By DAN BISER
Sports Editor

After posting a 1-1 record against Bladen County competition, the Whiteville High School football team will open its 2007 home schedule Friday night at 7:30 when it entertains the Red Springs Red Devils at Legion Stadium.

Coach Mark Little’s Wolfpack fell to East Bladen 22-14 last Friday at Elizabethtown after opening the season with a 21-12 road victory over West Bladen.

Red Springs, coached by Columbus County native Clay Jernigan, fell to Lakewood 36-6 last Friday after bowing to Overhills 48-6 in its opener.

Little, who last season coached WHS to its first Waccamaw Conference football championship since 1993, is in his sixth season at the Wolfpack helm.

Little’s main point of concern going into Friday’s game is the defensive side of the ball. In its first two games, WHS has surrendered more than 500 yards rushing.

“We’ve done a pretty good job of keeping people out of the end zone, but we’re giving up way too much yardage on defense,” Little said, whose squad trailed East Bladen 6-0 at halftime after the Eagles scored on the final play of the half.

East Bladen’s overall team quickness and athleticism was a big factor in last week’s game even though the score was tied at 14-all with less than five minutes left in the game.

Senior running back Jarrod McKinney has supplied much of the WHS offense thus far, having run for four of the five Wolfpack touchdowns to date while rushing for more than 190 yards.

The WHS passing combination of quarterback Ben Deans to wide receiver Edward Brown provided some key plays in the victory at West Bladen.

In seven previous games with Red Springs, dating back to 1973, Whiteville has won all seven. The most recent wins came in 2004 when the Wolfpack won 35-6 and in 2003 when WHS pulled out a 27-24 overtime victory.

Jernigan, who played high school football at Tabor City in the 1980s and is the son of veteran high school coach Frank Jernigan, is in his second season with the Red Devils.

Red Springs slipped to 3-8 last fall after going 9-4 in 2005 and 10-3 in 2004,

Whiteville will be out to gain its sixth straight home-opening victory Friday.