Triton had a seemingly-secure 48-30 lead with under eight minutes left against Overhills in the season opener for both teams in a postponed game Monday night before the Jaguars’ passing game fueled a comeback for a 52-48 win.
The Hawks had huge numbers from their Wing-T. The visitors just winged it.
Chris Perkins completed 17 of 25 passes for 280 yards with five touchdowns for Overhills. He ran for two scores.
That offset a strong effort on the ground for Triton, which rushed for 418 yards. Ro’mello Cowan had 20 carries for 199 yards and five touchdowns for the Hawks.
Cowan bolted 39 yards for his fifth touchdown with 7:48 remaining to give Triton a 48-30 lead. The Jaguars’ comeback started on the next snap from scrimmage as Perkins connected with Tyler Gates on a 53-yard TD.
The Hawks had two personal foul penalties on the next series for Overhills, which culminated with a 28-yard scoring toss from Perkins to Darius Williams with 4:33 to go.
Triton managed just one first down on its last three possessions and punted away to the Jags. Perkins hit Jailen Hobbs for the game winner that covered 53 yards with 1:38 to play.
“We made some mistakes some big penalties on the sideline that were preventable that kept them in good field position,” said Hawks coach Ben Penny. “We also made some selfish mistakes in the secondary. We had some guys try to jump routes that weren’ theirs.
“Overhills fought to the end,” Penny said. ” … It’s early. We made a lot of mental mistakes in the secondary. The offense had a fantastic night.”
Travion Sanders had six carries for 98 yards with scoring runs of 61 and 30 yards for the Hawks.
Hobbs had six catches for 134 yards and two TDs for Overhills.
The Jaguars host Harnett Central on Friday night and Triton travels to South View.
“Short week with a very good football team on the road,” Penny said. “We’ve got to find some guys who are not going to back down and be ready to roll into Hope Mills on Friday night.”