CBA keeps Vikes winless

By Gabe Whisnant
Published in Sports on October 16, 2005 2:27 AM

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PIKEVILLE -- An impressive start. A much needed, solid finish.

Charles B. Aycock's football team out-gained Kinston by nearly 200 yards in the first half, sprinting out to a 27-7 lead at intermission. In the second half, the Golden Falcons answered an improved effort by the Vikings and posted a 42-27 win at Hardy Talton Stadium on homecoming night in front of an overflow crowd.

The win improves Aycock (5-3 overall) to 1-1 in the Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference heading into next Friday's game at Wilson Hunt. The Falcons have now won 10-of-11 at home dating back to last season and are 4-0 at home in 2005.

"We've got two of our last three at home, and we seem to be playing really well at home," Aycock coach Randy Pinkowski said. "Getting the community out here and the fan support will be big for us these last few weeks.

"It's a community victory. It means a lot to me see these fans go out of here happy."

Kinston (0-8 overall) fell to 0-2 in league play as it hosts Southern Wayne next Friday.

Down by 20, Kinston turned an interception into a touchdown late in the third quarter to pull within two touchdowns at 27-13. Kinston dodged a bullet later in the third when the Falcons marched all the way to the Kinston 8-yard line, only to see two penalties back them all the way up to the 30 before the drive stalled.

One play after Aycock lost a fumble at the Viking 32, Kinston's Antonio Whitfield rambled 68 yards on a reverse around the right side to close the gap to 27-20 with 7:29 left in the fourth.

The Golden Falcons responded.

Keyed by the shifty running of Cortez Gilbert, who finished with a season-high 182 yards on 10 carries with two touchdowns, Aycock went 61 yards on eight plays as Dontay Taylor capped the drive with a eight-yard run to paydirt. Taylor's two-point conversion rush made it 35-20 with 3:50 left.

Kinston wasn't finished.

On a night where Aycock had its fair share of trouble covering on kick-offs, the Vikings' Michael Thompson scampered 84 yards down the left side for a touchdown to again pull Kinston within striking distance at 35-27 after Mike Jones' extra point.

After the Falcons recovered the second of two onside kick attemps by the Vikings in the fourth quarter, Gilbert rushed five more times for his final 23 yards, before Taylor rushed in from 35 yards out with less than one minute left for his second touchdown of the quarter -- putting the game out of reach.

Gilbert and Taylor keyed Aycock's running game that racked up 309 yards.

"We've been working Cortez (Gilbert) quite a bit at tailback the last two weeks to get him ready. He's a super athlete and I've got to have him on the field," Pinkowski said. "Spruce (Lee) tweeked his ankle a little bit, so fortunately we had been working Cortez and had another back.

"When it came down to start grinding out, our offensive line was able to do that."

Aycock dominated the first half as Gilbert and quarterback Thomas Pilkington benefitted from good blocking from the offensive line to help the Falcons rack up 292 yards before intermission. The Falcons scored touchdowns on four-of-five first-half drives with Gilbert tallying touchdown runs of 38 and two yards, respectively.

Pilkington was an efficient, 7-for-9 in the first half for 134 yards with touchdown strikes to Spruce Lee and Thomas Artis -- both on 19-yard passes. The touchdown to Artis, who had seven catches for 94 yards, came with just under one minute left in the half as Pilkington fired a dart over two Kinston defenders to Artis in the back of the endzone to make it 27-7 after the kick failed.

"We could have folded the tent. That touchdown before the half could have been a real back-breaker," Kinston coach Ken Whitehurst said. "But, we come back and get within one touchdown and have a chance to win the game."

Meanwhile, the Aycock defense limited Kinston to three first downs in the first half as the Vikings turned it over on downs on their first three drives.

Pilkington finished 9-for-14 for 152 yards with one interception and now has over 1,000 yards passing and nine touchdowns on the season.

Kinston quarterback Jamar Carraway was 10-for-17 for 127 yards with a 55-yard touchdown pass to Terry Locust late in the second quarter. Antonio Whitfield led the Vikings on the ground with four rushes for 93 yards.

Notes: On top of his big rushing night, Gilbert had 12 tackles and eight assists from his safety position ... Aycock defensive end Brett Lancaster added eight tackles and three assists, while inside linebacker Travis Milligan contributed seven tackles and four assists ... Neither team punted ... The Falcons avenged a 7-6 loss at home to Kinston last season ... At halftime, senior Kandace Burroughs was crowned Aycock's Homecoming Queen.