Team of the Week: Whiteville football takes unbeaten record into Week 3

WHITEVILLE, N.C. (WWAY) — Whiteville football is building momentum early in the season after a 39-36 win over West Brunswick. The Wolfpack improved to 2-0 with the victory and now turns its attention to another unbeaten opponent in Week 3.

“Being 2-0 as a non-conference is a big deal for us,” head coach JP Price said.

Whiteville has already faced two very different challenges this season. Wet conditions shaped the season opener, while the matchup with West Brunswick turned into a shootout.

“We jumped out to an 18-nothing lead then kind of got complacent,” Price said.

West Brunswick battled back and made it a back-and-forth game down the stretch, but Whiteville held on.

“I thought our offensive line played really, really well. I thought our running back ran the ball hard. I thought Luke managed the offense well,” Price said. “Fortunate to hang on 39-36 against a good West Brunswick team.”

Sophomore Teron Legette helped set the tone, scoring first for Whiteville before making one of the biggest plays of the night later in the game. On a fourth-down reverse flea-flicker by West Brunswick, the ball hit the ground. Legette picked it up and returned it for a touchdown.

“Being able to come through for my team was very helpful, knowing we needed to win the game for playoff seeding,” Legette said.

Tylae Rose has also become an important two-way contributor at running back and middle linebacker.

“We practice for moments like this. We’ve been working hard at practice, so it’s kind of come natural to us now,” Rose said.

Price said the Wolfpack still has areas to clean up, particularly on defense.

“We missed a lot of tackles. We didn’t wrap up, didn’t get the ball carrier to the ground,” Price said.

Whiteville now heads on the road Friday to face East Bladen in a matchup between two teams still looking to keep their perfect starts intact. Price said his team will have to create its own energy away from Legion Stadium.

“You have your big home crowd here at Legion Stadium, and so when you go on the road, I always tell our guys it’s like going to a party,” Price said. “When you go somewhere else, you gotta bring the old mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise and drinks, so we are gonna have to do that Friday.”.