PEMBROKE — The often-overlooked third phase of football can be just as important as the other two.

In Purnell Swett’s 41-8 loss to Jack Britt Thursday, special teams play was a huge factor in the outcome.

The special teams issues for Purnell Swett (2-4, 0-3 United-8 Conference) began from the game’s very first play. Jack Britt’s J.C. Smith ran back the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown.

“The kick return put us behind right off the bat, and we had an issue with punts, so yeah, special teams hurt us,” Purnell Swett coach Stephen Roberson said. “We definitely weren’t going to punt it to (Sincere Baines), but the kickoff was intended to be a sky kick and it was more of a line drive, middle of the field, and we had a guy that missed a tackle; we were in lanes, in position, and didn’t execute to make the play.”

After Purnell Swett (2-4, 0-3 United-8 Conference) forced a turnover on downs on Jack Britt’s next drive, the Rams drove as far as the Buccaneers’ 3-yard line; the drive stalled after a Rams penalty, and Purnell Swett’s 28-yard field-goal attempt was blocked.

Jack Britt (4-2, 3-0 United-8) scored on the next drive on a 4-yard Jabari Lee touchdown for a 14-0 lead before Purnell Swett fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Buccaneers recovered at the Rams’ 35. While the resulting drive didn’t result in Buccaneers points — although the Rams only regained possession after recovering their own fumble on the Buccaneers’ punt — Jack Britt only needed one play to score on its next possession, a 76-yard Baines run for a 21-0 lead with 9:00 left in the half.

The Rams did recover a Jack Britt punt late in the second quarter, but it only resulted in a punt; one play later Baines broke one again for a 48-yard touchdown and a 28-0 advantage with 1:51 to go in the second quarter.

“Those couple of big plays (for Baines), by the time he finished making those it was (28)-0,” Roberson said. “So those couple big plays, that’s exactly what they were, they were big plays, they put us on our heels.”

The Rams turned the ball over to Jack Britt, and the Buccaneers scored again just before halftime on a 25-yard run by Jackson Powell; Jack Britt held a 35-0 lead at the break.

Purnell Swett did outscore Jack Britt 8-6 in the second half. The Rams turned the ball over on downs at the Buccaneers’ 6-yard line on their first second-half possession, but two plays later tackled a Jack Britt ball carrier in the end zone for a safety.

The Rams drove 69 yards on the resulting drive, with passes of over 20 yards completed from Michael Jacobs to Kieran Oxendine and Lakoda Locklear, before Jacobs scored on a 1-yard run. The extra-point missed, making the score 35-8 with 2:40 left in the third.

After Purnell Swett didn’t recover a loose live ball on the kickoff, the teams exchanged punts; Jack Britt then scored on a 7-yard Powell run with 10:40 left to go up 41-8. The Rams made one more special teams error on the ensuing kickoff as they did not pick up the loose football and Jack Britt recovered.

“There’s no moral victories in that, but we played against the same guys the entire third quarter and we played them 8-0 in the third,” said Roberson, whose Rams outgained Jack Britt 111-29 in the second half. “I really don’t know, other than we didn’t execute well in the first half; we didn’t do anything different, we didn’t change the game plan. They just came out and defended (in the second half) … and fought the way I thought they could’ve or should’ve in the first half. Hats off to Jack Britt, they played hard and we didn’t match their intensity in the first half.”

Baines rushed for 218 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries for Jack Britt; the Buccaneers rushed for 256 yards in the first half but only 19 in the second half.

Jacobs was 8-for-24 passing for 107 yards for the Rams.

Purnell Swett plays at South View next Friday.