Goldsboro suffers heartbreaking defeat to Kinston

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on October 18, 2014 11:57 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

There he was.

The eternal optimist.

Goldsboro coach Bennett Johnson crouched, staring at the ground with his visor in his hand, wondering what went wrong. Just hours before he was running down the sidelines fist pumping and chest bumping players as if he'd won the Super Bowl.

Then he slowly watched it all slip away.

The Cougars saw a 20-point lead dissolve right before their eyes and lost 24-20 to Eastern Carolina 2-A Conference foe Kinston in what Johnson called the toughest defeat he's ever endured at any level.

"You just have to tip your hat to Kinston," Johnson said. "They just kept fighting. Once they got that momentum they never relinquished it. Tale of two halves."

The Cougars started well.

On the second play from scrimmage, sophomore quarterback Nashir Bowden hit Ray'quan Griffin with a 54-yard touchdown pass. Later in the first quarter, Bowden found Joe Baker on another deep ball for a 59-yard strike.

Goldsboro (2-6 overall, 1-1 ECC) missed some opportunities after that score, though. Bowden and Baker each threw interceptions -- Baker's came on a trick play directly after the Cougars forced a turnover. Later, inside the red zone, Johnson decided to go for it on fourth down and an incompletion resulted in a turnover.

Despite the turnover, the Cougars' defense stood strong.

Led by defensive tackle RJ Dodson, and middle linebacker and brother Sterling Dodson, the Cougars clogged the middle and didn't allow Kinston's runners to find any space.

But, as Johnson said, it was a tale of two halves.

Johnson elected for more conservative play calling to try and get the running game going, despite his receivers having success beating the Vikings' secondary.

The running game never got going. The Cougars mustered just one first down after halftime, and forced the defense to be on the field for far too long.

For 46 minutes, defensive coordinator Mike Harper's crew was up to the task. With the Vikings threatening to take the lead late, the Cougars stopped Kinston on a fourth-and-four to give the ball back to the Cougars.

"Defense played outstanding, absolutely outstanding," Johnson said. "I am so proud of our defense and our defensive coaches. We kept them on the field entirely too long."

The Cougars' defense forced four turnovers, and nearly a fifth when Sterling Dodson got his hand on a punt. After a late fourth-down stop, Goldsboro needed two first downs.

A botched first play backed the Cougars to the one. On fourth down, Johnson decided to take an intentional safety, which cut the lead two points, but was supposed to give Kinston a long field.

However, the Vikings got a long punt return and started with the ball in the red zone anyway. Then on the first play of the drive, quarterback Thomas Vermillion hit Kam'ryn Webster with a 18-yard strike over nice coverage from Jeriq Bryant.

A last-minute drive from the Cougars was derailed by holding penalties, and eventually ended in an interception from Bowden.

Goldsboro's locker room was a somber place after the game. There were some sad faces, and there were some angry ones. The words were positive ones, but the wounds will need to heal before the body language matches the words.

"You just hope they keep believing," Johnson said. "That's a heartbreaker right there. They just need to believe and come together even closer."