DURHAM — The Knights are the rulers of the North for the first time since 2018.
Trailing by three in the game’s final minutes, Northern Durham notched two defensive stops alongside a go-ahead touchdown connection between senior quarterback Amir Liles and senior receiver Demirion Kelly to spoil Riverside’s homecoming night 21-16.
Leading up to Friday’s matchup, the Pirates were riding a six-game win streak in the rivalry.
“It meant a real lot,” Northern Durham coach Jason Trousdale said. “We told the kids that if we played our football, if we played well, and we executed well, we felt good about this game. It was a lot closer than I’d like it to be, but our guys made the plays.”
The Knights looked as if they would run away with the game at the start. On its first possession, Northern Durham converted a fourth down with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Liles to Kelly for a 7-0 lead. Later in the first quarter, Liles found senior Joshua Mainor breaking open in the end zone for a 18-yard score and a 13-0 advantage.
With just over seven minutes left in the second quarter, Mainor ruined a solid Riverside drive by picking off senior quarterback Taylen Lea near the goal line. But, the Pirates forced a punt on the ensuing possession and flipped the momentum when they got the ball back.
Riverside pounded the rock, ran down the clock and got on the board with a short touchdown run from Lea with less than a minute left in the first half.
“Coach Lea did a hell of a job with keeping the ball away from us,” Trousdale said. “I think he knew we had play makers over here on this side of the ball, and he was a little bit concerned about that.”
The Pirates’ fortune resumed immediately in the second half. Riverside, which had multiple long kick returns throughout the night, returned the third quarter’s opening kick down to within the Knights’ 10-yard line.
Northern Durham’s defense stood tall and forced a turnover on downs, but after a quick three and out by the offense on the ensuing drive, the Knights, who elected to punt, snapped the ball over the punter’s head and out the back of the end zone for a safety.
Riverside took advantage of another opportunity to run the ball down the field and eat the clock, ending its following drive with a short touchdown run by Lea that gave the Pirates their first lead of the night at 16-13.
That score held until the end of the fourth quarter. Riverside slowly picked up first down after first down, looking as if it was going to put the game away. At least until senior linebacker Darion Marks picked up a sack fumble by senior Trevor Grate and returned it for a score that was called back for a penalty.
Nonetheless, the Knights took the opportunity to reclaim the lead. They followed a crucial fourth and long conversion with a 53-yard bomb between Liles and Kelly with just over two minutes left to play.
“I missed (Kelly) on a hitch,” Liles said. “I had him wide open, so I knew I was like, ‘I’ve got to make up for this.’ And I hit him on a slant. I felt the momentum.”
Said Trousdale, “That last play that we did, we saw that they bit on hitch and gos, and we went with that call next. And boy, (Kelly) did a hell of a job, and Amir delivered a perfect pass. It was beautiful.”
In its final chance, Riverside made it deep into the red zone again, but penalties, which plagued both teams all night, and another clutch display by the Knights’ defense were key reasons why the Pirates fell short of a walk-off score at the final buzzer.
“You just got to grab them and play football,” Marks said. “That’s really what it is. I’m proud of my guys. They did their job. I did my job. It is what it is. We come out and we win.”
With the victory, Northern Durham moved to 3-3 and 1-0 in the Tobacco Road 6A/7A conference. Riverside fell to 1-5 and 0-1 in conference play.
The Knights celebrated their rivalry win with hugs, a gatorade bath for Trousdale and a chance to hold the “Battle for the North Trophy.”
“We’ll be holding on to (the trophy) for a little while,” Liles said.
Yet, a major test in Northern Durham’s journey to the playoffs is soon to be on the mind.
Northern Durham will next be at Southern Durham Friday.
“Not a lot of expectations for us to go over there and even compete,” Trousdale said. “They beat us 66-0 last year, so we’re going to do a better job this year. That’s our aiming point.”
Riverside will host Riverside this coming week.