Prep football -- Falcons fall in defensive battle

By David Williams
Published in Sports on October 3, 2004 2:00 AM

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PIKEVILLE -- A battle of defenses. A war of yards.

And an extra point that clinked off the upright.

Those were the moments that mattered as Kinston topped Charles B. Aycock 7-6 to take an important Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference victory at Hardy Talton Stadium Friday night.

But there were a lot of moments -- on both sides -- of determination, of heart, and of pure gritty football.

"That was two good teams going at it right there," said Aycock coach Randy Pinkowski. "We were out-weighed 100 pounds a man, but there was no back down out of that crowd I'm coaching."

The scoring all happened in the second half. Kinston climbed ahead as Teyon Marshall capped a six-play, 47-yard drive with a two-yard run midway into the third period.

Aycock answered as Shonte Barnes electrified the crowd with a 65-yard rumble in which he was stopped twice, only to slide left and break out of the pack. But the extra point try was pushed left and hit the left crossbar, dinking away and keeping the homestanding Falcons down by one point.

Kinston tried to run the clock out with a 16-play drive that nearly ate nine minutes of clock. Marshall, the Viking workhorse who had 40 carries for 158 yards, had the clinching first down on a fourth and two from the Falcon 20, but lost the ball and had to come back behind the first down marker to recover, giving Aycock one final chance with 2:02 to play.

Quarterback Wes Whitley got a break on a five-yard bootleg when Kinston was flagged for a late hit, moving to the 40. But one pass was knocked down at the line and Whitley was sacked on the blind side, forcing the Falcons to use their final timeout and start to throw deep.

Whitley missed connection with Brett Lancaster and Cortez Gilbert on two tantalizing near-catches and Kinston took over, running out the clock for the victory.

The Vikings (5-1, 3-0) are now 7-0 over the last two seasons in games decided by seven points or less.

Defensively, Korie Lewis had six solo tackles and seven assists to pace Aycock. Gilbert had four solos and six assists, while Greg Davis had six solos and three assists and John Hewitt and Turner Wood had three solo tackles and three assists. Wood recovered two fumbles

Kinston's Jamal Lawrence had five solo tackles and three assists, while Trevin Edwards added three solos and five assists.

Aycock had its chances to covert early Kinston mistakes, as the first three Viking drives ended in a pair of fumbles and an interception. But the Falcons struggled at the line against the bigger Kinston defenders. Marshall and Barnes provided the bulk of the offense for both teams as the game was scoreless at half.

Aycock opened the third quarter with a drive that stalled at midfield. Kinston sniffed out some trickery, snuffing out an Aycock fake punt attempt at the 47 of the Falcons to start their scoring drive.

The drive was aided by a 15-yard Aycock penalty for blocking below the waist outside the blocking zone, a call which Pinkowski disputed. The Vikings also picked up an important fourth-down conversion as quarterback Jamar Carraway hit Victor Speller on a crossing pattern for a 22-yard gain to the two-yard line.

Aycock's Barnes scored on a play that demonstrated the heart and tenacity of both Barnes and his teammates.

The fleet-footed senior took the ball on a draw on third and long, was stopped three yards into the defense. He then slid left and got seven more yards, was stopped again and slid left into a hole. He sprinted through the remaining defenders and into the end zone.

Pinkowski credited a key block by Carlos Dobbins on the linebacker to allow Barnes to get through the first initial hit.

The Falcons (4-2, 2-1) will take on West Craven in Vanceboro Friday in a game Pinkowski told his players was a must-win.

"In this league, as competitive as all the teams are, this won't be decided until the last game is played," Pinkowski said. "There is no clear-cut front runner. It's going to be down to the wire. There are no nights off in this league."

Kinston 0 0 7 0 -- 7

C.B. Aycock 0 0 0 6 -- 6

Third quarter

K -- Marshall 2 run (Sutton kick) 5:32

Fourth quarter

CBA -- Barnes 65 run (kick fail) 10:18

K CBA

First downs 13 8

Rushes-yds 42-162 32-159

Pass yds 54 52

Total yds 216 211

Comp-att-int 4-7-2 6-16-1

Fumbles-lost 3-2 1-0

Penalties-yds 3-30 5-45

Punts-avg 2-36 3-37.3

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Kinston -- Teyon Marshall 40-158, TD; Orlando Moore 2-4. C.B. Aycock -- Shonte Barnes 20-160, TD; Carlos Dobbins 2-4; Thomas Artis 1-0; Dontay Taylor 2-(-1); Wes Whitley 7-(-4).

PASSING -- Kinston -- Jamar Carraway 4-7-0-2, 54 yds. C.B. Aycock -- Wes Whitley 6-16-0-1, 52 yds.

RECEIVING -- Kinston -- Victor Speller 2-33; Tauren Brown 1-13; Quentin Bowen 1-8. C.B. Aycock -- Brett Lancaster 2-25; Cortez Gilbert 2-6; Thomas Artis 1-14; Spruce Lee 1-11.