ECC 2A football: Goldsboro tabbed 4th in preseason coaches' poll

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on August 6, 2015 1:48 PM

• Print
• Email

"Y'all need to come watch us practice," AG head coach Paul Cornwell quipped. "It's probably just based on the past. We have kids back, but we lost a lot of leadership. We had kids in the past that could answer the bell when times got tough.

"I'm not sold that this group has that."

Kinston received two first-place votes and compiled 21 points. Greene Central earned the other first-place vote and wound up with 19 points.

Goldsboro, directed by second-year head coach Bennett Johnson, was tabbed fourth with 13 points. County archrivals North Lenoir and South Lenoir each collected seven points.

"I'm not surprised," Johnson said of the AG pick.

"Until proven otherwise, there's no reason to bet against them. They do the little things right. They're very well-coached, so you know they're going to be in every football game, and they're used to winning.

"That's a good recipe for success."

But winning outside the ECC wasn't easy for any of the six teams last season. The group combined for an 8-28 worksheet, that included six total wins between Ayden-Grifton, Kinston and Greene Central.

The coaches anticipate the same this season.

Each team has a difficult non-conference schedule that includes heavyweights from each of the state's four classifications. Cornwell's team has dates against D.H. Conley, North Pitt and 2014 playoff participant Southern Nash.

"The false belief about our conference around the state is we don't have talented teams in this conference because our non-conference records are so bad," said third-year GC head coach Allen Wooten, who plays three teams from the Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference during the first five weeks of the season.

"I think because we play very strong non-conference schedules, people don't get a total view of how good our conference is football-wise. I think we've got a quality conference and anybody can beat anybody on a given night."

Ayden-Grifton and Kinston each advanced to the second round of the postseason in 2014. Randleman scored in the closing minute to deny Greene Central's opening-round upset bid.

Goldsboro has uncharacteristically missed the playoffs each of the past two seasons, and been knocked out by GC on both occasions.