Game of the Week - Goldsboro at Eastern Wayne

By Rob Craig
Published in Sports on August 23, 2007 1:49 PM

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Goldsboro head coach Eric Reid saw something last week from his Cougars that he hadn't seen in over a year -- smiles and laughter.

The post-game jubilation stemmed from a 48-0 victory over county rival Rosewood. The much-awaited win ended a 12-game losing streak.

Meanwhile, Eastern Wayne had little troubling handling West Carteret and rolled to a 56-0 decision.

Neither team expects a lopsided score Friday when they meet at Little Big Horn. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

"It should be a really competitive game," said Reid. "Any time you play a rival, every one steps up their play. It's going to be another smash-mouth game.

"We respect the running game Eastern Wayne has."

As well he should.

The Warriors rushed for 314 yards against the Patriots, including a career-best 218-yard outing from sophomore Hassan Best. Lamar Lamb, Eric Brofft and Dwight Ulmer also looked strong carrying the football for the Warriors, who averaged eight yards per rush.

Part of that success, says Eastern Wayne head coach Jeff Price, comes from a talented -- and massive -- offensive line. The front four average 6 feet, 3 inches in height and three linemen weigh more than 250 pounds.

"Hassan did a super job," said Price. "All of our backs did. We've got a rotation there, and we use them as things dictate."

Goldsboro had a huge night rushing against the Eagles. Hykeem Coley rambled for career highs of 194 yards and four touchdowns. Anthony Council added 174 yards and three touchdowns.

Overall, the Cougars amassed 424 yards of total offense -- all on the ground.

"They're good and they're scary," said Price. "It takes a lot of effort to corral two really good running backs. It's going to take everything we've got to stop them."

Eastern Wayne will be counting on its entire defense to step up and contain the Cougars' rushing attack. Up front, Foy Coley, Stacey Edwards and Kevin Gendreau-Fowlkes will lead the point of attack. Linebackers Anthony Williams and Nolan Lancaster need to stick their noses into the gaps on every play.

"We're going to have to play well up front," said Price. "We can't get blown off the line of scrimmage. If we do, it's going to be a long night."

Reid will be ready for whatever game plan Eastern Wayne has at containing the Goldsboro run.

"We realize we could see eight or nine in the box, and a corner blitz so we'll be looking for that," said Reid. "We'll be putting things in our game plan to hopefully counteract that."

If Goldsboro decides to put the ball in the air with quarterback Dustin Uzzardo, they'll be doing so against a very aggressive secondary.

"The number of interceptions we left on the field (last week) was just astounding," said Price, whose team did come away with two interceptions against West Carteret. "We're ready for pass or run, and to transition into whatever we see.

"Hopefully we'll prepare well enough where we can hang with Goldsboro. They are a very sound football team."

With all of the respect being paid to both teams, it's hard to imagine either team not coming ready to play on Friday night.

"Eastern Wayne has a lot of talent, but I told my boys we put our pads on the same way they do," said Reid. "It's going to be a dog fight on Friday night. We know we've got our hands full."