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Northern Guilford head coach Johnny Roscoe isn't breathing easy yet, not even after a season-defining win last week.

"We don't have a break," Roscoe said. "We know that to win the conference, we still have to win them all, without a doubt."

Maybe so. But the Nighthawks' 24-23 victory over Eastern Alamance on Friday — on the defending Mid-State 3-A champions' home field — puts them securely in charge heading into this week's home game against Eastern Guilford. The Nighthawks (5-1, 2-0) are the first team to beat Eastern Alamance, which entered the game having outscored opponents 205-32.

It didn't come easy. Northern built a 24-14 lead behind a pair of touchdown passes by Keenan Allen and a 15-yard scoring reverse by Maurice Harris. Eastern Alamance got a field goal in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, then pulled within a point with 15 seconds left. The Eagles, ranked second in the Associated Press 3-A poll, opted for a two-point conversion, but Nighthawks defensive lineman Stephen Machanic broke through the line and forced quarterback Lamar Ivey into an errant throw.

"It kept everyone in the stands," Roscoe said.

Thus fell what was likely the Nighthawks' biggest remaining hurdle to the conference crown. Western Alamance is also 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the conference, but the Warriors haven't faced the gauntlet Northern has. Since falling 12-7 at Dudley on Sept. 4, the Nighthawks have defeated three teams with winning records — Northwest Guilford, Williams and Eastern Alamance.

"I'm not saying it can't turn in a blink, but our defense the last three weeks has really improved," Roscoe said. "They're starting to understand that we have a lot of new guys playing defense, and it really takes four, five games to come together."

Roscoe started work on that process this offseason, when he had his players volunteer at a food bank and take part in other character education programs. He did it to try and help them move past the stigma of Guilford County Schools' much-publicized investigation of Northern's athletic department, but he said it also brought them closer as teammates.

"They just want to play football," Roscoe said. "That's in the past, and we're playing in the future."

WESTERN'S THOMPSON GROWING UP: Western Guilford quarterback Josh Thompson is almost always one of the last kids off the practice field.

"As long as anybody wants to catch," Hornets head coach Chris Causey said, "he'll throw."

That diligence appears to be paying off for the sophomore signal-caller, who threw for a career high 356 yards and three touchdowns last week in a 31-7 win over Grimsley. After being intercepted five times in three straight losses to open the year, Thompson has thrown eight touchdowns in his last four games as Western has bounced back to 3-4.

"As a sophomore, he's way ahead," Causey said. "He's obviously got great tools, and he just continues to improve. He's really studied film a lot. He's a student of the game."

Thompson's emergence also meant a breakout game for fellow sophomore Junior Hatfield, who had more than 150 yards receiving. Throw in senior wideout Jabri Ridenhour, who topped 100 yards for the fifth time in seven games, and Western appears headed for another shootout this week against Smith, which is coming off a 49-27 dismantling of Southeast Guilford.

PAGE-GRIMSLEY: Pre-sale tickets for Friday's Grimsley at Page game are available for $6 until noon Friday in both schools' main offices.

Contact Tom Keller at 373-7034 or tom.keller@news-record.com