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GREENSBORO - The offensive woes just won't go away for the Grimsley Whirlies.

Grimsley extended its scoreless streak to seven quarters Friday night against High Point Central before finally getting on the board on a field goal with just over six minutes to play.

But it was too little, too late, as the Bison held on for a 10-3 victory at Jamieson Stadium in the 4-A Metro opener for both teams.

High Point Central's offense didn't exactly light it up, but two quick scores in the first quarter proved to be enough to hold off the struggling Whirlies (2-5), who have now lost five straight.

"We're very young and we're just working to get better," said Pat Neal, one of a slew of assistant coaches filling in for head coach Mark Saunders, who was absent for family matters. "I'm very proud of the players and all the assistant coaches tonight."

The Whirlies didn't have a lot to be proud of until the fourth quarter. The running game - spearheaded by Lashawn Brown (82 yards) and David Ray (39 yards) - finally began to move the chains against a tired Bison defense.

Grimsley had managed just two rushes over 10 yards - both scrambles by quarterback Josh Patterson - until Brown broke off a 33-yarder on a misdirection deep into Bison territory.

"The home run came then," Brown said, "It just wasn't a touchdown."

A touchdown seemed like an afterthought with the ball at the Bison 7, but things quickly went south as Grimsley lost 3 yards over the next three plays.

Junior placekicker Joe Roassabi booted a 25-yard field goal to get the Whirlies on the board with just over six minutes remaining.

Central (5-2) was held to a three-and-out on the next drive, but the Bison boldly faked a punt at their own 32. The direct snap to upback James Moorman's went for two yards - just enough to keep the drive alive.

"I kind of figured that they're not going to be expecting it," Central coach Wayne Jones said. "You're usually not going to run a fake at that particular time and risk giving them the short field."

High Point milked an additional two minutes off the clock with the fake punt, but the Whirlies had one more shot with the ball on their own 35 with 1:26 left.

Brown out-leapt a defender to haul in a 38-yard gain, but the Whirlies were whistled for a personal foul after the play to bring the ball back to the Bison 36. Ricky Dowdy ran down Patterson for a sack on the next play to drag the Whirlies back to midfield with just six seconds remaining.

Patterson's final heave fell incomplete to end the game.

"It's the hardest to lose these close games," the Grimsley quarterback said. "But nobody needs to quit, we just have to keep showing up."

HPC - Desmieon Kennedy 19 pass from Drew Adams (Austin Miller kick)

HPC - Miller 22 field goal

G - Joe Rossabi 25 field goal