Golden Falcons rally for win
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on August 22, 2009 11:41 PM
PIKEVILLE -- Who would've thunk it?
Down three touchdowns barely 18 minutes into its 2009 football campaign, Charles B. Aycock somehow ... some way ... emerged victorious in its season-opening contest Friday evening.
Thank God for the tip drill.
A touchdown pass "Immaculate Reception" style and a fourth-quarter interception fueled the Golden Falcons' come-from-behind, 39-38 triumph over perennial Class 2-A power Bunn. Aycock won a season opener for the first time since 2006.
"We've been working on the idea that we've got to take the ball away from people," said 11th-year CBA head coach Randy Pinkowski. "We've got to touch that ball and stay with it. Just because it's knocked up in the air doesn't mean the play is over ... see if somebody can come up with it."
The Golden Falcons finished plus-3 in turnovers during the three-hour affair. Pinkowski's squad recovered three fumbles and picked off Wildcat quarterback Montrel Cooke twice in the second half.
The miscues led to 26 points.
Cooke's athleticism and scrambling ability in Bunn's wing-T scheme caused concern throughout the opening half. The 150-pound sophomore completed six of his first seven passes, including a 70-yard scoring strike to senior Richard Dunston.
"Once we got our outside rushers (Shalando McBride, Caleb Scott) working a little more upfield and to the outside shoulder of that wing man, we started to get some containment," said Pinkowski. "That allowed the pressure from the middle to develop and the coverage was good behind it. I was pleased with the adjustments."
Aycock started its comeback before halftime.
Senior running back Marcus Cobb pounded the ball into the end zone from 33 and 19 yards out, which closed the gap to 22-12. Cobb compiled 212 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries, giving him his fifth 100-yard outing his last six games since 2008.
The lead changed hands on four occasions in the second half.
Trailing 24-22, Golden Falcon quarterback Tyler Farmer got flushed from the pocket and threw a pass over the middle intended for Deven Sanders. Sanders tipped the ball and Tyheim Pitt, who smartly followed the play, grabbed the ball and carried two Wildcat defenders into the end zone on the 38-yard play.
Bunn scored and Pitt answered with a 54-yard gallop to make it 31-30 in favor of Aycock. Twelve seconds later, the Wildcats scratched on another long scoring pass and led 38-31.
"You have to believe that you're never out," said Pinkowski.
Middle linebacker Shepard Whitfield set up the game's final touchdown. Farmer orchestrated a seven-play, 41-yard drive that ended on Pitt's four-yard plunge. Farmer added the two-point conversion to cap the stirring comeback.
Aycock's defense, led by McBride's eight-tackle effort, held Bunn scoreless in the final period. Outside linebacker Josh Dixon supplied six stops, while lineman Greg Johnson and Pitt logged five tackles apiece.