Football -- Jones' interception helps preserve CBA victory

By Gabe Whisnant
Published in Sports on September 26, 2004 2:02 AM

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DUDLEY -- Charles B. Aycock football coach Randy Pinkowski met his defense at midfield late in the fourth quarter, tapping the helmets of every player as they ran off of Southern Wayne's field.

The last player to meet him -- defensive back James Jones -- got a hug.

Jones' interception with four minutes left in the fourth quarter capped an impressive second-half defensive performance by the Falcons, who kept the county rival Saints off of the scoreboard after intermission in a 28-14 win at the Doyle Whitfield Athletic Complex.

After giving up a handful of big plays to Southern Wayne (2-3, 1-2 Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference) in the first half, including a 73-yard Walter Best touchdown late in the first quarter, Aycock surrendered just two Saint plays in the second half for more than 10 yards. Southern Wayne quarterback Logan Porter was constantly under pressure -- dropped four times for big losses.

"We gave up two big plays in the first half that resulted in points," Pinkowski said. "This team (Southern Wayne) has athletes and they are well coached. I felt like if we could stand in there and make them drive the length of the field, we could play with them.

"The second half, we played much better, and we decided we weren't going to give up the big play anymore."

Both offensives lost a fumble beyond midfield in the third quarter as Southern Wayne held a 14-7 edge going into the late stages of the third. Aycock (4-1, 2-0 ECC) recovered a fumble at the 5:48 mark, then equalized the game six plays later on a five-yard rumble by Turner Wood, who had two touchdowns on two short-yardage carries.

The Saints looked poised to retake the lead on their next drive, moving inside the Falcon 10 before stalling. Southern Wayne's field goal attempt on the first play of the fourth quarter was blocked by Josh Ezzell as the Falcons went on to post two unanswered scores in the fourth.

Aycock's Shonte Barnes, who rushed for 176 yards on 30 carries, took the first play after the blocked kick 83 yards to give the Falcons their first lead since the first quarter. After a three-and-out by the Saints, Barnes capped a 12 play, five-plus minute drive with a five-yard plunge to finish the scoring.

Jones sealed the win with his interception on the ensuing possession.

"I like to eat up the clock. I like to play physical football," Pinkowski said. "I feel like if I continue to give the ball to him (Barnes) enough times, he is going to get that long run in. He seems to have another gear when he smells the end zone."

Barnes' two scores gives him 10 touchdowns in five games.

The first half saw Aycock score on its first possession with a time-consuming drive -- finished by the first of Wood's two scores. The Saints quickly answered when Best, who finished with 164 yards on 18 carries, blasted through the Falcon defense and sprinted 73 yards to put his team on the board. Best now has six touchdowns on the season.

Highlighted by a 54-yard completion from Porter to Marcus Oates on third-and-long, Southern Wayne went ahead 14-7 with just under eight minutes left in the half.

"We broke a long run and had a couple of pass plays that were key," Southern Wayne coach Bob Warren said. "We made some things happen in the first half and the defensive hung in real well. But, that's why you play two halves of football."

Both teams missed on opportunities down the stretch of the first half.

After marching nine plays down to the Saint 29, the Falcons lost a fumble on a pitch with under two minutes left. Keyed by a 38-yard pass from Porter to Thomas Gainey, the Saints got all the way to Aycock's 21 before having the first of two field goal attempts blocked by the Falcons.

John Hewitt, Cortez Gilbert and Kory Lewis had eight tackles each for Aycock, who host 4-1 Kinston on Friday in a battle of Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference unbeatens.

Southern Wayne entertains North Lenoir in a non-conference clash on Friday.

"Things aren't always the way you want them to be, and we've got to make a positive response," Warren said. "And that's what we are going to do."

C.B. Aycock 7 0 7 14 -- 28

Southern Wayne 6 8 0 0 -- 14

First quarter

CBA -- Wood 3 run (Burke kick), 5:32

SW -- Best 73 run (kick failed), 3:48

Second quarter

SW -- Porter 1 run (Best run), 7:36

Third quarter

CBA -- Wood 5 run (Burke kick), 3:42

Fourth quarter

CBA -- Barnes 83 run (Burke kick), 11:39

CBA -- Barnes 5 run (Burke kick), 4:01

CBA SW

First downs 14 7

Rushes-yards 52-296 35-156

Passing yds. 34 123

Total yds. 330 279

Att.-Comp.-Int. 11-2-0 11-4-1

Fumbles-lost 3-2 1-1

Penalties-yds. 6-37 7-40

Punts-avg. 4-26.3 3-29.3

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- C.B. Aycock -- Shonte Barnes 30-176, 2 TD; Dontay Taylor 10-45; Chris Byrd 4-13; Turner Wood 2-8, 2 TD; Wesley Whitley 6-54. Southern Wayne -- Walter Best 18-164, TD; Brian White 8-18; Logan Porter 10-(-26), TD.

PASSING -- C.B. Aycock -- Wesley Whitley 2-11-0 34. Southern Wayne -- Logan Porter 4-11-1 123.

RECEIVING -- C.B. Aycock -- Thomas Artis 2-34. Southern Wayne -- Brian White 2-21; Marcus Oates 1-64; Thomas Gainey 1-38.