West Brunswick ran up a five-touchdown lead in the first half and coasted to a 34-0 win over CHHS in their North Carolina 3-AA East first-round football game Friday night.

"It was about missed assignments in the first half," Chapel Hill coach Issac Marsh said. "They gutted us for a big play opening up. We're able to manage a good drive at one point, and then we stalled. We had to punt and they got us again."

That was a recurring theme for the Tigers (5-7), who had twice as many first-half punts (4) than first downs (2). Time after time, Chapel Hill's offense sputtered while West Brunswick (8-3) broke off productive run after productive run out of its potent triple-option scheme.

The Trojans ran for 278 yards in the first half alone before finishing with 383. West Brunswick never attempted a pass.

The game started ugly for Chapel Hill. After West Brunswick scored on a 40-yard touchdown run with 7:03 left in the first half, Trojans kicker Corey Bell attempted a squib kick to avoid the windy conditions in this coastal town.

Instead, the ball bounced off a Chapel Hill player, and West Brunswick linebacker and University of Alabama commitment Alfy Hill pounced on it.

Seven plays later, the Trojans scored again and led 14-0. At that point, the Tigers had accounted for just 1 yard of offense.

"It hit off one of our players and they recovered it," Marsh said. "It snowballed in the first half from there."

Said West Brunswick coach Jimmy Fletcher: "We definitely didn't plan that. It was just one of those nights. We jumped up 14-0 and played good defense."

It never got prettier.

The big deficit forced the Tigers to pass early and often, and when Stephen Wister's passes were completed, they were for minimal gains.

Eventually, it meant the end of a season for the Tigers. Still, Marsh contended his team won't enter the off-season with a sour taste in its mouth.

"As coaches, we've talked about the foundation," he said. "A lot of people wrote us off. ... That's one thing we explain to our players: we don't have a team; we have a program. And we build upon that program each year."

Elsewhere Friday, Northwood rolled by Elizabeth City Northeastern 28-6 and Carrboro fell 42-18 at East Bladen. Orange's game was postponed until Saturday night. See www.newsobserver.com/sports www.newsobserver.com/sports for results.

First Quarter

WB: Markel Jones 40 run (Corey Bell kick)

WB: Quan Bates 2 run (Bell kick)

Second Quarter

WB: Mavrick Pate 2 run (Bell kick)

WB: Van Cobb 27 run (Bell kick)

WB: Bates 24 run (Kick blocked)

Rushing: CHHS -- Daniel Watson 11-43, Stephen Wistner 1-15, Winston Washington 2-6. WBHS -- Markel Jones 4-89,Van Cobb 12-88, Quan Bates 9-81, Mavrick Pate 10-53, Bradley Bell 6-52, Justin Bland 6-25, Trevor McKenzie 4-7.

Passing: CHHS -- Stephen Wistner 8-22-0 104 yards, Washington 0-1-0. WBHS -- none.

Receiving: CHHS -- Russell Suitt 4-68, Nick Gillespie 2-13, Washington 2-11, Watson 2-10, Kyle Duffy 1-6. WBHS -- none.

NORTHWOOD 28, NORTHEASTERN 6

PITTSBORO Northwood High football coach Bill Hall loves to tinker with certain elements during practices throughout the season, even if the new wrinkles don't see the light of day during games. But on Friday night, his latest experiment led the Chargers to the second round of the 2-AA state playoffs.

Tra Chandler, an all-state defensive back in 2008, touched the ball exactly twice in his debut as a running back and rushed for 158 yards and two touchdowns. The was enough to lead the Chargers (11-1) past (7-5) Northeastern 28-6 Friday night.

Northwood advances for a rematch against Carolina2-A conference rival South Granville next Friday. The Chargers committed five turnovers in falling to the Vikings 27-7 on Oct. 23, their only defeat of the regular season.

Chandler's performance was warranted after the Eagle defense held standout tailback Shannon Peppers to just 38 yards on 14 carries.

"We haven't faced a team that held Shannon like that," said Hall, in his 9th year as head coach at Northwood. "We've worked out Tra as a running back throughout the year, but we've never used him in a game. Tonight, we just found the right spot because we thought they might over pursue on defense."

The Chargers roared out to a 21-0 lead with three touchdowns in the first 10:54. Quarterback Sam Griffin hit wide receiver Ridge Smith with a 49-yard pass, leading to Peppers scoring on a 1-yard plunge with 9:07 remaining in the first quarter. Northwood's second touchdown came on a one-play drive when Chandler took the handoff on a reverse and rumbled 66 yards across the muddy field. With 1:06 remaining in the initial frame, Griffin would find Smith again for a 42-yard .

Next week's rematch against the Vikings represents a familiar path to Hall. The Chargers have been eliminated in the third round of the 2-AA state playoffs in each of the last three seasons.

"Right now, we're 1-and-0 in this season," said Hall. "I don't think we'll make five turnovers against them next time."

NWD: Shannon Peppers 1 run (Josue Pena kick)

NWD: Tra Chandler 66 run (Pena kick)

NWD: Ridge Smith 42 pass from Sam Griffin (Pena kick)

NE: Austin Fowler 17 pass from Rayqaen Harney (kick failed)

NWD: Chandler 92 run (Pena kick)

Rushing: EHS -- Cornelius Etheridge 17-48, Denzel Ward 4-36, Ralph Cole 3-4, Terry Williams 1-0, Luis Vargas 1-(-4), Fowler 1-(-4), Harney 6-(-30); NWD -- Chandler 3-162 2 TD, Peppers 14-38 TD, Griffin 3-12, Seth Spach 1-7, Harold Baldwin 1-3, Zachery Vanhoy 1-0, Smith 2-(-1), team 1-(-1).

Passing: NEHS -- Harney 7-22-1-123 (TD), Williams 0-3-0, Etheridge 0--1-0; NWD -- Griffin 6-16-2-114 (TD).

Receiving: NEHS -- Fowler 4-111 TD, Mason James 1-10, Williams 1-5, Etheridge 1-(-3); NWD -- Smith 2-91 TD, Austin Matthews 1-16, A.J. Farmer 1-12, Baldwin 1-4, Peppers 1-1

EAST BLADEN 42, CARRBORO 18

ELIZABETHTOWN A state finalist in last year's 1-AA ranks and seeded No. 1 in the East in its first year in 2-A, undefeated East Bladen celebrated its first-round game with Carrboro with fireworks and a big halftime show. But the Jaguars provided some of the excitement in their first-ever playoff game with two touchdown passes by junior Derek Bryant.

Carrboro, which never won more than one game in a year before this, started off well against the 2-A East's No. 1 team by twice driving inside the Eagles' 10-yardline in the first half. But it wasn't until later that Carrboro made them pay.

Following a punt blocked by Carrboro and returned 30 yards by Jared Lennon into the Eagles' red zone, Juan Chavarriaga caught a 7-yard pass from Bryant to get the Jaguars within 28-12 of East Bladen midway through the second half.

Carrboro (4-8) trailed 28-6 at the half, after getting its first TD on a 14-yard pass from Bryant to Andy Knapp. The Jaguars got a third TD on Torrell Farrar's 3-yard plunge in the fourth quarter. But East Bladen (12-0) tacked on two late scores to win going away.

"I think we put the fear of God into them for three quarters," Carrboro coach Jason Tudryn said. "Our guys definitely proved they belonged on the same field with them tonight."