Barton Falls Short in Conference Carolinas Debut Against North Greenville
Barton College faced an uphill battle in its Conference Carolinas debut, falling 41-28 to North Greenville despite a strong second-half push and standout performances from Jackson Parrish and Al Lee. 
The game got off to a rough start for the Bulldogs, who found themselves down 17 points early. On two of their first three possessions, Barton allowed a punt return touchdown and a pick-6, along with a field goal, putting them in a tough hole that they couldn’t dig themselves out of.
“We have to figure out how to start better,” said Barton head coach Chip Hester. “I haven’t seen a worse start. We put ourselves in a hole, but I was proud of the way the guys fought back. We were down just a touchdown in the fourth, but we couldn’t finish.”
Despite the loss and Barton’s 0-3 start to the season, there were positives to take away. Running back Jackson Parrish, who struggled early with no yards on his first five touches, finished with a season-high 104 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Al Lee, who replaced starter Trevor Nored after a pick-6, went 10-of-20 for 121 yards and a touchdown.
Lee’s performance was highlighted by a 10-yard TD pass to Isaiah Jacobs in the third quarter. Nored, who threw another pick-6, struggled with just one yard on his first three possessions.
The Bulldogs’ defense allowed 485 total yards but limited North Greenville to only 27 points, which Hester found encouraging. “I think we’re close on defense,” he said. “We’ve got to improve on offense and give our defense a better chance.”
North Greenville’s QB Dylan Ramirez threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns, with a key 34-yard TD pass to Taivon Derisma that pushed NGU’s lead to 24-0 in the first half. Barton began to rally with Parrish leading the charge and eventually cut the deficit to 34-28 in the fourth quarter. But a 70-yard touchdown pass from Ramirez to Rasheed ended the comeback hopes.
The Bulldogs had three more possessions but couldn’t capitalize, turning the ball over on downs and punting on two other drives. A fumble with six seconds left sealed the loss.
“We just need to be more consistent,” Hester concluded. “There are things to be optimistic about, but we’ve still got a lot of work ahead of us.”
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