FOOTBALL: Game capsules

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on September 1, 2016 1:49 PM

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TODAY'S GAMES

C.B. Aycock (1-1)

at North Lenoir (1-1)

Last meeting: 2015, C.B. Aycock won 43-20 at Hardy Talton Stadium in Pikeville

Last week: CBA lost 52-41 at home to Greene Central; North Lenoir fell 14-7 to Farmville Central.

Notable: The Golden Falcons have won 12 straight against the Hawks, and lead the all-time series 23-15-0. The schools halted the series from 1989-2000 and 2003-04. North Lenoir has lost to Eastern Wayne and Farmville Central by one touchdown.

Aycock's two-week evaluation: Head coach Steve Brooks said the team has been good in spurts. Undisciplined things and "stupid penalties" have thrown the team out of whack on occasion. The team has to tackle better on defense, play assignment football.

Defensive breakdown against Greene Central: The Rams' talented backfield was tough to contain most of the night. Brooks and his staff reviewed the game film said the team "did a lot of good things. We just got beat by two backs that were better than us."

Brooks' impressions of North Lenoir: "Coach (Kimbo) Brown has them going in the right direction. They've always been athletic, but now they look like they're athletic with a little bit of muscle behind them. They know what to do and where to be on the field. That's a dangerous combination. North Lenoir is not the undisciplined team they have been in years past. They're actually believing in the coaching staff. I'm just hoping our football team reponds to the mental and discipline challenges we've put them through this week to break through and maybe finally put it all together."

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North Duplin (0-2)

at South Lenoir (1-1)

Last meeting: 2015, North Duplin won 58-24 at H.E. Grubbs Field in Calypso

Last week: Rebels enter contest on heels of 28-10 road loss to Pinetown Northside; Blue Devils dropped 56-36 shootout to Jones Senior.

Notable: The Rebels are 1-2 against South Lenoir and 16-17 overall in regular-season, non-conference play since 2010.

North Duplin's two-week evaluation: Coach Hugh Martin is seeing some good things from his defense. The technique has improved as far as getting in the right spots, but both Southside and Northside were able to convert some big plays. The Rebels continue to experience some growing pains on the offensive side of the ball. Martin said the team had a positive film session Monday after its road loss at Northside.

Get the ball to Kenny: Kenny Sheppard has emerged as a "go-to" guy in each of the first two games. He played behind an experienced backfield last season, and didn't get as many reps as he needed. Martin plans to take advantage of the tools Sheppard possesses. "He's worked real hard in the weight room in the offseason. He's going to continue to get better and develop as he gets more carries. That will help us all around and make us more efficient offensively as well."

The challenge South Lenoir presents?: Martin says the Blue Devils are a ball-control team with size on the line, big tight ends and strong running backs. SL runs the Wing-T offense, so assignment defense is paramount against the misdirection scheme that can either grind out the clock or create an explosive play. "If you get in the wrong place, you can be in trouble in a hurry," Martin said. "We've got to continue to develop what we've been doing all year and that is trying to be in the right spot and make a play when we get there."

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East Carteret (1-1)

at Spring Creek (1-1)

Last meeting: 2015, East Carteret won 64-14 in Beaufort

Last week: Spring Creek shut out Lejeune 58-0; West Carteret stunned East Carteret 19-16.

Notable: The Mariners have won all seven meetings in the series. Meanwhile, the Gators snapped a 10-game skid with an impressive defensive effort against Lejeune last week.

Spring Creek's assessment after two weeks: Gators must play consistent and when they make a mistake, must put it behind them and move on to the next play. All games have their high and low moments, and teams get in trouble when they dwell on the errors. SC must work on consistent play against a quality opponent.

Win or loss doesn't matter: Gators head coach Aaron Sanders and his staff is more concerned about evaluating the quality of play the team is putting on the field and the quality of work that the team is providing (off the field). The coaching staff "grades" the team after each game. Sanders said "to become a better football team and hit the goals we want to hit, whether we win or lose, these are the things that we have to fix. We're going to keep that mindset."

Sanders' scouting report on East Carteret: East Carteret is very athletic. They've got a young man (Da'Shaun Johnson) who has signed with East Carolina. They've got some other guys who are getting major looks. East Carteret plays very hard. They're coming in hungry and just lost a game to their county rival. They're going to be ready to play and we have to match that intensity that we know they're going to bring."

