Bragging rights -- Warriors blank Cougars 26-0

By Steve Roush
Published in Sports on August 28, 2005 2:12 AM

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Al Graham would not be denied.

Neither would the Eastern Wayne defense.

The senior fullback rumbled for three touchdowns and the Warrior defense didn't let Goldsboro's offense inside the red zone all night as Eastern Wayne rolled to a 26-0 triumph Friday at Little Big Horn over its crosstown rival.

"It feels good -- we have bragging rights for the rest of the year," said the 5-foot-10, 206-pound Graham, who had a game-high 79 yards on 19 carries. "Our line did a great job, executed, and we pulled together and did what we were supposed to do."

The Warriors (1-0) rolled up 222 yards on the ground and added a touchdown through the air as quarterback Tyler Ham found wideout Clint Rouse for a 7-yard strike.

The Cougars (0-2), however, had just about as many yards in penalties (127) as total offense (131), lost three fumbles and was just 6-of-28 passing with a pair of interceptions.

"This is a tough one to swallow," said Goldsboro coach Maurice Jackson, who is now 1-2 against a team he was an assistant for in the '90s. "But we didn't fold. We just need to put this one behind us and get ready for Jones Senior next week."

Eastern Wayne's defense established the tone early as the Warriors held Goldsboro to just three yards of total offense and no first downs in the first quarter.

"The defense played big," Warriors coach Jeff Price said. "And offensively, 26 (points) was enough to win. We've got a lot to build on, and if we can stay healthy, we'll be fine."

Pinned back against the goal line, the Warriors scored their first touchdown by marching 96 yards on 11 plays with Graham taking it in from a yard out to make the score 6-0 late in the opening quarter. The drive was highlighted by runs of 4, 14 and 15 yards by Dwight Ulmer, a 30-yard pass from Ham to senior transfer Daniel Bell, and a 15-yard facemask penalty against the Cougars.

Eastern Wayne put itself inside the Goldsboro 1 early in the second quarter, but a fumbled exchange was recovered by Cougar linebacker Tamarcus Lofton at the 5.

Tailback Treme Boone -- who was Goldsboro's leading rusher with 71 yards, plus played quarterback for much of the second half -- gave the Cougars some breathing room with a 6-yard run. But quarterback Adrian Lewis fumbled the ball away to Eastern Wayne on the next play, setting up the Warriors at the Goldsboro 6.

From there, Graham took it up the gut for a 6-yard score to boost the Warriors' lead to 12-0.

Eastern Wayne recovered an ensuing squib kick at the 16 after Goldsboro was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. Graham moved the ball 9 yards on three carries, and on fourth-and-1, Ham faked the give to Graham and rolled out and found an open Rouse for a 7-yard touchdown.

Alvino Edwards intercepted a Lewis pass on Goldsboro's next possession as Eastern Wayne took an 18-0 lead at the break.

During the first two quarters, Eastern Wayne held Goldsboro to minus-1 yard rushing, 44 yards of total offense and just a pair of first downs. The Cougars also had 60 yards in penalties in the first half. Graham had 60 rushing yards at the half as the Warriors rolled up 203 yards of total offense.

"We did some good things in the first half, but we got some turnovers we weren't able to take advantage of," Price said.

Boone took over at quarterback for Goldsboro to start the second half, but didn't fare any better than Lewis as Kendrick Best intercepted his second pass of the third quarter and took the ball back to the Cougars 21.

Boone finished 0-for-12 passing with an interception while Lewis was 6-of-16 through the air for 45 yards and a pick.

Eastern Wayne didn't find the end zone in the third quarter, but after a good punt return by Best set the Warriors up at the Goldsboro 28, Graham took it in from a yard out after three runs by Graham, a run by Ham and a 15-yard pass from Ham to Andrew Blevins put Eastern Wayne at the goal line.

"There's still a long way to go, but it's good to get a shutout," Price said. "But it's only Game 1 -- there's a lot of football left."

NOTES: Eastern Wayne will play at South Central this Friday. The Falcons beat Farmville Central 15-12 on Friday. ... Goldsboro will travel to Jones Senior the same night, 46-0 losers to Union on Friday night. ... Boone had punts of 49 and 50 yards and averaged 36.6 yards a boot on five kicks. Eastern Wayne punter Riley Wilkins had a boot of 53 yards and finished with a 32.8 average on five punts. ... Eastern Wayne did not attempt an extra-point conversion because kicker Andrew Corley missed the game after suffering a concussion during a soccer match Monday. The Warriors' only successful conversion came in the fourth quarter when Ulmer ran it in on a sweep. ... Goldsboro sophomore offensive tackle Donald Pollack suffered a leg injury in the second quarter and did not return. ... Also for Eastern Wayne, Ulmer ran for 55 yards, Best had 30 and Bell had 18. Quanterrio Battle was Goldsboro's second-leading rusher with 25 yards on three hauls. ... Goldsboro wideout Monquavis Edwards was game's leading receiver with four receptions (27 yards). ... Eastern Wayne beat Goldsboro 15-12 last year, and Goldsboro defeated Eastern Wayne 6-0 in 2003.