HobbsDailyReport.com
LENOIR – In a battle of unbeatens on Friday night, visiting Newton-Conover High outgained Hibriten by more than 100 yards but the Panthers got the numbers that mattered most.
HIBRITEN 18
NEWTON-CONOVER 17
Rallying from 11 points back and doing all of the second-half scoring, Hibriten nipped Newton-Conover 18-17 to go to 5-0 and drop the Red Devils to 3-1.
Newton-Conover led 17-6 at halftime but the Panthers chipped away at that deficit, closing within 17-12 with eight minutes, 43 seconds left in the third quarter on a 10-yard scoring run by Jaylen Scott.
After that TD, the Panthers went for two points but the run failed and the Red Devils were nursing a 17-12 lead.
It took a 25-yard TD run by Miles Simon with 1:07 to play to get Hibriten a one-point lead, and the Panthers held on to gain head coach Clay Lewis his 62nd career win.
The win was only the fourth for Hibriten in 13 matchups with the Red Devils since their first game in 1993.
On Friday night, the Red Devils fell behind 6-0 early when McKinley Witherspoon broke a run 80 yards for a TD about 8 ½ minutes after the opening kickoff.
When quarterback Shamar Baker scored on a 1-yard run about 40 seconds into the second quarter, Addison Hayes added a PAT to put Newton-Conover in the lead, 7-6.
About 6 ½ minutes later, Tylor Stinson’s 3-yard scoring run and another Hayes PAT boosted the Red Devils’ lead to 14-6.
It was 17-6 at the half after Hayes hit a 28-yard field goal, his second of the season.
Newton-Conover didn’t score again and fell despite outgaining the Panthers 341-238.
The Red Devils had 13 penalties for 103 yards and three turnovers (two interceptions, a fumble lost).
Witherspoon had only five carries for Hibriten, gaining 96 yards, and Scott added 62 yards on 11 carries.
Stinson ran 19 times for 123 yards and is closing in on 500 rushing yards for the year while Baker – who had 229 passing yards but minus-11 rushing – cleared 1,000 yards in total offense in just the fifth game of the year.
Myles Baker and Jaheim Mullen had big receiving nights for the Red Devils with six catches for 92 yards and seven for 72 yards, respectively.
Hibriten, giving up an average of six points per game, will open its Northwestern Foothills 2A schedule at winless Bunker Hill next Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Newton-Conover’s first South Fork 2A game of the year comes next Friday at 7:30 p.m. at home against Lincolnton.