Offense was hard to come by for much of the game on Saturday afternoon for New Hanover and Topsail, but the Wildcats’ defense meant the offense didn’t have to score much to win.

New Hanover’s defense pitched a shutout as it defeated Topsail 21-0 in a Mideastern 3A/4A Conference game — the first conference game of the season for New Hanover.

After a scoreless first quarter, New Hanover found points near the midway point of the second quarter. Marqueze Higgins made a big catch on fourth down to get the Wildcats to the 5-yard line, then scored from one yard out.

New Hanover led Topsail 7-0 at halftime.

The Wildcats got some separation early in the third quarter. Quin’sier Waddell returned the opening kick of the half to the Topsail 17-yard line. The drive ended with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Monroe to Harrison Isear to give New Hanover a 13-0 lead.

New Hanover scored again late in the fourth quarter when Monroe scrambled on fourth down for a score. He threw a pass to Zeus Batts for the two-point conversion to extend the Wildcats’ lead to 21-0.

New Hanover (3-1, 1-0) will travel to Ashley next Friday night at 7 p.m. for another conference game. Topsail (2-2, 1-1) will also play a conference game next Friday as it hosts North Brunswick at 7 p.m.

Source: highschoolot.com