LEGGETT — Instead of walking to the postgame huddle Friday night, North Edgecombe players jogged with purpose.

Instead of holding their heads down after defeat, the Warriors raised their chins.

And instead of taking the beating they’ve been accustomed to absorbing at the hands of their intra-county rivals, North Edgecombe decided to fight back.

The end result still tipped in SouthWest Edgecombe’s favor in a 22-14 victory, but optimism flowed heavily through North Edgecombe players and coaches afterward.

“I told you at halftime, ‘I don’t want you to have to apologize to me about anything at the end of the game,” Warriors coach Danny Ward told his team in the postgame huddle. “Well, you don’t owe me any apologies.”

Not after the way North Edgecombe (1-1) played. It gave undefeated SouthWest Edgecombe (3-0) arguably its toughest game of the season. The outcome could have been different, if not for a few fortuitous bounces and the tough running of Cougars senior Quandre Pittman (12 rushes, 152 yards, 2TDs).

“We didn’t take them lightly, but they came out real sharp and hit us in the mouth a few times,” SouthWest Edgecombe coach Raymond Cobb said. “And we didn’t hit back in the first half.”

North Edgecombe’s front lines stood their ground for a majority of the contest and limited SouthWest Edgecombe to few big plays.

The Cougars held a slim 6-0 halftime lead, which could have been considered a relief. Their defense held the Warriors scoreless in the half despite allowing Ward’s squad inside their 30-yard line twice.

SouthWest Edgecombe fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half, but again, the Cougars’ defense held the Warriors scoreless.

Pittman broke a 70-yard run three plays later, and it seemed as if the Cougars had breathing room.

Wrong.

“We always fight until there’s three zeros up there,” North Edgecombe senior Johnnte Ward said, pointing to the scoreboard.

North Edgecombe responded with a touchdown drive to cut the score to 14-8, and who knows what could have happened if the team recovered any of four SouthWest Edgecombe fumbles on the Cougars’ next possession.

But SouthWest Edgecombe scored again with 5:54 remaining in the contest (22-8).

North Edgecombe wasn’t done. It responded with the second of Marquavis Battle’s 1-yard touchdown runs with 1:56 to play.

SouthWest Edgecombe ran out the clock after a Pittman 22-yard run, but the Cougars were served notice: The Warriors were ready to play.

“Don’t be satisfied where you are at,” Ward told his team. “Now you see what you can do.”

SouthWest Edgecombe 22

North Edgecombe 14

SWE 0 6 8 8 — 22

NE 0 0 0 14 — 14

Second Quarter

SWE — Javelle Jenkins 22 run (kick failed), 5:15

Third Quarter

SWE — Quandre Pittman 70 run (Brandon Epps conversion), 8:59

Fourth Quarter

NE — Marquavis Battle 1 run (Montrezl Harrell conversion), 11:54

SWE — Pittman 2 run (John Stone conversion), 5:40

NE — Battle 1 run (conversion failed), 1:58

SWEe_SRitNE

17First downs................11

43—326Rushes-yards....40—178

19Passing yards...........68

2—3—1Passes..............2—6—1

345Total offense...........246

6—1Fumbles-Lost...........2—1

2—15Penalties-Yards....3—20

Individual Statistics

Rushing — SWE: Quandre Pittman 12-152; Javelle Jenkins 13-88; Tytrel Hopkins 10-43; Brandon Epps 6-27; Aaron Johnson 2-16. NE: Johnnte Ward 14-98; Marquavis Battle 8-28; Nathaniel Epps 4-19; Darius Phillips 5-14; Mark Moore 3-8; Morris Armstrong 1-5; Kadeem Alexander 1-5; Keltsey Richardson 2-2; Devonte Lloyd 3-(-1).

Passing — SWE: Brandon Epps 2-3, 19. NE: Kadeem Alexander 1-5, 36; Marquavis Battle 1-1, 32.

Receiving — SWE: Javelle Jenkins 1-10; John Stone 1-9. NE: Devonte Lloyd 1-36; Montrezl Harrell 1-32.