Hat Trick: Rams defeat Golden Falcons for third straight time

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on October 3, 2008 1:46 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- Greene Central made it a hat trick as it defeated Charles B. Aycock for the third consecutive season on Thursday night at Hardy Talton Stadium.

The Rams used some last-second magic and earned a hard-fought 12-9 victory.

With less than a minute to play Greene Central head coach Ken Grantham watched as his team drove the ball inside the red zone. Grantham elected not to use a timeout immediately following a failed third down run, and let the game clock tick down to 3.6 seconds instead.

On fourth and goal from the 3-yard line, Grantham called his strongest running back's number.

Aaron Harper answered.

The junior bulled his way into the end zone as the final seconds ticked away.

"Aaron said that he wanted the ball on that last play," said Grantham after the game. "We tried to block down, and I kind of expected him to cut back, but he stuck with the dive and got in."

The final play was tough to watch for a Golden Falcon defense that had battled poor field position and a vast time of possession differential throughout the game.

"I thought our defense did a great job," said Aycock head coach Randy Pinkowski. "They had to play with their backs against the wall the whole second half, and I am proud of their effort."

On the night, the Rams ran 62 offensive plays to just 32 for the Golden Falcons. Greene Central also won the total yardage battle 274-54.

"We felt like we could run the ball inside and be successful," said Grantham. "We have two very different backs ... a big bruiser and a speed guy ... and that helped us make some plays."

Reggie Sanders paced the Rams' ground game with 176 yards on 19 carries. Harper added 92 yards and two scores. C.B. Aycock was led by Tyheim Pitt's 30 yards on 13 carries.

"This was a typical C.B. Aycock-Greene Central game," said Pinkowski. "A low-scoring, defensive battle."

A safety opened the scoring in the first quarter when a host of Golden Falcon defenders stopped Marquis Graham behind the Rams' goal line.

Greene Central answered in the second quarter when Harper dashed into the end zone from nine yards out.

Aycock seized the momentum going into halftime when a field goal attempt by Greene Central's Antwan Campbell was tipped into the arms of Dominique Young at the Rams' goal line. The surprised speedster raced 100 yards down the sideline for the only Golden Falcon touchdown of the night.

"I was happy to see it come to me," said Young. "I saw the opportunity and I did everything I could to take it to the house."

Greene Central piled up yards after the intermission, but never found the right play to reach the end zone until the final snap.

"We just aren't strong enough at any one thing for that to carry us as a team," said Pinkowski. "We have to generate some more offense, and play good defense."

Both teams begin conference play next week. C.B. Aycock (2-4 overall) entertains Wilson Beddingfield in an Eastern Carolina 3-A matchup. Greene Central (2-4) starts its Eastern Plains 2-A season at North Pitt.