Goldsboro rolls past C.B. Aycock
By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on September 11, 2011 12:05 AM
It was a game that had everything -- potent offense, big plays, defensive stops and special teams outbursts.
Goldsboro, in the end, did enough to claim a 31-19 win over county rival Charles B. Aycock at Cougar Stadium on Friday night.
"At the end of the night, it was wild, but we came out with a win," Cougars' head coach Eric Reid said. "We did some things well and we have some things that we definitely need to work on going forward."
The Cougars jumped out to an early lead when Devante Harris dove into the end zone from one yard out just four minutes into the first quarter. Goldsboro's defense held the Golden Falcons in check on the team's next two possessions and Harris made the score 12-0 with a 52-yard scoring run in the opening moments of the second quarter.
Goldsboro went ahead 18-0 before halftime when Julius Murphy hit Rodney Cook Jr. with a 36-yard scoring strike.
"We have got to stop spotting teams two and three touchdowns before we decide to get our offense in gear," said Aycock head coach Randy Pinkowski. "I thought our effort was good all night and we got the ball moving in the second half. It was just too far to come back."
Harris' third touchdown run of the game made the score 25-0 in the home team's favor early in the third quarter.
That is when things got wild.
A long kickoff return by Chris Mickens set the Golden Falcons up at the Cougars' 32-yard line. Three plays later, Austin Snowden hit Austin Westbrook for a 24-yard touchdown to get Aycock on the board.
The Cougars fumbled away their next possession and the Golden Falcons reciprocated with a turnover of their own at Goldsboro's 2-yard line. Suddenly back on offense, Reid called Harris' number on a run off the left edge.
Harris was forced out of bounds and a skirmish ensued. Harris was assessed a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct and ejected from the ballgame. According to N.C. High School Athletic Association rules, Harris' ejection carries a mandatory one-game suspension.
"That is something that I absolutely do not condone," said Reid. "We are going to have a talk about what happened at practice on Monday."
Harris left the game with 133 yards on 14 carries and three touchdowns.
With their leading rusher no longer in the stadium, the Cougars turned to Murphy and the passing game to keep the Golden Falcons at arm's length. Leading 25-13, Murphy completed a pair of passes that set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Karon Alston that put the game away.
Murphy finished with seven completions for 122 yards and one touchdown.
Snowden scored a late touchdown to round out the Golden Falcons' tally. The senior quarterback finished with 73 yards on the ground with two touchdowns, and 82 passing yards.
"It's a lot to ask of a guy who is playing quarterback for the first time to run this offense and run it efficiently," said Pinkowski. "I thought Austin did a nice job both running and passing of making good decisions."
C.B. Aycock (1-3 overall) kicks off its Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference schedule Friday against 2010 league co-champion Triton. Goldsboro (2-1) plays host to unbeaten county rival Southern Wayne.