Bates passes Cats past Cougars

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on August 22, 2010 1:51 AM

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WILMINGTON -- Expect Goldsboro to concentrate on pass coverage this week in practice.

New Hanover quarterback Taylor Bates threw for 266 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-6, season-opening victory over the Cougars at Jurgensen-Gabriel Field inside Legion Stadium on Friday evening.

Bates, a junior, spread the yardage among six receivers.

"Their quarterback did a wonderful job," said Goldsboro head football coach Eric Reid. "We put ourselves in a bind because we haven't practiced one-on-one (coverage) and man defense all summer. I'm disappointed about that in my coaches.

"When we went man-on-man early, we did OK. After that, we had no technique or fundamentals, they turned our defensive backs all the way around. You can't do that against a team of this caliber."

Bates fumbled the handoff on the Wildcats' second offensive play of the game and Cougar lineman Anthony Hooks recovered.

Senior quarterback Corteiz Sprangle directed a methodical seven-play scoring drive that ended on Andre Montgomery's touchdown plunge from the 1. Sprangle missed a majority of the second half with a dislocated index finger on his right hand.

Sprangle completed two passes and threw two picks.

The Wildcats (1-0 overall) answered with an eight-play drive, capped by Taleak Wilson's 3-yard touchdown run. Bates completed a third-down, 42-yard strike to Ian McFarland, which put New Hanover deep in Goldsboro territory.

"They beat us at crucial times," said Reid.

Goldsboro misfired on two second-quarter possessions. Sprangle threw an interception in the end zone. Freddie Jones broke loose for a 40-yard gain on the next drive, but a holding penalty pushed the ball back near midfield and the Cougars stalled.

New Hanover aggressively blitzed with its linebackers and Reid's staff didn't make the adjustment. Goldsboro mustered just 36 yards on 21 offensive plays in the second half alone.

"We couldn't get a push (offensively)," said Reid. "They started sending linebackers and we've been teaching (our linemen) all year to keep your heads up, see the linebackers and the blitzes. We didn't do anything tonight.

"It was very disheartening because these are things we talked about. If you were sitting in the stands looking down on us, you would think we weren't even there."

Jones churned out a hard-earned 87 yards on 16 carries, while Montgomery finished with 50 yards on 11 totes. Goldsboro logged 168 yards of total offense.

Bates threw two-second half touchdown passes -- one each to Trevon Brown and Montrel Sweet. Sweet, one of four returning starters on defense, picked off both of Sprangle's passes and broke up three more in one-on-one coverage.