ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (WECT) – In its first appearance in a football regional championship game since 1987, Whiteville High School fell short of the state title game, losing to Northeastern 24-14 on Friday night.

After fumbling on each of their first three possessions, the Wolfpack found themselves down 10-0 after the first quarter. Second-quarter rushing touchdowns by Layton McLean and Cameron McKvian made the deficit 17-14 at halftime, but the Eagles tacked on a fourth-quarter score to punch their ticket to next week’s 2A Championship at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill.

“It sucks. Losing sucks anytime,” Whiteville head coach JP Price said postgame. “But I’m very, very proud of our team and what we’ve done this year.”

Whiteville City Schools released at noon on Friday, allowing a group of students and supporters to make the roughly four-hour trip north for the school’s biggest game in decades.

The 14 points the Wolfpack recorded were their lowest of the season, and Friday night marked the team’s first loss since Sept. 6, when James Kenan topped them 21-20 in overtime. Whiteville was averaging 48.25 points per game in the playoffs – which had included four straight home wins – coming into the night.

It’s the second straight year the Wolfpack’s season has ended in Elizabeth City. Last November, they lost to the Eagles 17-14 in the fourth round.

Whiteville’s senior class finishes with a career record of 46-8, with this season’s 13-2 record and regional championship appearance their most successful.

“They’ve bought into everything that I tried to preach when I got here,” Price said of the seniors. “I’ve seen so many of them mature from freshman year to now. Just very, very proud of our senior class and where they’ve gotten us.”

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