EDENTON — John A. Holmes rebounded from a one-point loss earlier in the week with a 32-7 victory over Currituck County on Friday, highlighting a busy week of high school sports across the Albemarle region.

The week also featured unbeaten volleyball teams facing off, a regional cross-country meet in Edenton and football action across northeastern North Carolina.

Holmes 32, Currituck 7

John A. Holmes football team (3-1 overall) rebounded from its first loss of the season with a 32-7 victory over Currituck County (2-2) Friday in Edenton.

Currituck struck first after an interception on Holmes’ opening offensive play gave the Knights possession at the Aces’ 44-yard line. The Knights capitalized with a 13-play drive, with Kayden Smith scoring from 1 yard out to give Currituck a 7-0 lead.

Holmes quarterback Mason Byrum provided the answer early in the second quarter. Facing fourth down, Byrum kept the ball on the option, found an opening and broke loose for a 47-yard touchdown. The extra point tied the game at 7.

The Aces moved ahead later in the quarter. Byrum connected with Jahcere Lewis for a gain of about 42 yards, and a horse-collar penalty moved Holmes farther into Currituck territory. Holmes finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to take a 14-7 lead into halftime.

Holmes began to pull away in the second half, adding a 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter before DJ Sutton broke several tackles on a 23-yard scoring run. Caden Jernigan added a 2-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to produce the 32-7 final.

Byrum led the Aces on the ground with 156 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Sutton rushed seven times for 53 yards and a touchdown, while Jernigan added 36 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.

Lewis also intercepted a Currituck pass in the fourth quarter as the Holmes defense kept the Knights scoreless after their opening touchdown.

It wasn’t a particularly clean game for either side. Holmes committed two turnovers and was flagged 12 times, while Currituck drew 15 penalties. Despite the miscues and an early 7-0 deficit, the Aces finished the game with 32 unanswered points.

Holmes travels to First Flight on Friday, Sept. 18.

Northeastern 42, JAHHS 41

The Aces’ victory came four days after Northeastern (3-1 overall) handed Holmes its first loss of the season, edging the Aces, 42-41, Monday in Edenton.

Northeastern’s Da’Mari McNeill rushed for 293 yards and three touchdowns, while Te’Vaughn Bell recorded 177 receiving yards and a touchdown.

The Eagles returned to action Thursday and defeated Wilson Prep 35-32.

Holmes JV 32, Bertie 20

John A. Holmes’ junior varsity (grades 7-9) football team defeated Bertie 32-20 Wednesday in Edenton.

Individual statistics from the game were not available as of press time.

Cross-country

Regional runners meet in Edenton

John A. Holmes hosted runners from across northeastern North Carolina on Wednesday for a cross-country meet at the White Oak-D.F. Walker (WOW) schools complex in Chowan County.

The field included Holmes and fellow Albemarle Athletic Conference programs Manteo, Gates County and Perquimans County. Martin County, Hobgood Charter, Bear Grass Charter and Ocracoke also competed.

The meet gave several conference programs an early opportunity to compete against one another, while also racing runners from outside the conference.

The Observer will update the results when they become available and post more photos to Flickr.

First Flight competes at Friday Night Lights

First Flight’s cross-country runners traveled to Kernersville on Friday to compete in the Friday Night Lights meet.

On the boys’ side, Adlai Berryman led the Nighthawks in the 5K open by placing 20th with a time of 16:56.6. West Stokes’ Bryan Morrison placed first with a time of 15:47.1.

On the girls’ side, First Flight’s Kiah Smith placed third in the open 5K with a time of 18:29, about 10 seconds behind the winner, Davie County’s Kristen Starkey (18:19.9).

For more results, visit https://nc.milesplit.com/meets/719512-friday-night-lights-xc-festival-2026/results

Football

Manteo 42, Hobgood Charter 6

Manteo (3-1 overall) defeated Hobgood Charter (2-1) on Thursday during Military Night at Manteo.

The Redskins have won three games this season, with their lone loss coming against Northside-Pinetown.

Perquimans drops two during short week

Perquimans County (2-2 overall) played twice during the week, suffering losses to Pasquotank County and Northside-Pinetown.

Pasquotank defeated the Pirates 41-18 Monday. Perquimans returned to action Thursday, when Northside-Pinetown won 42-7.

Washington County 40, Weldon STEM 0

Washington County (1-3 overall) broke into the win column with a victory over Weldon STEM on Friday.

The shutout came after the Vikings opened the season with three consecutive losses.

Lawrence Academy 68, Columbia 42

Lawrence Academy defeated Columbia (2-1 overall) on Friday in Merry Hill.

The loss was Columbia’s first of the season after the Wildcats opened the year with two victories.

Catholic 37, First Flight 20

First Flight (0-4 overall) fell to Catholic on Friday.

The Nighthawks return home Friday, Sept. 18, to face John A. Holmes.

Volleyball

Perquimans 3, Gates County 0

Perquimans County (14-0 overall, 1-0 conference) remained unbeaten with a 3-0 victory over Gates County on Thursday in Gatesville.

The Pirates won 25-18, 25-22 and 25-17. Gates County (11-1 overall, 0-1 conference) entered the match undefeated.

Perquimans also swept Lawrence Academy on Wednesday, winning 25-4, 25-14 and 25-11.

Camden 3, Holmes 0

Camden County (9-0 overall) remained undefeated with a 3-0 victory over John A. Holmes Thursday, ending the Aces’ 10-match winning streak.

Camden won 25-16, 25-19 and 25-16. Holmes fell to 14-3 overall.

The Aces had extended their winning streak to 10 matches Tuesday with a 3-0 victory over First Flight, winning 25-16, 25-18 and 25-22.

Manteo 3, South Central 0

Manteo (11-0 overall) remained undefeated with a 3-0 victory over South Central on Wednesday.

The Redskins won 25-16, 25-18 and 26-24.

Manteo travels to Perquimans County on Tuesday in a matchup between two unbeaten teams.

Men’s soccer

Perquimans County (5-1-2 overall) routed Northeastern, 7-1, Wednesday in Hertford. It was the Pirates’ highest-scoring game of the season and their fourth victory by at least three goals.

Manteo (4-2 overall) fell to Currituck County, 3-1, Wednesday in Barco. The loss was Manteo’s second straight after opening the season 4-0.

John A. Holmes (6-1-1 overall) suffered its first loss of the season Tuesday, falling 6-0 at North Pitt. Holmes was unbeaten through its first eight matches.

First Flight (1-6-2 overall) lost 6-1 to Norfolk Academy on Tuesday, then bounced back with a 3-0 win over Camden County on Thursday.

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Note: The Albemarle Observer has done its best to accurately include as many local sports teams as possible. If your team isn’t listed or there is an error, contact us at albemarle.observer@gmail.com or mileslayton1969@gmail.com so we can share the information with our readers.