Kinston turns back Goldsboro

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on October 19, 2013 11:10 PM

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RUDY COGGINS

rcoggins@newsargus.com

KINSTON -- Goldsboro never found its comfort zone.

And a chance to possibly stay in the Eastern Carolina 2-A Conference football title hunt slipped from the Cougars' grasp Friday evening.

Tiquan Canady accounted for all three touchdowns and led Kinston to a 20-7 homecoming victory at Viking Stadium. Goldsboro fell to 1-1 against league opposition this season and suffered just its second loss in 22 conference outings since 2009.

Kinston departed 2-0 in the ECC.

"I think we fought hard," said a dejected Goldsboro High head coach Eric Reid, who rested on a weather-beaten wooden bench after the game.

"I think we missed out on some golden opportunities that we should have capitalized on that would have made this ballgame different, probably not the outcome ... we don't know."

The Cougars (3-5 overall) entered the contest minus a pair of pivotal two-way starters -- multi-dimensional lineman Justin Cates and Malik Miller, who were each serving a one-game suspension. Goldsboro's coaching staff couldn't find the right combination to compensate for their absence.

The offensive line struggled to sustain blocks against a Kinston defense that crowded the box with at least eight men on nearly every down. The Vikings (4-4) constantly pressured quarterback Nashir Bowden, who overthrew numerous receivers in one-on-one coverage.

Bowden ended the night 9-for-28 with 96 yards and two picks.

Goldsboro came up empty on three red-zone possessions in the first half. One drive stalled at the Vikings' 25 after the Cougars recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff. The second possession ended on downs at the Kinston 6-yard line and the Vikings intercepted Bowden to thwart a third scoring chance.

"When we get in the red zone, we've usually got blood in our eyes and we're putting the ball in the end zone," said Reid, whose team had just one third-down conversion in the red zone.

"We just couldn't sustain our blocks up front and it hurt us at the wrong times, the most crucial times. We could never find a blocking combination to work for us. It was like 'musical chairs' all night."

Kinston seized a 14-0 lead on Canady's 3-yard dive in the first quarter, and his 11-yard scoring strike to Tavon Herns just before halftime. Canady's eight-yard TD run in the fourth boosted the Vikings' advantage to 20-0.

Goldsboro avoided the shutout on Bowden's 12-yard, fourth-down touchdown pass to Joseph Baker. Rasheid Malette, who led all rushers with 171 yards on 31 carries, helped set up the score with a five-yard run on third down.

The Vikings owned a 263-247 edge in total offense.