Football Recap: Donovan Smith and Calvin Lacewell Jr Secure Win for Lakewood + How To Watch

By Team Reports Sep 24, 2025, 8:02am

Football Recap: Lakewood Leopards vs. North Duplin Rebels

HOW TO WATCH: This game will be replayed on the NFHS Network, the official streaming partner of the NC High School Athletic Assn. (NCHSAA) & Lakewood High School. Watch Full Replay

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Lakewood won the last time they faced North Duplin and things went their way on Friday too. The Leopards managed a 26-22 win over the Rebels. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Leopards.

This one was won in the trenches and the lion's share of the credit has to go to Calvin Lacewell Jr and Donovan Smith. Lacewell Jr rushed for 114 yards and one score on only 15 carries while Smith rushed for 77 yards and one TD on only seven carries.

Lakewood was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 302 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 153 rushing yards in four consecutive matchups.

When it comes to explaining why North Duplin lost, don't look at Carell Phillips. Despite the final result, he rushed for 237 yards and one touchdown, and also caught one TD. Phillips' rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fourth straight game with at least 113 rushing yards.

vs

Previous Games

09/19/25 - Home26-22 W
11/29/24 - Away26-20 W
10/11/24 - Away24-43 L
10/06/23 - Home23-15 W
10/07/22 - Away13-27 L
+ 5 more games

Lakewood now has a winning record of 3-2. As for North Duplin, their defeat was their first of the season and makes their record 4-1.

Looking ahead, Lakewood will head out on the road to face off against West Columbus at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The Leopards will be up against the Vikings' rather soft defense (which has allowed 49 points per contest), so fans could be in store for a big offensive performance. As for North Duplin, they will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on East Bladen at 7:00 p.m. on October 3.

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