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Princeton (1-1)

at Franklinton (1-1)

Last meeting: 2015, Franklinton won 31-14 at Harvey Brooks Field

Last week: Princeton lost 55-54 at Midway; Franklinton defeated county rival Louisburg 53-14.

Notable: Princeton has ran 75 total offensive plays in two games, 74 on the ground. The Bulldogs average 13.07 yards per rush. Franklinton will move up to 3-A in the next realignment. The Rams return 10 starters, including junior Ricky Person, who emerged as the team leader in rushing and receiving last season.

Princeton's assessment after two weeks of play: Second-year head coach Travis Gaster said he's not pleased about where the team is at this point, but he's pleased with their effort. "We're playing much harder as a team on Friday nights," he said. "We still have fixable mistakes that we're making, so that's encouraging that we can continue to make mistakes on the field, correct them and learn from them. Then hopefully not make those mistakes down the road when the stakes are a little bit higher."

The Bulldogs' backfield of Matt Stallworth, Earl Gibson Jr. and Trace James have emerged as the workhorses in the Bulldogs' Wing-T scheme: Gaster said the backs have become a factor due to an offensive line that worked hard in the weight room and has played well as a unit. The backs have to block for each other. "They take pride in the other ones gaining their yards moreso than themselves," Gaster said. "In the Wing-T, everybody knows you're running the ball, you're not faking anybody out. You've just got to block. They've been blocking for each other and that's kind of spread all around. We feel comfortable with the ball in any of those guys hands.They've taken pride in running behind a really good offensive line right now."

Gaster's impressions of Franklinton: "Frankiinton is very athletic and the quarterback is probably their best athlete on the team. They're in the spread (offense). He runs the ball, he throws the ball and he scrambles, also," Gaster said. "That presents a big challenge if we try to cover them all up, then he's got the ability to hurt us scrambling as we're dropping into coverage. If we play for him not to scramble, then they have the athletes to beat us over the top in the passing game. We've got to mix it up and try to get some pressure on them. Keep them off balance. If they get in a rhythm, they have some really good athletes on their team."

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Parrott Academy (2-0)

at Wayne Christian (0-1)

Last week: Wayne Christian had bye; Parrott defeated Community Christian 46-32.

Notable: Austin Kornegay and DJ Waters combined for over 450 yards of Eagle offense two weeks ago, accounting for three touchdowns versus Community Christian... they will duel with APA quarterback Connor Bright, who has amassed 395 yards from scrimmage in two games... the junior leads the Patriots in passing (142.8 quarterback rating), running (13.4 yards per carry) and touchdowns (6)... Friday's game will be the first matchup between the two schools.

Wayne Christian head coach Scott Pinder says: "We've got about three different formations (installed this week), added quite a bit to it," Pender said of his offense on Wednesday. "We've got a lot of speed in several backs."

Defensively, the Eagles will lean on a diversified approach to contend with a layered Parrott offensive attack, led in all phases by the multi-talented Bright.

"We've shuffled some guys around on that side too, got our quicker guys on the ends," the coach said, "to hopefully put some pressure on the quarterback."

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TUESDAY GAME (Sept. 6)

Goldsboro (0-2)

at Southern Wayne (0-1)

Last meeting: 2015, Goldsboro won 44-0

Last week: Goldsboro fell 21-7 to Eastern Wayne in inaugural Wayne County Classic; Southern Wayne had a bye week.

Goldsboro's emphasis in practice this week: The Cougars have worked on correcting their technique, execution and hustle. Offensively, they've struggled to find any consistency, which is leading to big mistakes. Head coach Bennett Johnson said a lot of that can be corrected.

Southern Wayne's emphasis in practice this week: The Saints want to limit their miscues, particularly offsides and holding infractions. Getting mentally prepared and handling individual responsibilities for a county rival is crucial. SW can't get caught up in all the hype surrounding the game.

Johnson's thoughts on Southern Wayne: "I expect to see a lot of Deandre Wright, Quentin Carlton and Manny Walker from Southern Wayne. Those three guys are good enough to play for anybody. Southern Wayne has got a much improved team. We'll have to show up and play well.

SW head coach Ronnie McClary's thoughts on his alma mater: "I expect to see some good athletes. They have some pretty decent athletes on the defensive side of the ball, so we have to get our hands on them and block them. And offensively, they have a few playmakers. So if we can limit the big plays defensively and we can move the ball offensively, we should have a shot."