WAYNE COUNTY CLASSIC: Williams fills in, leads Warriors past Cougars

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on August 29, 2016 1:49 PM

• Print
• Email

By JUSTIN HAYES

jhayes@newsargus.com

The Wayne County Classic, a shiny new model of the 46-year old gridiron clash between Eastern Wayne and Goldsboro High, was defined time and again on Friday evening by two distinct elements.

One, an absurd amount of penalty flags.

Two, Eastern Wayne's Malyk Williams.

Pieced together, the duo spelled triumph for the Warriors, who staked claim to a 21-7 victory in the WCC's inaugural event.

After losing starting tailback Mathew Askew-Betts to injury in the opening quarter, Williams went to work in a variety of packages, inflicting damage with seemingly every touch of the pigskin.

He lined up in a power set and followed blockers. He pursued the edge with abandon, breaking Goldsboro's containment and delivering hammersmith blows on the end of runs.

He even lined up wide and attempted to take off the top of Goldsboro's secondary.

All of it worked.

Following a botched punt return near the mid-point of the first quarter, the Warriors took control by delivering a 10-play, 54-yard touchdown drive.

Williams capped the affair with a six-yard burst through goal line traffic, an effort that offset two penalty flags early in the march.

To the casual observer, a quality start.

To Warriors' head coach Leander Oates, it was an exercise in patience.

"The penalties in the red zone are costly," said Oates. "I've been telling our guys -- we have to capitalize."

In total, both teams combined for nine first-half handkerchiefs and a staggering 16 for the game.

Goldsboro tied matters late in the first stanza when senior Jacob Owens stepped in front of an Ezekiel Best pass, nabbed it and walked the hashmarks for a 91-yard Cougar score.

EW 7, Goldsboro 7.

Williams, however, would have none of the parity.

He opened the second half with a blistering 50-yard kickoff return, paving the way for Taevian Jackson's six-yard touchdown scamper six plays later.

The back breaker, however, was delivered in the fourth quarter.

With Goldsboro punting from its own end zone, Williams bounced around the 35-yard line. Upon receiving the wobbly Cougar kick, the junior made one definitive cut and sped for the end zone.

Ball game.

It was a fitting end for the dual-sport athlete, who accumulated 231 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns on the evening.

For Goldsboro, now 0-2 on the season, the tilt represented an all-too-familiar trope.

"Still did things to not help ourselves out," head coach Bennett Johnson said. "I feel like we're our own worst enemy sometimes."

Eastern Wayne, however, was not.

At 2-0, the New Hope faithful are enjoying the early returns of their new head coach, who was quick to point out what lies ahead.

"That's for the kids," Oates said of the WCC trophy. "I'm looking at a bigger picture -- more wins."

After the upcoming bye week, the Warriors will entertain 2-A foe Greene Central. Goldsboro travels to face Southern Wayne next Friday.

MVP

* Eastern Wayne's Malyk Williams put together 231 yards of work on Friday night, and did so in a manner that spoke to every part of the field.. The junior rushed 10 times for 84 yards and a score, returned three kicks for 135 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for eight yards.

At game's end, he even delivered the WCC trophy to EW principal Lee Johnson.

By Committee

* Eastern Wayne went five deep in its backfield Friday night, getting 205 yards and two touchdowns on 34 shared carries -- impressive.

Quotable

* "We're not executing up to our abilities," GHS coach Bennett Johnson said. "But we can't hang our heads long. We have no choice."

Not His Way

* Goldsboro's Ronnie Tookes didn't see many balls thrown in his direction during the WCC, preventing him from adding to his early-season total of two interceptions.