Friday night lights are back in Chatham County.
The high school football season touched down Friday, and all four of the county’s teams took the field for game one out of 10.
The county combined for a 1-3 record on the first night of football action. Although three teams didn’t get the desired outcome, there was still plenty of entertaining football, dramatic finishes and impressive performances to take away from Friday’s slate of games.
Here’s a recap of each team’s season opener a preview of next week’s matchups:
Jordan-Matthews
Jordan-Matthews got its 2024 season started with a bang, beating South Davidson, 16-8, in overtime. That was the Jets’ first season-opening win since 2013.
The Jets’ defense came up big in the victory. On its own five yard line on the final play of overtime, the defense snuffed out South Davidson’s pitch to the outside to clinch the win.
In the second quarter senior linebacker Rashaad McSwain intercepted a pitch and took it 62 yards to the house, giving the Jets an 8-0 lead with the two-point conversion.
South Davidson didn’t score until the end of the third quarter after a muffed punt by Jordan-Matthews put the Wildcats inside the Jets’ 30-yard line.
Tied at 8-8 going into overtime, Jordan-Matthews struck first as sophomore Kenneth Dula scored a nine-yard touchdown on a tunnel screen.
Jordan-Matthews will host Carrboro (0-1) Friday at 7 p.m. That game will be a rematch of last year’s meeting in which Carrboro beat the Jets, 41-13.
Carrboro is coming off a 34-6 loss to Montgomery Central. Going up against an experienced and physical team, Jordan-Matthews will have to bring the same defensive intensity and win the line of scrimmage on both ends of the ball.
Northwood
Northwood fell at Riverside-Durham, a 4A opponent, in its season-opener, 52-33, Friday.
After hosting and losing to the Pirates in last year’s opener, the Chargers just couldn’t stop their offense this time around.
Northwood gave up the most points in a game since losing to Lee County, 53-20, in 2022. The Chargers stayed within a score of Riverside-Durham until the end of the third quarter when the Pirates found an offensive rhythm and pulled away.
Junior receiver Cam Fowler was one of the bright spots for Northwood as he scored two touchdowns in the loss.
The Chargers will have another tough game when they travel to 3A opponent Union Pines Friday at 7:30 p.m. Union Pines is coming off a dominant 42-0 win over Triton in week one in which the Vikings rushed for 209 yards and four touchdowns.
Northwood will need a better defensive effort if it wants to build on last year’s close 20-19 victory over Union Pines.
Chatham Central
After falling in overtime in last year’s meeting with North Stokes, Chatham Central didn’t get the finish it wanted in Friday’s 20-8 loss to the Vikings.
The Bears struggled to get the ball in the end zone and fell down 14-0 by halftime, but their defense did a solid job of keeping them in the game while the offense tried to find its rhythm.
Things took a turn for Chatham Central when freshman quarterback Reed Douglas left the game with an injury in the second quarter. Receiver Nick Glover took his place for the rest of the game and later connected with receiver Luke Gaines for a 53-yard touchdown in the third quarter to bring the Bears within six.
Despite the loss, Chatham Central saw some positives takeaways including solid performances from linebacker Bryson Alston and running back Eli Turner.
Chatham Central will host South Davidson Friday and look to avenge last year’s 40-0 loss to the Wildcats.
Seaforth
Seaforth nearly erased an 18-0 deficit, falling to Westover Friday, 18-16.
In a game highlighted by an all-around stellar performance from the Hawks’ defense, its offense struggled to move the ball and establish the run until the game’s final minutes.
The Hawks will travel to Southern Lee Friday. Southern Lee is coming off a 41-6 win over Western Harnett in which it held the Eagles to just 165 yards of offense. Seaforth will have to bring the same defensive effort and hope for a better night in the run game if it wants to win its first game this season.