Golden Falcons hammer Vikings

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on November 1, 2007 3:05 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- It's going to take a much stronger effort to derail Charles B. Aycock in the postseason.

The Golden Falcons proved that Wednesday evening.

Just eight minutes into the contest, Jorge Delgado bounced a shot off the keeper and that jump-started what has been a juggernaut offense all season. State-ranked C.B. Aycock eventually claimed a 9-1 decision in the opening-round, N.C. High School Atheltic Association Class 3-A playoff tilt at Hardy Talton Stadium.

Ranked No. 14 in the latest state poll, the Golden Falcons (18-2-1) picked up their 17th consecutive victory. They'll entertain Erwin Triton in a second-round game Saturday.

Moments after Delgado's initial goal, Rodriguez put on a dribbling clinic just outside the 18-yard box. He worked his way free from a handful of Northern Vance defenders, found some open space and tucked the ball in the bottom left corner of the goal.

The scoring flurry continued in the 15th minute when David Burke headed home a ball from Gavin Forrest. Joe Conner punched in a deflection off a shot from Delgado in the 25th minute, and the lead swelled to 4-0.

After Tyson Pearson hit the crossbar and the Golden Falcons had a goal waived off, Ethan Hawley came up with a loose ball in the midst of a crowd in front of the Vikings' goal and slipped it in the net.

Aycock led 5-0 at halftime.

"It's always nice to score first and it puts the other team under pressure," Aycock assitant coach Byron Adkins said. "It helps us relax and play the game we play. We scored a quick goal, and from there we had too much speed for them tonight."

The onslaught continued just two minutes into the second half when Burke's header beat Deake for a 6-0 lead.

While the Golden Falcons' offense was clicking on all cylinders, outside of a late goal, Aycock's defense shut down Northern Vance all night. The Golden Falcons dominated possession from start to finish, shut down the Vikings' attempts to move the ball down the field and simply wore down the visitors.

Aycock finished with a 20-6 shots on goal advantage. Golden Falcons' keepers Kyle LaFlamme and Charlie Howell combined for three saves.

"Our defense is excellent," Adkins said. "I think they've given up just 18 goals now all year long. The defense is doing its thing back there. We're very hard to score against. We're very stingy back there."

Delgado scored twice more in the second half, and Rodriguez tallied another goal as well. In 20 games this season, Aycock has scored 98 times.

With the level at which his club is currently playing, Adkins finds comfort in knowing it will take a superb effort for an opponent to bring an abrupt end to Aycock's playoff run.

"It gets harder as we go," Adkins said. "Northern Vance was a wild card. We'll actually play a seeded team next. But, we're tough at home. You're going to have to come to our field and beat us.

"That's going to be a tall order for anybody. It hasnt' been too bad, but we will see."