Williams: Warriors go back to basics during bye week
By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on September 26, 2014 1:48 PM
aetzler@newsargus.com
Eastern Wayne had a lot to clean up after its sloppy 21-6 win over Greene Central.
Lucky for the Warriors they had two weeks to do so.
A bye week allowed head coach Bubba Williams' team get back to fundamentals to eliminate the lazy penalties and turnovers it committed against Greene Central.
Now, as the Warriors begin Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A conference play against 4-A foe South Central tonight, Williams expects to see a new team.
"We took a step back in the bye week to get back to the fundamentals to make sure the things we did last week don't happen again," Williams said. "If you keep making those mistakes you're not going to win many games."
It's only the second time these two teams have met in Williams' tenure as coach, and he doesn't appear to know a lot about the Falcons. If he does know more, he's not revealing it.
"We know they've got a good running back who's the real deal," Williams said. "We're not sure if they're going to do the same things they did last year or not, but we've got to worry about cleaning up the mistakes we made (two weeks ago),"
The Warriors eeked out a 34-28 victory over South Central in Winterville last year, but Williams said the team was "lucky to get away with a win," in that one.
This time, the Warriors will need more than luck.
They'll need strong play in the trenches -- something the Warriors haven't had a lot of -- in order to sustain drives and contain Falcons senior running back Shawn Furlow. Furlow, who committed to East Carolina on Thursday, has more than 400 yards rushing and five touchdowns this season as the team's primary offensive weapon.
On the other hand, the Warriors haven't placed the burden on any one offensive player. They have five playmakers, instead, who are a threat to score on any play. Quarterback KK Best, running backs DayDay Pridgen and Larry Newsome, and wide receivers Deshawn Boudy and Malik Richards have combined for over 1,000 yards already. The group averages more than nine yards per touch.
Best has also thrown for 560 yards and five touchdowns after making the transition from running back to quarterback in the offseason.
"Our skill players have done well once they get the ball in space," Williams said. "But it all starts on the offensive and defensive lines and we need to do better in those areas."
Eastern Wayne is looking to start 5-0 for the second straight season. South Central is off to 4-0 start and has matched last season's win total after finishing 4-7 overall.
"In this conference every game is a battle and we can't play the way we did against Greene Central if we're going to win in this conference," Williams said.