pass from Jordan to the 15-yard line.

The touchdown came on a four-yard roll-out pass from Jordan to Royal with 59 seconds left in the half. David Hodgson’s extra-point kick made the halftime score 10-7.

Whiteville gained the lead on its opening possession of the first half as it used nine plays to drive 67 yards, A 25-yard pass from Jordan to Royal gave the Wolfpackthe football at the five-yard line. Jordan again passed to Royal for the touchdown on the next play, but WHS missed on the PAT attempt to put the score at 13-10.

North Brunswick returned the ensuing kickoff to midfield and scored nine plays later on a six-yard keeper by Riley, and Herring’s PAT made the score 17-13 with 3:06 left in the third quarter.

However, four plays later, Jordan connected with a wide open Royal for 55 yards and another Wolfpack TD. Hodgson’s point-after made the score 20-17.

Midway through the final quarter, a strong punt return by Daryl Mosely set up North Brunswick’s game winning TD.

Highlighted by a pair of 14-yard runs by Riley, the Scorpions drove the ball 34 yards in six plays. Riley scored on a seven-yard run with 4:22 remaining and Herring added the final point.

Balloon rushed for 113 yards on 24 carries for North Brunswick while Jordan completed seven passes for 142 yards for Whiteville.

North Brunswick will take its 5-7 record to Jacksonville Friday to take on the Northside Monarchs (9-3) in second-round play. Northside rallied from a 13-0 halftime deficit to edge South Columbus 14-13 in opening round play.

Whiteville closed its season with a 9-3 record that included a 6-0 record in Waccamaw Conference play.

In five seasons as WHS head coach, Little has guided the Wolfpack to 41 wins and 20 losses.

NB - Adam Herring 38 FG.

NB - Josh Balloon 1 run (Herring kick).

W - Alex Royal 4 pass from Harrison Jordan (David Hodgson kick).

W - Royal 5 pass from Jordan (kick failed).

NB - Jesse Riley 6 run (Herring kick.

W - Royal 55 pass from Jordan (Hodgson kick).

NB - Riley 7 run (Herring kick).