Eastern Wayne dedicates team win to 'mama'

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on September 27, 2014 11:34 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

The oranges were missing.

The pickles were gone.

Eastern Wayne's Dayshawn Pridgen started to cramp up in the fourth quarter and he looked for her in the stands.

Reality finally set in.

She was gone.

Pridgen's mother, Jinifer Pridgen, died less than two weeks ago after a bout with pneumonia. This is DayDay's, as she called him, first time playing without his mother there. His first time not receiving the comfort of a mother's hug after a game.

So, this one was for mama.

"She was a true Warrior fan," DayDay said. "Always giving us pickles and oranges at every game to make sure we don't cramp ... She was at every game since I was a kid."

Pridgen pushed through the cramps. With the ball at the South Central 15-yard line, Eastern Wayne head coach Bubba Williams called on his senior.

He overcame the emotions of the last two weeks, the cramps, and 11 defenders, as he ran down the left sideline in to the end zone. He laid the ball down by the bright orange pylon, touched his chest and pointed toward the sky. Somewhere, Jinifer was smiling.

Pridgen's game-winning tote lifted the Warriors past the Falcons, 28-21, in the Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference opener for both teams at Little Big Horn. Eastern Wayne is off to a 5-0 start for the second consecutive season and travels to No. 2-ranked New Bern next Friday.

"It turned out to be big, because if we don't get that one it's tied up," Pridgen said. "I knew exactly (what I was going to do when I scored) I had to thank my mom. She did that ... I know she's watching over me."

The score meant the world to Pridgen. He wanted to honor his mom by finding the end zone. But the touchdown shouldn't have meant as much as it did in the realm of play. It put the Warriors up 28-7 with a little more than five minutes remaining.

South Central (4-1 overall) pulled to within a touchdown on Shawn Furlow's 75-yard kickoff return and a touchdown pass.

Suddenly, it was 28-21.

Eastern Wayne recovered an onside kick, but punted after a three-and-out series. The Warriors' defense held the Falcons on downs, and the game was over.

The emotions got to Pridgen and his teammates.

"I've cried so much, man" Pridgen's best friend Deshawn Boudy said. "But now we're using it as motivation. This is what she wanted from us man. We're doing this for her right now, this season is dedicated to her."

Boudy, Pridgen and Malik Richards constantly beat the Falcons' defensive backs all evening. They combined for 198 yards on seven receptions and two touchdown passes from quarterback KK Best.

Best and Boudy connected on a well-thrown slant in tight coverage. Boudy turned it into a 75-yard touchdown.

"Probably the best throw I ever (caught) in my four years honestly," Boudy said. "It was perfect."

Best finished with 183 yards passing and added another 118 yards rushing.

Williams took the win, but wasn't pleased with its ending -- especially with the Warriors giving up two touchdowns on kickoff returns.

"We've got to fix those kickoff returns," Williams said of the special teams errors. "Those are just effort plays."

Eastern Wayne's defense focused on containing Furlow, who committed to East Carolina on Wednesday. The senior ended up rushing for 72 yards with 45 coming on one play late in the fourth quarter.

But this game meant more than the final score.

Or a 5-0 start.

Or the first ECC win of the season.

It was about a mother's love for her son and the Warriors' team and the passion they shared -- football.

Pridgen has lost his most cherished possession, but not his extended family that has rallied to support it. It was about a program losing a team-mom and the players who cared about her adjusting to what life is like without her.

It was about pickles and oranges.

Eastern Wayne, using Jinifer Pridgen's devotion as their motivation, has created a mission. There's some unfinished business this season, a mission, if you will, that involves going two games further than last year.

And, you can bet it's all for mama..