The Nansemond River High School football team ended the season with a win on Friday night, but not necessarily the high note that coach David Coccoli was hoping for.

Traveling to play winless Deep Creek High School for both teams’ regular season finale, Nansemond River turned the ball over just like its host, but a standout performance from NR senior quarterback/linebacker DeShon Saunders helped give the Warriors a 24-0 win.

“We had 386 yards (on offense), and we pitched a shutout, but we’ve got to play better,” Coccoli said. “We’ve got to stop making mistakes.”

Nansemond River turned the ball over four different times on fumbles.

Helping the Warriors’ cause, however, was a stout defense that severely limited the Hornets’ offense.

“They had negative two yards in the first half,” Coccoli said.

Senior defensive end Napolean Cross recovered a Deep Creek fumble and also finished the game with three sacks.

Despite the Warriors’ far from perfect play, Coccoli was clear on what gave his team the edge when he said “DeShon Saunders’ play on offense and defense.”

The coach said, “On defense, he probably had 10 tackles and four tackles for loss.”

On offense, Saunders was 12-for-16 passing for a touchdown and no interceptions. He also ran the ball 11 times for 58 yards and a score.

He helped put Nansemond River on the board in the first quarter with a 10-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Josh Covington.

In the second quarter, junior running back Terrence Lambert scored on a one-yard run. For the game, he had 11 carries for 62 yards.

NR freshman kicker Evan Lomax hit a 41-yard field goal to make it 17-0 at halftime.

Saunders capped off the scoring in the contest with a 33-yard scamper in the third quarter.

Covington ended up with two receptions for 80 yards and junior wide receiver Chris Henderson had five catches for 60 yards.

Coccoli commented on the Warriors’ 5-5 regular season record during his first season as head coach.

“It’s a start,” he said. “We improved on last year, so that’s good,” particularly given that this year’s squad had 19 new players and only three returning starters.

When and where Nansemond River plays its playoff game next week will be announced later.