Game of the Week: Southern Wayne tops Eastern Wayne

By Rob Craig
Published in Sports on October 7, 2007 4:19 AM

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DUDLEY -- "You're the man!"

A Southern Wayne fan shouted the comment to head football coach Bob Warren after he made a gutsy fourth-quarter call against archrival Eastern Wayne on Friday evening. Warren modestly said confidence in his players inspired his decision.

Facing a fourth-and-3 at their own 32-yard line, and leading by a touchdown, Warren put the ball in Kelvin Flow's hands. The Warriors' defensive line tightened, but Flow managed to squirm through for a first down -- by the nose of the football.

Southern Wayne ran out the final 69 seconds and celebrated a come-from-behind, 28-20 victory in the Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference opener for both teams. The Saints (3-4, 1-0 ECC) earned their fifth win in the series in this decade and avenged last year's loss at Little Big Horn.

The Warriors (4-3, 0-1) suffered their third defeat after a 3-0 start this season.

"I wouldn't have gone for it if I didn't believe in my team," said Warren. "It was just one of those calls where if it works, it's good, but if it doesn't work, it's not good.

"It worked tonight."

Flow did whatever he wanted behind a dominant offensive line. The 5-foot-10, 286-pound fullback punished the Warriors for 237 yards and a season-high four touchdowns on 39 carries. Flow surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the year.

"Flow's a load," said Eastern Wayne head coach Jeff Price. "He's a tough boy to bring down."

Flow helped Southern Wayne keep possession throughout the second half. The Saints recorded 15 first downs and ran 41 offensive plays. The Warriors managed just two first downs on 15 plays.

"We had chances to win the football game, we just couldn't get them off the field," said Price.

Eastern Wayne controlled the first half, however. The backfield tandem of Hassan Best and Dwight Ulmer constantly ran loose against the Saints' defense. Best scored on a 1-yard run and Ulmer on a 75-yard scamper to put the Warriors ahead 13-0 in the first quarter.

Flow's first touchdown closed the gap to 13-6 before Eastern Wayne answered with Eric Brofft's 11-yard run. The Warriors didn't enter the Saints' red zone for the rest of the evening.

Southern Wayne seized momentum following Brofft's touchdown thanks to a 13-play drive that culminated in another Flow score with 1:04 to play in the half. Tristan Bass ran in the two-point conversion to make the score 20-14 at halftime.

The Saints took control of the game in the second half thanks to its running game and a stout defensive unit. Flow's third touchdown and his ensuing extra point put the Saints in front 21-20 with 3:28 to play in the third quarter.

Defensive linemen Adrian Lee, Reginald Price, Matt Wise and Ricky Oddon all helped shut down the Warriors' rushing attack. After running for 234 yards in the first half, Eastern Wayne ran for just 34 the rest of the night.

The Saints got some cushion in the fourth quarter following a lengthy drive that went 97 yards in 18 plays. Thanks to the legs of Flow and Bass, the Saints marched down the field enabling Flow to find pay dirt for the fourth and final time to give the Saints a 28-20 lead.

"Eastern Wayne has a very good defense, so to drive the ball 97 yards speaks highly of the offense," said Warren.

The Warriors had their chances to tie up the game, but an interception by quarterback Dan Price killed a drive at the Saint 39-yard line. Then, at the most inopportune time, Eastern Wayne's defense couldn't retire the Southern Wayne offense when it counted the most.

With less than two minutes to play, the Saints faced a third-and-19 from their 16-yard line. On the next play, Kendrick Thompson came around on a reverse for 16 huge yards to bring up fourth down.

Flow plowed through for the final three yards.

"It was a team win," said Warren. "It was a great game and night for Southern Wayne."

Eastern Wayne 13 7 0 0 -- 20

Southern Wayne 6 8 7 7 -- 28

First quarter

EW -- Best 1 run (kick blocked), 9:31

EW -- Ulmer 75 run (Hughes kick), 5:19

SW -- Flow 1 run (run failed), 1:48

Second quarter

EW -- Brofft 11 run (Hughes kick), 6:02

SW -- Flow 1 run (Bass run), 1:04

Third quarter

SW -- Flow 3 run (Flow kick), 3:28

Fourth quarter

SW -- Flow 1 run (Flow kick), 5:44

EW SW

First downs 14 27

Rushes-yds 31-268 66-373

Passing yds 25 29

Total yards 293 402

C-A-I 2-6-1 1-2-0

Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-1

Penalties-yds 2-30 7-60

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Eastern Wayne -- Hassan Best 21-124, TD; Dwight Ulmer 7-122, TD; Eric Brofft 3-22, TD. Southern Wayne -- Kelvin Flow 39-237, 4 TD; Tristan Bass 16-87; James Jones 5-19; Kendrick Thompson 1-16; Silonte Thompson 3-14; Jordan Williams 2-0.

PASSING -- Eastern Wayne -- Dan Price 2-6-1 25. Southern Wayne -- Jordan Williams 1-2-0 29.

RECEIVING -- Eastern Wayne -- Demetrius Morgan 2-25. Southern Wayne -- Kendrick Thompson 1-29.