Goldsboro, Eastern Wayne renew rivalry on football field

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on August 28, 2015 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

Not much has changed for the Eastern Wayne football team.

Except the players.

The Warriors lost 17 seniors to graduation a year ago -- including their top playmaker and three dangerous receivers.

Bennett Johnson says they're just as good -- maybe better in some aspects than last year's team which won 11 games and emerged as the eastern 3-A regional runner-up for the second straight season.

"Obviously, they lost a lot of seniors," said Johnson, now in his second season at Goldsboro. "(But) to be honest, at first glance (on film) , I don't see too much difference compared to last year's team. I still see some good speed ... guys who can flat out run. Their starting 11 on both sides of the ball, in my opinion, as are as good as they've ever been.

"It's a county game. We have to come out full speed and play hard. We've had a good week of practice and I see us going to Eastern Wayne (tonight) and playing well for four quarters."

Kickoff is 7 p.m.

Goldsboro leads the all-time series 29-22-1, but Eastern Wayne has triumphed in eight of the last 13 meetings since 2002. That includes a 54-12 blowout win at Cougar Stadium last season.

The Warriors piled up nearly 500 yards of total offense and scored four touchdowns that covered 40 or more yards. The defense also came up a pick six.

"Last year they came over to our house and they flat out embarrassed us," Johnson said. "Hopefully we can use that as motivation. Our 16 seniors, it's the last time they'll play Eastern Wayne and our juniors hope they can help send them out with a win."

Eastern Wayne dominated North Lenoir in its season opener last week without starting quarterback KK Best, who suffered a minor injury during the previous week in a scrimmage. Best is 100 percent and will be somewhere on the field tonight.

The Warriors' run game and the defensive unit's effort pleased first-year head coach Phil Gray. He wants to see the passing game develop more.

Plus, Gray said, the Warriors can't get caught up in the rivalry atmosphere where over confidence by a favored team could lead to disaster.

"We treat every game like it's the next game no matter who it is," he said. "We try to make Eastern Wayne better, work on the things we need to work on. We are staying focused on the game at hand this year."

Beddingfield raced to a 26-point, first-quarter lead over Goldsboro last week and spoiled Johnson's homecoming. The former record-setting quarterback returned to coach against his alma mater after leading the Bruins' 2005 squad to a program-best 12 victories.

The deep deficit forced the Cougars to throw the ball. Senior quarterback Na'Shir Bowden completed just nine passes in 33 attempts and threw three interceptions.

Aaron Smith tallied Goldsboro's lone touchdown -- a 3-yard spurt in the third quarter.

"We have to control the line of scrimmage, we have to tackle on defense and we've got to block well," Johnson said. "We're going to have to be on our horse (tonight), be in perfect position and be ready to make some plays."