PITTSBORO — As dominant as the Northwood football team was Friday night, it didn’t escape its blowout victory over Jordan-Matthews completely unscathed.
In the second quarter of the Chargers’ home opener, which ended with a final score of 52-0, Northwood lost running back Carson Fortunes to a shoulder injury. The junior was hurt as he lowered his shoulder to make contact with a Jordan-Matthews defender on a one-yard touchdown run that made it 24-0 with 10:11 remaining in the second quarter.
After scoring, Fortunes crumpled over in the end zone in pain. He walked back to the sideline favoring his right arm, and after a trainer checked him out, he took off his shoulder pads and eventually left the game at halftime to get medical treatment. Before Fortunes left the game, he’d carried the ball eight times for 96 yards and one touchdown.
“When you lose your best player, it’s hard to replace,” Northwood head coach Chris Kenan said after the game. “He’s our leader physically and emotionally … It’s going to be a next-man-up mentality. (From now on) it will be a running back by committee.”
Fortunes carried the ball 19 times for 50 yards in Northwood’s season-opening loss to Lee County in Week 1. He was expected to carry the load on the ground along with senior quarterback Will Smith after the Chargers graduated its top three rushers over the offseason.
Filling in for the injured Fortunes on Friday were senior Landon Roberson and freshman Robert Tripp, who combined for 153 yards and three touchdowns on just nine carries. Northwood ran for 304 yards as a team compared to just eight on 23 carries for Jordan-Matthews.
On Northwood’s first drive of the second half, the Chargers took over possession at their 1-yard line following a nice Jordan-Matthews punt. On first down, Roberson broke a few tackles and rumbled 72 yards down to the Jets’ 27-yard line. Tripp bounced the ball outside on the next play before turning upfield and scoring to extend the Chargers’ lead to 52-0.
After the game, Tripp credited Fortunes for helping him with his development during this early part of the season.
“Carson has helped me a lot,” Tripp said. “He’s taught me a lot of things about being a running back. He’s also helped me keep my head up in practices. If I get down on myself one blocking drill, he picks me right up and tells me to go do it again. He’s a really good leader.”
Friday’s game wasn’t all bad news for the Chargers. The Northwood defense held strong the entire night, only allowing Jordan-Matthews 48 yards of total offense. Kenan’s team intercepted three Jets’ passes, including one in the first half that was returned 80 yards for a touchdown by junior Mason Powell.
The performance was a nice change of pace after Northwood gave up 53 points to Lee County in Week 1. This time around, the Chargers held the Jets to just two first downs the entire game. Still, Powell thinks there’s plenty of room for improvement.
“Things were OK defensively, but I think we can do a better job of containing and maintaining the edge a little better,” he said. “We also need to work on assignment work, what to do and where to do it, and we need to execute better on tackles.”
Friday night also marked Kenan’s first win as the head coach at Northwood. He was hired in January after previously serving as the head coach at Neal Magnet Middle School in Durham.
Kenan was visibly emotional after Northwood athletic director Cameron Vernon presented him with the game ball in the postgame huddle. Speaking with the News + Record after the game, Kenan said his players have made coming to Northwood well worth it.
“A lot of days, I come in and I’m down, but the kids lift me up,” Kenan said. “And if I’m too up, they make sure I’m level-headed. They keep me on my toes at all times. The kids are awesome. You won’t find better kids.”
Kenan will look for his second win in Week 3 this week as the Chargers hit the road to take on Chapel Hill. The Tigers enter the game with a 2-0 record after defeating Orange High, 35-7, on Friday.
Jordan-Matthews, meanwhile, will play its first home game of the season in Week 3 as it hosts Providence Grove. The Patriots are also 2-0 and have outscored their opponents by an average of 29.5 points per game so far this season.
Northwood 52, Jordan-Matthews 0
NW | 16 | 30 | 6 | 0 | — 52
J-M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — 0
Scoring summary
NW — Landon Roberson 5 run (Two-point run good)
NW — Mason Powell 80 interception return (Run good)
NW — Carson Fortunes 1 run (Run good)
NW — Robert Tripp 4 run (Run good)
NW — Jackson Shaner 11 pass from Will Smith (Run good)
NW — Cam Fowler 15 pass from Smith (Run no good)
NW — Tripp 27 run (Run no good)
Team Stats
Northwood | Jordan-Matthews
14 | First downs | 2
354 | Total yards | 48
20-304 | Rushing attempts-yards | 23-8
4-8-50 | Passing completions-attempts-yards | 4-11-40
2 | Interceptions | 3
0-0 | Fumbles-lost | 0-0
7-60 | Penalties-yards | 6-70
Individual stats
Rushing: NW — Carson Fortunes 8-96, Robert Tripp 5-49, Landon Roberson 4-104, Antoine Brewington 1-29, Will Smith 1-17, Drew Entrekin 1-9; J-M — Nick Glover 9-18, Jakari Blue 4-(-3), William Brewer 4-(-3), DeAntaye Smith 4-(-2), Kevin Causey 1-2, Henry Martinez 1-(-6)
Passing: NW — Smith 4-for-8, 50 yards; J-M — Glover 4-for-11, 40 yards
Receiving: NW — Gus Ritchey 2-24, Cam Fowler 1-15, Jackson Shaner 1-11; J-M — Brewer 2-22, Glover 1-10, Causey 1-8
Sports Editor Jeremy Vernon can be reached at jeremy@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @jbo_vernon.