Golden Falcons put shackles on NL's Powell

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on September 27, 2008 11:47 PM

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LaGRANGE -- Charles B. Aycock's starting quarterback may have been missing, but its defense was definitely present and accounted for.

With signal caller Craig Murdock out with a shoulder injury, the Golden Falcons forced four turnovers and held the area's leading rusher Marquez Powell to 85 yards rushing in a 28-18, non-conference win over North Lenoir on Friday night.

C.B. Aycock (2-3 overall) picked off Hawks quarterback Wiley Jackson three times, recovered a fumble and limited Powell, who entered averaging eight yards per carry, to just under five yards per rush. The senior fullback had just two carries of 10 yards or more. The Golden Falcons converted two of North Lenoir's turnovers into touchdowns.

"The kids have faith in what we're doing now and we're coming," said Golden Falcons head coach Randy Pinkowski. "The key for us is turning turnovers into points. I saw a lot of good things out of my secondary and we were able to get some good pressure on their quarterback."

Deven Sanders' 3-yard touchdown run and Kaleb Robinson's extra point put the Golden Falcons in front 7-0 early in the first quarter. North Lenoir answered with Maurice Morgan's 78-yard score, but the two-point conversion attempt failed.

Matt Woodard's interception of Jackson set up Tyheim Pitt's 1-yard touchdown run late in the first half. The Hawks (3-2) marched to the Golden Falcons' 20-yard line just before intermission, but Khendra Reid picked off a Wiley Jackson pass and Aycock led 14-6 at halftime.

"We lost our composure a little bit," said North Lenoir head coach Wayne Jackson. "Offensively, we struggled and that's a credit to them. They did a good job of stopping us."

Pitt's second touchdown of the ballgame stretched the margin to 21-6 late in the third quarter. The Hawks rallied with a 55-yard scoring drive that ended with Wiley Jackson's 17-yard pass to Morgan. However, North Lenoir elected to go for two and Powell was stopped short of the goal line.

Dominique Young's 60-yard interception return for a score with less than a minute to go put the finishing touches on Aycock's second win of the season. The Hawks added a short touchdown pass as time expired.

David Gurganus proved to be a serviceable backup for Murdock. The junior completed 3-of-7 passes for 67 yards and did not throw an interception.

"I can't say enough about David Gurganus coming in and running the offense and doing a beautiful job," said Pinkowski. "Our kids needed a shot of confidence coming off the things that have been happening to us."

The Golden Falcons host Greene Central at 7 p.m. on Thursday evening. North Lenoir visits Eastern Wayne at 7:30 p.m. next Friday.

C.B. Aycock 7 7 7 7 -- 28

North Lenoir 6 0 0 12 -- 18

First quarter

CBA -- Sanders 3 run (Robinson kick), 8:51

NL -- Morgan 78 run (Morgan run failed), 2:26

Second quarter

CBA -- Pitt 1 run (Robinson kick), 4:30

Third quarter

CBA -- Pitt 1 run (Robinson kick), 2:25

Fourth quarter

NL -- Morgan 17 pass from Jackson (Powell run failed), 5:58

CBA -- Young 60 interception return (Robinson kick), :55

NL -- Bizzell 3 pass from Jackson, :00

CBA NL

First downs 13 12

Rushes-yds. 43-143 33-246

Passing-yds. 67 54

Total yards 210 300

C-A-I 3-7-0 5-21-3

Fumbles-lost 5-1 2-1

Penalties-yds 9-77 7-43

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- C.B. Aycock -- Tyheim Pitt 16-74, 2 TDs; Deven Sanders 7-47, TD; Dominique Young 4-13; Devon Newsome 4-6; Sheppard Whitfield 7-0; Matt Woodard 1-4; David Gurganus 4-(-1). North Lenoir -- Maurice Morgan 7-86, TD; Marquez Powell 18-85; Mike Sutton 2-23; Wiley Jackson 6-21; Edmond Roberson 3-21.

PASSING -- C.B. Aycock -- David Gurganus 3-7-0, 67. North Lenoir -- Wiley Jackson 5-21-3, 54, 2 TDs.

RECEIVING -- C.B. Aycock -- Devon Newsome 1-32; Deven Sanders 1-20; Tyheim Pitt 1-15. North Lenoir -- Edmond Roberson 4-51, TD; Juel Bizzell 1-3, TD.