PITTSBORO – Ti Pinnix and Jalen Smith are just a couple of cousins playing a game of catch football.
At least it seems that way.
The Northwood High tandem was electric for the second straight week, leading the Chargers to a dominating 56-31 win over an overpowered Southern Lee squad Friday night.
Pinnix threw for an amazing 500 yards, completing 29 of 49 passes. He wasn’t perfect, tossing a pair of picks, but it didn’t seem to matter much as the Chargers built a 17-9 halftime lead.
Pinnix connected with Smith for a 75-yard scoring strike late in the opening quarter. Pinnix found Smith a second time for a 13-yard touchdown pass in the second stanza as the Chargers took control.
Lee was in the contest early, taking a 9-7 lead on a safety and an Emond Caldwell to Aaron Blockman 24-yard touchdown pass.
Anthony Castro’s 23 yard field goal and Smith’s scoring grab put Northwood ahead for good, however. Smith finished with 10 catches for 221 yards and three touchdowns for a second straight terrific game for the wideout.
Northwood’s running game actually iced the contest after intermission as Kadarus Rone piled up most of his 74 yards, including touchdown runs of 1 and 2 yards.
Caldwell passed for 320 yards and three scores, but completed just 18 of 43 passes. Blockman had 10 catches for 216 yards and two touchdowns though most of Lee’s offense came with the contest out of reach.
Northwood is 2-0 to start the season, following a rout of East Chapel Hill in the opener, but coach Bill Hall said he sees plenty of room for improvement.
“Offensively we have got to get better,” Hall said. “But I do see improvement with every play.”
Despite allowing a batch of points, Hall liked his team’s defensive play.
“Our defensive line played well and we forced them to throw the ball,” he noted.