HobbsDailyReport.com
LENOIR – Hibriten High continued red-hot on Friday night in its conference football opener, steamrolling visiting Bunker Hill 55-0 to run its win streak to 22 straight games.
Running back McKinley Witherspoon ran for three scores – on runs of 3, 50 and 45 yards – to lead the Panthers (6-0, 1-0), who are defending Northwestern Foothills 2A and state 2AA champion after going 16-0 last season.
Quarterback Jaylen Scott added two rushing TDs (17, 3 yards) and Skylin Thomas returned a punt 95 yards for a TD in the victory.
Bunker Hill (0-6, 0-1) was shut out for the fourth time this season. The Bears have one offensive and one defensive TD this year.
The Panthers led 28-0 after one quarter, when Witherspoon scored twice, Marqwone Jones had a TD rn and Scott ran for a TD.
Thomas’ punt return score made it 35-0 early in the second quarter and Witherspoon ran 45 yards and Scott 3 yards for scores that made it 48-0 by halftime.
Trey Piercy’s 8-yard TD run for Hibriten was the only score of the second half.
Witherspoon scored 37 TDs last season when he ran for more than 2,000 yards and 128.3 per game, an average topped in the Greater Hickory area’s three leagues by only Bryce Satterfield of Watauga (1,447 yards in 11 games, 131.5 per game).
Hibriten has an open date on Friday before playing at Fred T. Foard in a conference game on Oct. 5.
Bunker Hill — which has lost eight straight since a victory over East Burke last season – is at home Friday at 7:30 p.m. in a conference game against Fred T. Foard.