QUICK GLANCE -- New Bern @ Eastern Wayne

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on October 3, 2015 11:52 PM

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• The Bears have looked like anything but a defending state champion midway through regular-season play.

But don't let New Bern fool you.

There's some young talent starting to find its way and the Bears are also starting to discover their identity. After an uncharacteristic 0-3 start, coach Bobby Curlings' team is 2-3 including a conference-opening win against Southern Wayne.

Curlings and long-time friend Phil Gray will enjoy a pre-game reunion Monday evening in New Hope. Gray served on New Bern's staff for a number of years and followed another good friend -- current Corinth-Holders' head coach Bubba Williams -- to Eastern Wayne.

Gray's squad is 2-3 -- unlike the previous two seasons when the Warriors went into this Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference game with five wins under their belt.

Turnovers proved pivotal in a 30-14 loss to South Central last Monday. It was just the Falcons' second win over the Warriors in nine meetings, and the game wasn't decided until SC converted a fumble into a touchdown and returned an interception for the game's final score. The two miscues broke a 14-14 tie.

Gray continued to talk about his team's youth and seeking the right pieces on the offensive and defensive lines. Neither unit seemed effective on the line of scrimmage, and will get another test against the Bears.

"We're very young, got a lot of kids who haven't played the game before," Gray said. "I know a lot of people are tired of hearing that because we're on week six (of the season) now. We're trying to teach as we go.

"We've got a little bit of work (to do)."

New Bern has won 14 straight meetings against the Warriors and leads the all-time series 15-5.

Eastern Wayne emerged victorious in five of the first six contests during the Bill Garner era when the teams competed as old Mideastern 4-A Conference opponents.