By Gregory Bond

Herald Sun correspondent

DURHAM — Both teams went into Friday night’s game with much on the line.

Both Riverside and Person had identical records, and the winner would have sole possession of third place in the PAC-6.

The Rockets ruined Riverside’s senior night and its chance to finish third, erasing a seven-point halftime deficit to win 21-7.

“It reminded me a little bit about Halifax [Va.],” Person coach Don Donevan said. “We practiced hard all week and we were prepared, but we just came out a little bit flat both offensively and defensively. I told them, ‘I will challenge ya’ll. Guys, you know what you got to do. It’s all in your hands.’

“As they done game after game, they laid it on the line and played their butts off.”

The Pirates (4-6, 2-3 PAC-6) started off fast and only needed 10 plays on their opening drive for Chauncey Burgess to run it in from 1 yard out to take a 7-0 lead.

While Riverside melted the clock, Person (5-5, 3-2) had trouble getting anything going, as the Rockets struggled to gain only 78 total yards and had one turnover.

But the second half, the Rockets corrected everything they did wrong. Person took the first possession of the second half 64 yards, and Thurman Clayton finished it on a 4-yard run to tie it up.

“We executed what we practiced,” Donevan said. “I get this a lot: ‘We’ll adjust to it’ — not anything huge, but executing what we practiced all week.”

The defense picked up, as well. Person cornerback Lance Hamlett made a one-handed interception on Riverside quarterback Andrew Evans, which gave the Rockets excellent field position. Rashad Woods finished the drive off with a 3-yard run to take a 13-7 lead.

“I turned my hand around,” Hamlett said. “I said, ‘I got to catch this.’ I stuck my hand out. Big players make big plays in big games, and I had to step up.

“We were a little dead in the first half. We had to come back and pumped it up.”

Person’s defense stayed aggressive and picked off Evans twice — one by Nick Jackson and the other by Tyler O’Hara.

“We are a team and we got to help each other,” Hamlett said. “When [the offense] is down, we got to step it up and put them in a situation to do what they need to do.”

Riverside, which had 152 total yards in the first half, was held to 82 and four first downs in the second.

“We can’t turn the football over,” Riverside coach Todd Spell said. “We turned the ball over down there and gave them a short field. That allowed them to get up, and we had a good drive until we had two big penalties put us back 25 yards. You can’t do that in a tight ball game.”

Person 21, Riverside 7

Person 0 0 13 7—21

Riverside 7 0 0 0— 7

SCORING SUMMARY

R—Burgess 1 run (Sterling kick)

P—Clayton 4 run (Zandt kick)

P—Woods 4 run (kick blocked)

P—Burton 50 pass from Oakley (Elliot run)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Riverside: Jones 9-22, Evans 10-35, Burgess 14-56. Person: Clayton 19-91, Smith 6-20, Oakley 1 (minus 3), Woods 6-17.

PASSING—Riverside: Evans 10-19-121-3. Person: Oakley 2-6-78-1.

RECEIVING—Riverside: Whitted 6-77, Greer 4-27, Burgess 1-25. Person: Downey 1-28, Burton 1-50.

Records—Riverside 4-6, 2-3 PAC-6, Person 5-5, 3-2 PAC-6.