By DAN BISER

In each of the past two seasons, the Whiteville High School football team has managed to pull out close wins over the Pender Patriots.

Two years ago, Coach Mark Little’s Wolfpack held off a strong fourth-quarter comeback by the Patriots to hang on for a 27-20 win. Last fall, the Wolfpack rallied for two touchdowns in the second half to pull out a 17-13 victory.

Whiteville, which has never lost to Pender in seven previous football meetings, definitely has its hands full when takes on the Patriots Friday night at Burgaw. Kickoff is set for 7:30.

Pender opened conference play with a 33-0 win in its Waccamaw Conference opener against county rival Heide Trask to put its season record at 4-2.

“They’ve given us fits the last two seasons and they look like an even better team this year,” Little said. “Playing them at their place will make it particularly tough.”

Whiteville has a 4-2 record following last week’s conference-opening 33-7 win over East Columbus.

“We played a good second half against East Columbus but we can’t afford to have a letdown like we did for most of the first half if we expect to have a good game at Pender,” Little said.

The Patriots of Coach Tom Eanes have also posted wins over Pender, East Duplin and Topsail. Their win over East Duplin was particularly impressive as they shut out the Panthers 20-0.

Patriot losses came against Wallace-Rose Hill, 32-14, and Pamlico 23-0.

Fullback James Henry is the offensive leader for the Patriots, who are out to claim their first winning season since 2001. Henry is closing in on the 1,000-yard rushing total as the Patriots appear to have a solid shot at gaining the conference’s top 1A playoff spot.

Whiteville, which is holding two losses at mid-season for the first time since 2002, has been relying on strong defensive play with its offense showing more signs of consistency.

“Mistakes have hurt us on offense this year, but hopefully we’re getting a little better there,” Little said. “We got some good things out of our passing game last week so hopefully that is improving,”

Senior quarterback Harrison Jordan threw his first two touchdown passes of the season against East Columbus, and Tyson Wilcox broke an 84-yard touchdown run in the game’s opening moments.

While Whiteville’s 4-2 record is looking fairly impressive among conference teams, the four Wolfpack wins to date have come over teams that have combined to win only three games thus far.

“We really need to go to Pender and play well,” Little said. “This is a very important game for us. We can’t afford any letdowns.”

Linebackers Kevin Gamble, John McZeak and Albarin Powell and lineman George Spearman are among the WHS defensive leaders.