GHS-RM

By Gabe Whisnant
Published in Sports on August 21, 2005 2:12 AM

• Print
• Email

ROCKY MOUNT -- Goldsboro High departed Rocky Mount's "Runway Stadium" on Friday evening still searching for that elusive season-opening victory with third-year head coach Maurice Jackson.

The Cougars entered the contest 0-2 in openers under Jackson's direction with losses against New Bern (2003) and East Duplin (2004). Now you can add Rocky Mount Senior High to that group.

Halfbacks Mychal Bynum and Kendrick Dean rushed for 110 and 112 yards, respectively, as the Gryphons rolled to a 46-18 decision Friday evening.

Rocky Mount seized its 11th consecutive regular-season victory since 2004 and took an 18-17-1 lead against Goldsboro in the 36-game series, which started in 1953.

"For us, this was just another scrimmage game," said Jackson of the three-hour, 5-minute marathon. "It helps us know what we need to tweak before we get started (in practice) next week. We want to play good teams like Rocky Mount because it only helps us get better.

"The offense was clicking, but the defense is young and we've got to grow up in a hurry."

Offensively, Goldsboro played solid throughout the first half against an experienced Gryphon line. Sophomore Treme Boone just missed clipping the 100-yard mark, but tallied the visitors' lone touchdown -- a five-yard scamper right before halftime.

The tally capped a 14-play, 71-yard drive that erased seven-plus minutes off the clock. Boone found the end zone twice in the second half -- a 13-yard pass from senior quarterback Adrian Boone and a 17-yard romp.

Boone concluded the evening with 145 all-purpose yards --132 rushing and 13 receiving. Goldsboro amassed 163 yards total offense.

"Treme is a warrior and that's why we put him back there," said Jackson. "He kept grinding it out and there is no quit in him."

Goldsboro stayed within a touchdown of Rocky Mount throughout two-plus quarters. Boone's second score was set up on a great kickoff reverse that Coriante Thompson returned to the Gryphon 16-yard line. Jacob Sykes sealed the defensive end to allow Thompson room to maneuver down the sideline.

Boone's 13-yarder pulled the Cougars within 20-12.

But the Gryphons scored 26 of the next 34 points. They answered Boone's score and then benefited from a blocked punt by Jonathan Tyndall. Ezra Hudgins recovered for the touchdown.

Earlier, a misread on a fake fourth-down punt gave Rocky Mount a short field. The Gryphons moved 32 yards in five plays for the touchdown.

"On the punt, they didn't line anybody up on our wideout (Sykes) and we wanted to hit him quick, so he could run," said Jackson. "But (Boone) led him and missed him just a little bit."

Jackson didn't mind gambling. He also knows that Goldsboro still needs to plug some gaps defensively to prevent teams from gaining big yardage. Rocky Mount averaged nearly eight yards per rush and converted eight of 11 third-down attempts.

"Our defensive ends were sucking in and weren't containing like they should have. There was some confusion there," Jackson said. "We were leaving some gaps and the guys didn't make the adjustments. Our line really helped their running game, but once we did it right, we really smacked them in the mouth a little bit.

"We're going to go back, evaluate the game film and I think next week we'll be ready."

The Gryphons' 46-point output was the most in series history and the 28-point win margin was the second-highest. Rocky Mount defeated Goldsboro 34-0 in 1960.

Goldsboro (0-1) continues a three-game road swing next Friday at county rival Eastern Wayne. Rocky Mount (1-0) faces Wilson Hunt, the 2004 N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 3-A (small-school) runner-up last season.

Notes: The quartet of Adrian Lewis, Brandon Herring, Coriante Thompson and Jacob Sykes served as Goldsboro's captains. ... Runway Stadium got its moniker from long-time football radio personality Frank Hayden since the facility was the old municipal airport before the Gryphons began playing football there. ... Rocky Mount won the Big East 4-A title, its fourth in school history, before moving to 3-A this season. ... Tyler threw 26 TD passes as a sophomore and led the JV to a 10-0 record. ... Goldsboro lost its third straight road game and sixth overall in its last seven outings since 2004.