The Union Pines football team fell 29-6 to the Westover Wolverines Friday in Cape Fear Valley Conference action on homecoming night at Woodrow Wilhoit Stadium.

There was not much for the Viking crowd to cheer about in the first half as Union Pines entered intermission trailing the visiting Wolverines 9-0.

Westover used a Union Pines' miscue to grab an early 2-0 lead in the game. With the Vikings lined up to punt, the snap sailed over Taylor O'Neil's head and bounded into the end zone resulting in an eventual Wolverine safety with 10 minutes remaining in the first quarter.

From there, the Viking offense punted five times and lost a fumble in their remaining six first-half possessions. Westover also struggled to move the ball for most of the first half. The Wolverines turned the ball over on downs twice and had two drives stopped on a pair of interceptions by Union Pines' junior defensive back Ontrel Gilchrist.

But Westover was able to cash in on a quick strike to extend its lead to 9-0 at 10:44 mark of the second period. The score came on the first play of the Wolverines fourth drive, when sophomore quarterback Henry Howard connected with senior captain Theo Livingston for a 94-yard touchdown.

By halftime, Union Pines had totaled 21 yards of offense on 25 plays. Westover finished the first stanza with 209 total yards on 26 plays from scrimmage.

The Wolverines got the ball to start the second half and struck again with another long score. Running back Marquies Hall turned a would-be busted second down effort into a 72-yard scoring scamper. The touchdown saw Westover take a 16-0 lead with 10:33 remaining in the third period.

But Union Pines offered a direct answer in the form of an 11-play 60-yard scoring drive. O'Neil provided the capper with a 4-yard quarterback bootleg for a rushing touchdown. Vike junior A.J. Ritter carried the ball eight times on the drive for 40 yards as the Vikes trailed 16-6 with 6:08 left in the third period after a failed two-point conversion.

That was as close as Union Pines would get as Westover scored 13 unanswered points to close out the game. Hall found pay dirt for a second time on a 5-yard rushing touchdown as the Wolverines forged a comfortable 23-6 working margin late in the third quarter. On the night, the sophomore totaled 183 rushing yards on 19 carries and also had two receptions for 29 yards.

Westover scored its final touchdown with four minutes remaining in the contest brining the final margin to 29-6. With the win, the Wolverines improved to 3-5 on the season and 2-1 in the CFVC.

It was the fifth consecutive loss for Union Pines, which moved to 0-4 in league play and 2-7 overall. Next week, the Vikings hit the road to face CFVC foe Southern Lee (1-8, 1-3), Friday in Sanford.

Senior Emily Christaldi was named Union Pines' 2010 homecoming queen at halftime.

Contact F.W. Manning II at frankwm2@gmail.com.