Brooks: How will CBA react after 1st loss?

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on September 19, 2013 1:47 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

PIKEVILLE -- Denied its first 4-0 start in nearly two decades, Charles B. Aycock still has plenty of goals to mark off this season.

One -- don't lose in two games in a row.

Two -- don't lose at home.

Three -- show character after your first loss.

One player tweeted he has his lunch pail ready for practice.

It's that blue-collar mentality the Golden Falcons (3-1 overall) must rekindle as they prepare for their first-ever meeting against Corinth-Holders on Friday. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. at Hardy Talton Stadium.

First-year head coach Steve Brooks held himself accountable after a 40-30 loss to county foe Goldsboro last week. He plans to deliver a sterner message in workouts and on the practice field, and hopes the team understands the significance of his words as midseason approaches.

"Silly mistakes and kickoff returns ... the same monster that has been biting us in the butt the last three weeks against a lot better opponent," Brooks said. "I hope they learn from it. Eventually, the light bulb has to go off or they're going to have to stand and watch (from the sideline).

"Unfortunately, it's some of our upperclassmen. Their careers are running out, and it just might be time to play some younger guys."

Holding infractions stopped two first-half drives and an illegal block in the back on a kickoff return negated a touchdown. False-start penalties and an illegal substitution flag proved critical on other possessions.

Aycock's special-teams unit yielded two kickoff returns for TDs.

Goldsboro had just two big plays -- a 38-yard scoring run by Rasheid Malette and a 27-yard TD pass from Nashir Bowden to Joseph Baker. Malette carried the ball on the Cougars' first 20 rushing plays before departing with a sprained ankle late in the third quarter.

"You're going to see that kid (Malette) playing somewhere on Saturday afternoons," Brooks said.

The Golden Falcons owned a 369-260 advantage in total offense. Junior quarterback TJ Morrow directed the offense to four touchdowns, including drives that lasted seven and 11 plays.

Brooks liked the fight in his players and applauded them for not giving up against a "better opponent with more athletes." He wants to see more against Corinth-Holders, a third-year program that continues to build momentum each season.

"We've got to figure out how to take our practice abilities to the game field and we haven't figured that out yet," Brooks said. "We're playing a great opponent (this week). We just have to learn from (the loss). We're going to find out what kind of character we have this week."