Falcons run past Rosewood in county rival matchup

By Gabe Whisnant
Published in Sports on August 29, 2004 2:05 AM

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PIKEVILLE -- While the Charles B. Aycock backfield seems to have its fair share of depth and versatility this season, Golden Falcon senior Shonte Barnes is quickly and impressively putting his stamp on the number one tailback position.

Barnes scored three touchdowns -- including a 76-yard rumble on the first play from scrimmage -- and rushed for 169 yards on 15 carries. Aycock (1-1) pounded out over nine yards per carry as a team in a 37-20 win over county rival Rosewood on Friday night at a packed Hardy Talton Stadium. it was the fourth straight win for the Falcons in the series.

Conversely, the Eagles (1-1) never seemed to consistently establish their own inside ground game with 20 of its 54 rushing attempts going for zero or negative yardage. Rosewood also turned the ball over three times and had a dropped snap on a punt attempt in the third quarter that led to an Aycock score.

Falcon safety Cortez Gilbert had a pair of interceptions and broke up a first-quarter pass in the end zone. He finished with eight tackles and four assists on the game.

"The turnover ball bounced our way tonight. I'm pleased with that," Aycock coach Randy Pinkowski said. "If your defense is swarming to the ball, you are going to see the ball on the ground and get some interceptions."

Keyed by a 50-yard halfback pass from Derrick Bennett to Dustin Overman, Rosewood answered Barnes' first scoring run midway through the first quarter and took an 8-7 lead after a successful two-point conversion.

From there, Aycock scored 28 unanswered points in the second and third quarters with two rushing tallies by Barnes and one each by Keith Cobb and Dontay Taylor. Taylor's 39-yard jaunt was set up by Gilbert's second interception and gave the Falcons a commanding 34-8 lead with 5:14 left in the third.

"We were in a position where we were pressing. When you do that, the percentages go down for you," Rosewood coach Daniel Barrow said. "Anytime you are going against a good football team, a penalty or turnover magnifies."

The Eagles displayed plenty of fight late in the game and were able to capitalize on an abundance of Aycock penalties in the second half. On the second play of the fourth, Rosewood quarterback Danny Langston found Brandon Daw in the right corner of the end zone to make it 34-14 after the conversion failed. The touchdown drive was aided by an illegal participation penalty by Aycock on a Rosewood punt late in the third.

The Falcons finished with 105 yards in penalties, including 75 in the second half.

"We got a little overconfident and they came back and made some halftime adjustments to slow us down," Pinkowski said. "We got a little loose in the second half, and I'm not pleased with our play in the second half. We are still developing.

"We didn't do a lot of whooping and hollering after the game. They know they didn't play at a level that wins championships."

Langston finished with a game-high 52 yards on the ground for Rosewood, while passing for 114 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. Aycock quarterback Wesley Whitley only went to the air only six times and had one completion for five yards.

Aycock kicker Jon Burke connected on a 42-yard field goal, his career-long field goal, with 5:53 left in the game to give his team a 37-14 lead.

Paced by Barnes' effort, the Falcons rushed for 332 yards on 36 carries behind offensive linemen Josh Ezzell, Dustin Gurley, Jon Robertson, Edward Jackson and Alex Krieger.

Linebacker Turner Wood led Aycock defensively with 11 tackles and six assists, while lineman Korie Lewis had nine tackles and three assists. Markas Brunson had a team-high seven tackles and an assist for the Eagles as teammate Anthony Holland added six tackles and three assists.

Both teams host tough, non-conference opponents on Friday as Aycock returns to action against Greene Central, while Rosewood entertains Hobbton.

Rosewood 8 0 0 12 -- 20

C.B. Aycock 7 13 14 3 -- 37

First quarter

CBA -- Barnes 76 run (Burke kick), 11:45

RHS -- Butler 2 run (Butler pass from Scarborough), 4:00

Second quarter

CBA -- Barnes 7 run (Burke kick), 11:03

CBA -- Cobb 30 run (run failed), 8:19

Third quarter

CBA -- Barnes 11 run (Burke kick), 8:35

CBA -- Taylor 39 run (Burke kick), 5:14

Fourth quarter

RHS -- Daw 29 pass from Langston (pass failed), 11:15

CBA -- Burke 42 FG, 5:53

RHS -- Shanle 5 pass from Langston (pass failed), 3.3

RHS CBA

First downs 13 12

Rushes-yards 54-174 36-332

Passing yards 164 5

Total yards 338 337

Att.-Comp.-Int. 15-7-2 6-1-0

Fumbles-lost 3-1 1-1

Punts-avg. 2-18 3-34.3

Penalties 6-45 12-105

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Rosewood -- Danny Langston 11-52; Derrick Bennett 16-32; Ronnie Butler 11-46, TD; Montrell Horton 7-29; James Ruesch 8-23; Trey Kriger 1-(-8). C.B. Aycock -- Shonte Barnes 15-169, 3 TD; Wesley Whitley 4-16; Dontay Taylor 2-47, TD; Carlos Dobbins 4-32; Keith Cobb 2-29, TD; Greg Davis 3-10; Chris Byrd 2-11; Rashawn Allen 4-18.

PASSING -- Rosewood -- Danny Langston 6-14-114-2, 2 TD; Derrick Bennett 1-1-50-0. C.B. Aycock -- Wesley Whitley 1-6-5-0.

RECEIVING -- Rosewood -- Dustin Overman 2-90; Kyle Grey 1-13; Ronnie Butler 1-19; Brandon Daw 2-37, TD; Kevin Shanle 1-5, TD. C.B. Aycock -- Spruce Lee 1-5.