Saints not taking 'spoiler role' against Warriors

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 7, 2013 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

DUDLEY -- Southern Wayne's preparation for its meeting with archrival Eastern Wayne hasn't been about playing the spoiler role.

The Saints believe they have a chance reach the postseason.

That's the message head coach David Lee and his staff delivered to the players in practice throughout the week.

"We've talked about possibly making the playoffs (and) this is our shot," Lee said. "All the games that we didn't come out on top and all the injuries, tough times that we've been through, if we win this Friday, we can go to the playoffs. I'm just not sure how the tiebreakers and such would play out."

Eastern Wayne has locked up the No. 1 seed from the 3-A portion of the newly-realigned Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference. The Warriors (7-2 overall) are 3-2 and hold the tiebreaker with two triumphs against 4-A teams.

Southern Wayne (2-7) has yet to knock off a league opponent this season. A win in its regular-season finale creates a three-way tie at 1-1 with the Warriors and Charles B. Aycock, but doesn't meet the minimum of four victories required by the N.C. High School Athletic Association to qualify for the playoffs.

Aycock is 4-7.

That said, the Saints have challenged themselves to battle for four quarters against a team stacked with skill athletes.

"Our focus is to play up to our potential for four quarters in a game because we haven't done that in a while," Lee said. "Our players know those kids over there. They are on a roll and (EW coach) Bubba (Williams) is doing a great job over there."

The Saints must play consistent on every down, move the chains and chew time off of the clock. An abundance of three-and-out series could prove detrimental against the Warriors, who use their speed to their advantage and avoid surrendering big plays.

Defensively, Southern Wayne must contend with an Eastern Wayne scheme that spreads its athletes all over the field. Lee said doubling up on one person takes a defender out of the box, and gives the Warriors a chance to establish a ground game that's been solid all season.

KK Best has run rampant the last month or so. Junior quarterback Mitch Pike threw for 240 yards and four touchdowns on just nine completions against Aycock last week. Dayshawn Pridgen was his main target in the absence of Malik Richard, who continues to heal from a finger injury.

Eastern Wayne's Achilles' heel has been stopping itself. The Warriors committed 11 penalties for 110 yards against the Golden Falcons.

"It's darned if you do and darned if you don't," Lee said of devising a defensive game plan. "In a rivalry, there are going to be some plays made on both sides. You have to stay the course and keep your game plan."

The Saints lead the all-time series 22-20, but the Warriors have emerged victorious in four of seven meetings since 2006.