By DAN BISER

It will be Senior Night at Legion Stadium Friday when the Whiteville Wolfpack takes on the visiting North Brunswick Scorpions in a Waccamaw 1A-2A Conference football game at 7:30

Last year, North Brunswick put a halt to Whiteville’s perfect 8-0 record with a 26-17 victory over the Wolfpack. It marked the Scorpions first-ever football win over WHS.

Whiteville heads into the game with a 4-0 Waccamaw Conference record. North Brunswick is 2-3 with both of their league wins coming in the past two weeks.

Whiteville, with a 7-2 record, had an open date last week. WHS coach Mark Little said that the Wolfpack has had two weeks of intense practices since their 40-6 road win over Trask on Oct. 14.

“We came off our open date last year by going to North Brunswick, committing six turnovers and getting beat,” Little said. “That loss upset our tempo the rest of the way. This is a game we really need to be prepared for this time.”

A win by Whiteville and a win by South Columbus over Trask Friday would bring on a Whiteville-South Columbus match-up for the Waccamaw Conference championship on Nov. 3 at South Columbus. Whiteville has not won a conference title in football since 1993.

A staunch defense that has allowed only 74 points in nine games and a solid running attack have been the keys for the Wolfpack this season. Junior running backs Jarrod McKinney and Tyson Wilcox both have game-breaking abilities while Kevin Gamble and John McZeak alternate at fullback. McKinney is on the verge of becoming the first Whiteville player to notch the 1,000-yard season rushing mark since 1999 when his brother Brushawn attained that mark.

Gamble and McZeak are also leaders on defense at their linebacker positions.

Coach Little said the biggest concern in taking on Coach Garry Bishop’s North Brunswick team is the amount of diversity the Scorpions show on offense.

“They come out in a lot of different formations and are good at catching teams off guard with halfback passes and other trick plays,” Little said. “You have to be ready for everything.”

North Brunswick, which posted a 9-3 record last year, currently has a 4-5 mark. In their last two games, they rallied in the final moments to defeat South Brunswick (20-18) and Trask (32-28). Their conference losses came against South Columbus (35-7) and East Columbus (30-14).

North Brunswick senior Josh Balloon, a 6-foot, 225-pounder, is a three-year starter and one of the area’s top runners.

“They’re coming off two big wins and they are battling to get a good state playoff spot,” Little said. “We’re expecting a very tough football game.