C.B. Aycock shuts out Eastern Wayne

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on October 31, 2004 2:02 AM

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PIKEVILLE -- Randy Pinkowski quickly glanced at the scoreboard.

"It's been a long time since there's been a zero up there," he said.

Charles B. Aycock's defense limited Eastern Wayne to minus-8 yards rushing and posted a 15-0 shutout -- its first of 2004 -- before a Senior Night crowd at Hardy Talton Stadium. The Golden Falcons completed a perfect 4-0 worksheet against Wayne County opposition, and dealt the Warriors their first road defeat in three conference outings.

"Jeff (Price) has a couple of guys hurt and he was handcuffed offensively, which caused him to be a little one-dimensional," Pinkowski said. "We were able to lay back a little bit and just work on covering the pass. That's tough when you're stuck in that situation.

"I've been in that situation before when the defense limits you option-wise."

Aycock's defense yields 10 points per game, but just 5.3 in Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference play. Opponents have collected just two scores -- a field goal and touchdown -- against the Golden Falcons in the last 12 quarters.

Injury-riddled Eastern Wayne couldn't orchestrate any methodical drives which led to its midseason, three-game win streak.

Working offensively without leading rusher Al Graham, the Warriors attempted to establish the run with junior Brad Brofft and senior Brian Sutton. The duo found little success against an aggressive Golden Falcon defense on the visitors' first two possessions. They managed just four yards on a combined five carries.

Eastern Wayne ran 52 offensive plays, including 33 passes. Starting quarterback Zach Williams completed 9 of 22 attempts for 102 yards with two interceptions. The first pick resulted in Aycock's initial score of the contest.

Tyler Ham played a majority of the second half, completing 5 of 11 passes for 46 yards and one interception.

The Warriors (4-5, 4-3 ECC) used six ball carriers in the game. Brofft toted the pigskin 11 times for two yards. Graham had one rush in the second half for one yard. The remaining four rushers combined for minus-11 yards on just four tries.

Senior linebacker Turner Wood paced the Golden Falcon defense with nine tackles. Dontay Taylor added seven stops, while Cortez Gilbert contributed five tackles.

"We've got what we've got and we're going to keep working with what we have," said Eastern Wayne's Price. "We can't draft, trade or recruit. We're proud of what we have. We'll just keep coaching them up and playing."

"We don't have the kind of athletes that Aycock has ... those guys with break-away speed. We've got to pull the chains, play field position and play good, solid defense."

Aycock did.

Senior tailback Shonte Barnes rambled for 106 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown on 28 carries. It was Barnes' sixth consecutive 100-yard effort and seventh overall this season.

Senior quarterback Wes Whitley threw for 57 yards, including threading the needle on an eight-yard touchdown strike to Thomas Artis in the opening quarter. Artis cut between two white-shirted Warriors to snag his first scoring reception of the season.

Chris Burke added a 38-yard field goal on Aycock's opening drive of the second half.

"We felt like it would be a defensive struggle, and it was," Price said. "For the second week, we just couldn't find any offensive production."

The teams conclude regular-season play next Friday. The Golden Falcons (7-3, 5-2 ECC) travel to Washington, while Eastern Wayne is the guest of Kinston. Each contest kicks off at 7:30 p.m.

Eastern Wayne 0 0 0 0 -- 0

C.B. Aycock 6 0 3 6 -- 15

First quarter

CBA -- Artis 8 pass from Whitley (kick failed), 4:12

Third quarter

CBA -- Burke 38 FG, 6:35

Fourth quarter

CBA -- Barnes 1 run (kick failed), 2:23

EW CBA

First downs 10 11

Rushes-yds 19-(-8) 47-179

Passing yds 148 57

Total yards 140 236

Att.-Comp.-Int. 33-14-3 12-5-0

Fumbles-lost 3-0 0-0

Punts-avg 3-34.0 4-37.8

Penalties-yds 2-19 6-60

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Eastern Wayne -- Brad Brofft 11-2; Al Graham 1-1; Andrew Bouchard 1-(-1); Brian Sutton 3-(-2); Tyler Ham 1-(-3); Taylor Jackson 1-(-5). C.B. Aycock -- Shonte Barnes 28-106, TD; Wes Whitley 11-57; Turner Wood 4-10; Dontay Taylor 2-6; Chris Byrd 1-2; Greg Davis 1-(-2).

PASSING -- Eastern Wayne -- Zach Williams 9-22-2 102; Tyler Ham 5-11-1 46. C.B. Aycock -- Wes Whitley 5-12-0 57, TD.

RECEIVING -- Eastern Wayne -- Riley Wilkins 4-58; Clint Rouse 5-51; Taylor Jackson 4-25; Brad Brofft 1-14. C.B. Aycock -- Brett Lancaster 2-26; Shonte Barnes 2-23; Thomas Artis 1-8, TD.