Eastern Wayne feasts on Halloween tricks

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 1, 2014 11:10 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

PIKEVILLE -- Eastern Wayne resulted to some tomfoolery just before halftime, feasted on treats in the second half and turned Charles B. Aycock's senior night celebration into a ghoulish nightmare on Halloween.

It all happened in 31/2 minutes.

Dayshawn Pridgen accounted for three touchdowns and rushed for a game-high 197 yards in the Warriors' 47-21 romp at Hardy Talton Stadium. The loss assured the Golden Falcons of the No. 2 playoff seed from the Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference for the second straight year.

Eastern Wayne (7-2 overall, 3-2 ECC) still has some unfinished business with its regular-season finale against Southern Wayne still on the slate. A win could secure a top-four postseason seed for the Warriors.

"We did a lot of good things, grew up tonight and played a really good football team that's physical, got great athleticism and (is) well coached," said CBA head coach Steve Brooks, whose team matched the Warriors' physical play and had three key starters sustain injuries.

"Momentum has gotten us in a lot of our losses this year and we need to know how to bounce back from it."

The Golden Falcons controlled the tempo and put together two methodical scoring drives in the opening half. Quarterback TJ Morrow called his own number on a 1-yard keeper in the first quarter.

One of 22 seniors honored before the game, Morrow hooked up with Micah Castillo on a 22-yard scoring strike with 40 seconds left before halftime. In between, Pridgen broke loose for a 57-yard touchdown run.

Eastern Wayne's final possession before intermission appeared to sputter. Brooks burned a timeout and his defensive coaches reminded their unit to watch for the big play.

Quarterback KK Best took the snap and flipped the ball to Pridgen, who uncorked a 45-yard touchdown pass to Best down the right sideline. Cameron Dove's PAT knotted the contest at 14-14 with 4 ticks left on the clock.

"It was huge," EW head coach Bubba Williams said of the halfback option strike.

"Our kids executed a play, did a great job. The line blocked well, DayDay threw a great pass and KK caught the ball. That was big to answer because they had just scored."

With momentum on their side, the Warriors quickly robbed the candy bowl and left nothing but the wrappers in the third quarter. Larry Newsome III, Pridgen and Devonte Corum each busted free for a touchdown to give Eastern Wayne an insurmountable three-touchdown advantage.

The three scores occurred on six offensive plays.

"That train went out of the building and that was it," Brooks said. "There wasn't a comeback after that."

Best tallied the Warriors' final two touchdowns, while senior Joseph Sutton scored from seven yards out on the Golden Falcons' final offensive play at home this season.

Eastern Wayne led 426-344 in total offense.

Aycock came up empty on three red-zone possessions that ended on short-yardage downs -- including two inside the Warriors' 3-yard line. Brooks said his team must learn to ride the wave of momentum to stay on the board.

"We flew around to the ball a little bit better like we were doing earlier in the year," Williams said. "All in all, they (the defense) didn't do a bad job tonight."