Southern Wayne can't hold early lead
By From staff reports
Published in Sports on August 22, 2010 1:51 AM
VANCEBORO -- West Craven weathered an early offensive outburst by Southern Wayne and rallied for a 29-15 win over the Saints in its non-conference football opener.
The night started out perfectly for the visitors as Jamie Dove capped a scoring drive with a four-yard touchdown run. Jesus Rodriquez' extra point made the score 7-0 in the Saints' favor. After a defensive stand, the Saints marched their offense again into scoring position and Andrew Matthews toted the ball 28 yards to pay dirt.
"We got ahead 14-0 and really showed some spark offensively," said Southern Wayne assistant coach David Lee. "I thought we did a lot of good things on both sides of the ball."
Trailing 15-13 entering the fourth quarter, the Eagles stole the momentum when a Saints drive stalled deep in their own territory. West Craven defensive end Keon Kelly blitzed through the line and blocked a punt in the end zone. Kelly recovered for the go-ahead touchdown.
"That play absolutely took the momentum away from us," said Lee. "West Craven has a good defense and once we were down we couldn't come back."
Matthews led the Saints with 102 yards rushing on 15 carries. Jacquan Cobb added 68 yards on 15 totes. Quintin Smith finished with three completions for 19 yards.
Southern Wayne (0-1 overall) plays host to Wilson Beddingfield on Friday.