Roanoke Rapids coach Will Clark, who got his first win as the Yellow Jackets' leader tonight, said it came down to a week of tough practice.

In a game that see-sawed in the first half, the Jackets stiffened and the Chargers — 2-1— fell flat in the second half to give Roanoke Rapids — 1-2 — its first win of the season, 24-14.

“It was really like we came together as a team and played hard and aggressive,” said Jackets linebacker Cole Phelps, who accounted for a key interception and batted down a backfield pass ruled a fumble. “We practiced hard and aggressive. It was a hard week of practice. Coach told us the goal was to play hard and not give in.”

Phelps had an interception and batted pass/Randy Wrenn

For Roanoke Rapids quarterback De'Jaun Walker, who made numerous contributions in a run-heavy game, including a 63-yard punt return for a touchdown, the win was attributed to practice. “We just practiced hard and hit each other in the mouth and came to play.”

Walker expected a tough game from the Chargers. “I was expecting them to come out hard and play. It feels good winning.”

With the Jackets facing a tough Tarboro team next week, Walker wants to keep the tempo up. “We've got to come up and practice hard.”

Weldon struck first with 7:11 in the first quarter when after a six-play drive, Malika Arrington found Kezionne Pittman for a 17-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion failed.

Caleb Pratt salvaged a promising drive following the Weldon touchdown with a 27-yard field goal to make the score 6-3.

Roanoke Rapids prepares to wrap up Dantavius Pittman/Randy Wrenn

Roanoke Rapids moved ahead late in the second quarter when Walker ran the ball 52 yards for a touchdown to make the score 10-6.

Weldon did not surrender after a failed sustained drive, coming back with a touchdown at 4:15 in the second when Shawn Evans ran the ball in for a 43-yard touchdown and the subsequent two-point conversion to make the score 14-10.

Then Weldon fell flat in the second half, giving up the 63-yard punt return touchdown by Walker to make the score 17-14.

A long Weldon drive late in the third quarter ended with a Phelps interception and midway through the fourth quarter Walker again scored a touchdown, this time an 11-yard run that gave Roanoke Rapids a 24-14 lead.

Weldon further flattened in the waning minutes of the game with a failed fake punt and later the tipped backfield pass by Phelps that ended in a fumble.

Clark notched his first Roanoke Rapids win/Randy Wrenn

“I'm just glad the boys played hard,” Clark said. “I'm happy for them.”

Running the ball was the big push. “It made us tougher. The team is going to be fine. We've got freshmen going through growing pains.”

Williams gave credit to Roanoke Rapids. “Roanoke Rapids played a good game. They were hungry. I thought we did a lot of standing around. We were just flat tonight.”

Weldon hosts Northampton next Saturday at 5 p.m. and Williams knows there is hard work coming up next week in practice. “We've got to minimize mistakes. We've got to focus on the game. Obviously, we want to focus back on the basics.”

As far as the Roanoke Rapids game, he said, “I'm not going to make any excuses. Roanoke Rapids was a more focused team.”