Josiah Borton hands off to Marzell Stanley (5) for West Brunswick on Friday night.
(Shallotte Area Sports Photo/W.A. Myatt)
A 28-7 loss to Northside of Jacksonville late Friday night in the final Bash at the Beach matchup of 2026 may have been a good thing in the long run for host West Brunswick.
The Trojans won’t be overconfident going into the season opener at South Brunswick on Friday night.
The Monarchs showed that West has plenty to work on as the visitors set the tone with an 80-yard scoring run on a reverse by senior Gavyn Davis on the first snap.
West answered with a sustained 80-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 6-yard keeper by senior Josiah Borton with 9:35 left in the first of two 12-minute quarters.
The Trojans went for a 4th-and-4 at their own 39 and got a first down as a pitch to junior Marzell Stanley gained 20 yards.
The Monarchs went ahead to stay with a 3-play possession that was capped by a 38-yard touchdown pass to Jamian Johnson.
Northside went 39 yards in eight plays after a Trojans punt in the second quarter to lead 22-7 on a 2-point conversion. A late pick six capped the scoring.
A 67-yard pass play from Borton to Eden Romero in the second quarter gave the Trojans a scoring threat that progressed to the 1-yard line. Stanley went out after losing his helmet and West relinquished the ball on downs.
The final score came after a red zone fumble recovery by Nolan Guertin of the Trojans.
West had a challenging matchup for the Bash and was playing shorthanded. Northside has extensive personnel returning from an 11-3 team that reached the fourth round of the 5-A playoffs.
West was without linebackers Brayden Bell, Isaac Clarida and Israel Saunders as well two-way lineman Josh Walton.
Better tackling will no doubt by a point of emphasis this week as the Trojans were in position to stop numerous lengthy gainers but did not wrap and take ball carriers to the turf after initial contact.
