Game of the Week: Southern Wayne pounds Goldsboro

By Rob Craig
Published in Sports on September 16, 2007 2:22 AM

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Facing a Goldsboro running back duo that was averaging 334 yards per game, Southern Wayne knew its job.

Stop the run, blitz and win the battle up front. The Saints' defense did just that and handed Goldsboro a decisive 40-12 loss at Cougar Stadium on Friday evening.

The Cougars' backfield tandem of Anthony Council and Hykeem Coley never got untracked. The duo combined for 45 yards.

"Our defense just... wow," grinned Southern Wayne head coach Bob Warren. "(The) defensive line had a good night. So many things were executed properly.

"It hasn't sunk in just how well these kids played."

The Saints (2-3 overall) controlled possession, collected a season-high 28 first downs and amassed 412 yards rushing. Kelvin Flow and Tristan Bass did most of the damage with 160- and 124-yard outings, respectively.

"Defense set the tone and the offense controlled the ball," said Warren.

On the other side, Goldsboro (2-3) picked a bad time for its worst performance of the season.

"This is the first game this year that I've been sorely disappointed about our performance," said Goldsboro head coach Eric Reid. "We did nothing that pleased me tonight. We didn't tackle well. We didn't block well."

The Saints certainly played hungrier and more aggressive. On their second possession, Flow and Bass grinded out consistent yardage against the Cougar defense. Flow capped a 63-yard scoring drive with a 9-yard touchdown run.

A fumble set up Goldsboro's first touchdown -- a 1-yard plunge from Council. Southern Wayne answered with a time-consuming, 19-play drive that ended with Flow's second touchdown of the night.

The Saints led 12-6 at halftime.

"Offensively, we knew we had to control the ball as much as we could because Goldsboro is so talented," said Warren.

The Cougars' rushing game accounted for minus-8 yards in the opening half. Behind Council and Coley, they appeared to reverse the trend with an 11-play march that put the ball at Southern Wayne's 1-yard line.

On third-and-goal, quarterback Dustin Uzzardo got hit behind the line, but flipped the ball to Council, who scored for the 12-12 tie.

The 256-pound Flow and speedster James Jones helped Southern Wayne regain a lead it refused to relinquish. Jones' 3-yard dive ignited a 28-point outburst.

"I think letting them come right back and score, it took something out of us," said Reid. "It hurt us in that we didn't recover the way we should have."

Southern Wayne's defensive unit led by Adrian Lee, Matt Wise, Silonte Thompson, Desmond Raiford and Corey Baker continued to blitz and break through the Cougars' offensive line. The Saints forced numerous turnovers and Jones picked Uzzardo twice to stop drives.

"We have to protect (our quarterback)," said Reid. "That's one thing we didn't do tonight."

Southern Wayne's rushing attack finished off the Cougars in the fourth quarter. A 28-yard touchdown run by Bass, a 25-yard burst by Flow and a 1-yard run by Jones made the final margin.

As the final second ticked away, Goldsboro got its biggest scare of the night. Following a short Saints' kick off, Hines was injured and remained motionless for several minutes before being taken away on a stretcher.

"He was complaining that he was numb," said Reid. "There was some movement in his fingers and a little in his toes, but they were just concerned because he couldn't flex his foot back."

It was a bad ending to what had been a very rough night for the Cougars.

"We're going to go back to the drawing board," said Reid. "Nothing is over yet."

Southern Wayne 6 6 8 20 -- 40

Goldsboro 0 6 6 0 -- 12

First quarter

SW -- Flow 9 run (Kick failed), 3:49

Second quarter

G -- Council 1 run (Kick failed), 6:32

SW -- Flow 1 run (Run failed), :18

Third quarter

G -- Council 1 run (Run failed), 6:50

SW -- Jones 3 run (Flow run), 2:29

Fourth quarter

SW -- Bass 65 run (Flow kick), 11:19

SW -- Flow 25 run (Flow kick), 6:22

SW -- Jones 1 run (Kick failed), 3:14

SW G

First downs 28 10

Rushes-yds 62-412 25-27

Passing yds 12 112

Total yards 424 139

C-A-I 1-8-0 8-20-3

Fumbles-lost 2-1 2-1

Penalties-yds 8-89 4-35

Punts 0-0 2-28.5

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Southern Wayne -- Kelvin Flow 30-160, 3 TDs; Tristan Bass 13-124, TD; James Jones 11-84, 2 TDs; Eric Hinton 1-32; Corey Baker 3-8; Kendrick Thompson 1-7; Jordan Williams 3-(-3). Goldsboro -- Anthony Council 12-24, 2 TDs; Hykeem Coley 9-21; Darrin Pittman 1-(-3); Dustin Uzzardo 3-(-15).

PASSING -- Southern Wayne -- Jordan Williams 1-8-0 12. Goldsboro -- Dustin Uzzardo 8-20-3 112.

RECEIVING -- Southern Wayne -- Kendrick Thompson 1-12. Goldsboro -- Enrique Moses 4-35; Tyquan Sprangle 3-44; Hykeem Coley 1-33.