PEMBROKE — Purnell Swett enters Week 3 coming off a win, while Red Springs comes off back-to-back losses to start the season.

But both are seeking to play better football as they inch closer to the middle portion of the season.

They’ll meet each other for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Friday at Purnell Swett’s Big Mo Stadium.

Purnell Swett (1-1) beat Fairmont 40-12 in a game that began Friday and was completed Saturday. But after a penalty-filled contest, the Rams are searching for more discipline as they play their final nonconference contest before a bye week and the Sept. 20 United-8 Conference opener.

“First of all, we have to play better, we have to play more sound football and cut down on the penalties,” Purnell Swett coach Josh Deese said. “Because still, we won, but we had a few touchdowns called back because of holding and just unsportsmanlike stuff that we are going to correct at practice this week. I like the momentum, but until we can fix that, we still have a lot of work to do.”

Red Springs (0-2) has took a 62-26 defeat at the hands of Gray’s Creek on Saturday, following up a 40-14 loss to Douglas Byrd in Week 1. The Red Devils will play the third of their five nonconference matchups.

“We’re preaching positivity, we’re preaching staying faithful, playing with a purpose, over the outcome right now,” Red Springs coach Tim Ray said. “We’re looking at the small things … and just embracing it for what it is right now. There’s stages of growth that you have to go through, especially when you have the youth that we have. … It’s understanding that it’s a part of the process, and as long as we continue to do things the right way, the results are going to follow.”

The Rams beat the Red Devils 33-13 last year, the first meeting between the programs since 2016; the Rams lead the all-time series 6-1, with the first six meetings each coming between 2009-16.

Friday’s matchup is the fourth out of nine in-county matchups to be played this season, the most since the Public Schools of Robeson County consolidated from six high schools to five in 2019.

“I personally enjoy the fact that Robeson County has kind of stepped up and started playing each other, in this recent couple of years,” Ray said. “Pretty much every week you’ve got an in-county game, at least one, so I think that gives a lot of good morale for our community, because I think a lot of people take pride in their schools in their community.”

Red Springs enters Friday’s game having allowed more than 300 rushing yards to each of its first two opponents; they’ll now face a Purnell Swett team for which running the ball is a program staple.

“It’s not so much taking advantage of it, it’s just that’s what we are; we’re going to run the football and that’s not going to change, we’re going to pound the rock,” Deese said. “And then whatever happens happens, but first and foremost we are going to run the football.”

Ray hopes that his defense can improve in stopping the run as it gets closer to full strength this week.

“I do think that we can be in a better position moving forward to get a couple more guys back that’s healthy, that’s big pieces for us,” Ray said. “We lost some guys in scrimmage week, so they should be coming back, so once we’re at full staff I think our depth is going to make a big difference.”

Offensively, Red Springs will look to rely on T.J. Ellerbe, who scored three touchdowns against Gray’s Creek, and Jakelsin Mack, who has 275 rushing yards and two touchdowns so far this season; Deese said both can score any time they touch the ball.

“We definitely have to be mindful on defense and make sure that we are playing assignment football,” Deese said. “I think an advantage we have is our depth; we have a lot of guys we can throw on the field, so that definitely helps us in the second half, and we’re going to continue to use as many bodies as we can to get the job done.”

Red Springs hopes to use those weapons against a Rams defense that has allowed just one offensive touchdown to the opposition over its last three halves of football.

“They know the game, they’re coached well,” Ray said. “One of the biggest things is, we’ve got to make sure we’re doing our part in execution, staying confident in the system. I think when we run our system to the max of our potential, we’re a very dangerous team offensively, and we have to just keep executing at a high level.”

South Brunswick at St. Pauls

St. Pauls will look to rebound from its first loss of the season as the Bulldogs welcome South Brunswick to G.S. Kinlaw Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday.

South Brunswick (0-2) has lost by identical 28-14 scores in each of its two outings this season, at home against Richlands in Week 1 and at South Columbus last week.

Cougars quarterback Jayden Daniels has thrown for 359 yards and four touchdowns, including two to receiver Corben Farrow, but South Brunswick has been unable to establish a ground game offensively, totaling 66 rushing yards through two games this season. Defensively, Jack Earley and Nathan Earley are each averaging over 10 tackles per game for the Cougars.

St. Pauls (1-1) lost 41-19 Friday at Lee County, with Yoshua McBryde running for 156 yards in the loss; the Bulldogs defense allowed 382 rushing yards to the Yellow Jackets. St. Pauls beat Purnell Swett 26-7 in Week 1.

The Cougars won last year’s meeting 26-21 in Southport, their first win over the Bulldogs in eight tries, coming in the teams’ only meeting since 2014.

Lumberton at Clinton

Two first-year coaches meet Friday as Lumberton travels to Clinton for a 7 p.m. tilt, with both teams looking different from when they met a year ago.

Clinton (0-2) has nearly an entire new team, between graduation losses and transfers to leave last year’s 2A state runners-up. The Dark Horses have been far less strong so far this season, opening with a 44-0 loss at Northside-Jacksonville before last week’s 59-0 loss at Wallace-Rose Hill. Friday’s game is Clinton’s home opener.

Lumberton (1-0) will look to further validate its 35-0 win over Fairmont in Week 1; the Pirates haven’t played since, as they had a bye in Week 2. While the Pirates did not complete a pass against Fairmont, Reggie Bush rushed for 210 yards and four touchdowns; B.J. Regan led the defensive effort with 12 tackles including four tackles for loss.

Clinton won last year’s matchup 41-6, the first meeting in 49 years after the schools were annual conference foes for a quarter-century, from 1950-74. The Dark Horses lead the all-time series 13-12-1.

Fairmont at Westover

Fairmont will seek its first win of the season Friday when the Golden Tornadoes travel to Westover, with kickoff in Fayetteville set for 7 p.m.

Westover is 2-0 this season after the Wolverines lost six of their last seven games last fall following a 3-0 start. Westover won 18-16 at Seaforth in Week 1 and 26-13 last week at Smithfield-Selma; the Wolverines are playing their home opener Friday.

Fairmont (0-2) lost 40-12 to Purnell Swett in a game that was completed Saturday, scoring its first two touchdowns of the season in the second half after being held scoreless its first six quarters. The Golden Tornadoes lost 35-0 at Lumberton on Aug. 23.

Westover defeated Fairmont 34-8 last year, taking a 6-1 lead in the all-time series; the Wolverines have won the last six meetings since Fairmont claimed the first in 1997.