Corinth Holders beats CB Aycock

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on September 21, 2013 11:25 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

PIKEVILLE -- Cole Sakowski might not have the physical stature to attract college coaches, but the Corinth-Holders quarterback certainly caused enough headaches for Charles B. Aycock's defense Friday evening.

Anyone got any ibuprofen?

Sakowski completed his first nine passes during a 279-yard, four-touchdown performance in a 26-21 victory over the Golden Falcons at Hardy Talton Stadium.

"(Sakowski) was feeling comfortable in the pocket and I would say that's probably the best quarterback we're going to see all year," CBA head coach Steve Brooks said. "We haven't played New Bern, we haven't played Rose, we haven't played Conley yet, but that quarterback is a fighter, a tough-nosed quarterback.

"He was making adjustments on the fly ... almost like he was playing backyard football."

A 5-foot-8 signal caller, Sakowski found receivers in open spaces throughout the non-conference affair. The junior spread his 22 completions -- on 27 attempts -- among just four receivers. Hampton Smith hauled in two touchdown passes, while teammate Dymon Walker emerged the top yardage receiver with 86.

"Tonight, my receivers got open at the right times and things just fell into place," Sakowski said. "It's the (style) we always play, but we studied film and picked up little tendencies on defense, and we just did opposite (of what they did)."

Sakowski directed TD scoring drives that lasted 12 and 13 plays, respectively, on the Pirates' first two offensive series. Aycock answered with a 12-play march that ended on Neil Clark's 4-yard run two-thirds of the way through the opening quarter.

Clark led all rushers with 156 yards on 28 carries.

The Golden Falcons (3-2 overall) grabbed a 14-13 lead on Michael Eutsey's 20-yard touchdown pass from TJ Morrow with less than a minute remaining before halftime. However, the Pirates returned the ensuing kickoff to the CBA 10-yard line and needed just two plays to retake a lead they'd never relinquish.

Aycock's special teams unit has allowed three kickoff returns for touchdowns in the last two games.

"We're cutting down on bad plays, but that monster raised its head again and got us," Brooks said. "All we can do is continue to work at it."

Corinth-Holders (4-1) boosted its advantage to 26-14 on Sakowski's fourth TD pass of the night -- a 20-yard strike to Tony Kirkwood.

Aycock scored on its final possession when Taz Groves plunged in from 6 yards out with 58-plus ticks left on the clock. Before then, the Golden Falcons' offense grinded its gears on three consecutive possessions that included two drive-stopping sacks.

The Golden Falcons compiled 364 yards of total offense on 74 plays.

Brooks held himself accountable for the loss for the second straight week, and said he needed to become a better play-caller in certain situations.

"I told the kids they don't have anything to hold their heads about, I lost this game tonight," Brooks said. "I've got to be a better head coach. I thought in the middle of the game I was not very good at calling plays.

"I thought we fought and I think we found a football team tonight."