Eastern Wayne's speed, athleticism present challenges to C.B. Aycock
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on October 31, 2014 1:51 PM
rcoggins@newsargus.com
PIKEVILLE -- County rivals Charles B. Aycock and Eastern Wayne have finished the gauntlet -- meetings against four consecutive Eastern Carolina 4-A schools -- on their respective schedules.
Now, the real season begins.
The playoff-bound Golden Falcons (4-7 overall, 1-4 ECC) need a confidence booster heading into a bye week. The Warriors (6-2, 2-2) look to rebound from a disastrous second-half defensive performance against D.H. Conley last week.
"They probably feel like they're the best team in Wayne County and obviously so with their record right now," second-year CBA head coach Steve Brooks said. "We've just got to match their intensity, find a way to get ourselves excited about playing football, have some good things happen for us and hopefully we can ride that roller-coaster with a lot of confidence."
Field position, lack of consistent offense and special teams play throughout the season has caused anguish for Brooks and EW head coach Bubba Williams. Each has seen his respective defense placed in poor field condition due to an offense that can't effectively move the chains.
The Golden Falcons have gone against linemen who out-weigh them, are physically stronger and more athletic. The Warriors have developed schemes to use their athletes in a more operative way, but they were uncharacteristically blown off the line of scrimmage by D.H. Conley last week.
Eastern Wayne, undoubtedly, must keep an eye on Aycock senior quarterback TJ Morrow. The second-year starter is the area's top passer and directs an offense that's produced just six touchdowns in the last 20 quarters of play.
He'll work against the league's second-best scoring defense.
"The thing with TJ, when you're talking offensively, he's got to get the ball out of his hands and get it into other guys' hands and let them become playmakers," Brooks said. "If TJ doesn't get the ball out of his hands on offense, we're going to become one-dimensional and they're going to shut us down."
Morrow's top offensive target, Chandler Matthews, is the area's top receiver with 702 yards and four touchdowns on 38 receptions. Morrow has rushed for nearly 600 yards, while senior R'Keesh Greene has contributed 377 yards and five TDs.
CBA, on defense, has to get every hat to the ball.
Eastern Wayne has amassed more than 900-plus yards of total offense and scored 84 points in its last two outings. Quarterback KK Best has accounted for more than 1,800 yards of total offense and scored 21 touchdowns.
Best and DayDay Pridgen each turned in a 100-yard rushing performance against Conley. Pridgen scored a pair of touchdowns.
"The quarterback is their go-to player and makes the whole team function," Brooks said. "The quarterback being so good can make for a dangerous night. We've got to match athlete on athlete, and get more hats to the football.
"That's how you contain their speed. We can't get caught in one-on-one matchups because if that happens, we're going to lose and lose by a lot."
The Golden Falcons lead the all-time series 11-8, however, the Warriors have claimed three of the last four meetings.