FOOTBALL: C.B. Aycock steals Pirates' booty

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on September 19, 2016 9:57 AM

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By BEN COLEY

bcoley@newsargus.com

WENDELL -- Charles B. Aycock drew inspiration from the war film "Lone Survivor" for inspiration against Corinth-Holders.

The movie's main theme -- finish the fight, no matter if you slip up.

The Golden Falcons finished their fight to the tune of a game-winning, 66-yard drive that sealed a 34-28 road victory Friday evening.

Tim Farmer's interception gave CBA possession with 7:40 left in the game. A penalty pushed it back to its own 34-yard line.

A little more than six minutes later, Jake Flowers connected with Damien Darden on an 11-yard touchdown pass to cap the 13-play drive. It was Flowers' fourth TD pass of the game and 15th of the season.

It was Darden's second scoring reception in the game.

"We got a matchup that we liked and I think we wore them down a little bit," CBA head coach Steve Brooks said. "And we were able to run power. Our kids were not going to quit. They just finished the fight."

The Pirates led 21-14 at halftime and received the second-half kickoff. On their first play from scrimmage, Corinth-Holders' Johnavan Neal sprinted 67 yards down the left sideline and pushed the lead to 14 points.

Corinth-Holders did not score again.

After CBA scored a TD on its first possession of the second half, Corinth-Holders returned the kickoff to the Golden Falcons' 15-yard line. But the CBA defense stood its ground, and the Pirates missed a 22-yard field goal.

CBA then drove 80 yards downfield, and Gough finished the possession with a 4-yard TD. The game was at 28-all after Seth Harrison's PAT.

Farmer intercepted Neal on the ensuing defensive possession, setting up the dramatic drive. Gough carried the ball 10 times for 49 yards on the drive and ended the night with 39 carries for 254 yards.

On Corinth-Holders' final possession, the Golden Falcons forced a quick four-and-out.

"We challenged their manhood," Brooks said, regarding the defense. "We talked about finishing the fight, and gotta go make a play. I told the defense, 'Just go get me one stop.' They were just resilient."

CBA earned its first-ever win over Corinth-Holders and is off to a 4-1 start for the first time since 2009.

The Golden Falcons suffered their fair share of punches and bruises. But as the clock ran down to all zero, Brooks' team was that survived.

"That's all we've talked about this week is finish the fight," Brooks said. "Get it to the fourth quarter and finish the fight. Draw a line in the sand, like Marcus Lutrell did. Crawl to that line, and go again. And that's what we did. Our kids have so much fight in them, it's unbelievable."

Here are some game notes:

FLOWER POWER

• Flowers completed 11 passes for 199 yards. His four TDs were a season-high, and he now has 15 on the year. In the second half alone, he was 5 of 5 for 64 yards and threw two TDs.

DEFENSIVE UPSWING

• The CBA defense allowed just seven points in the second half after giving up 21 in the first 24 minutes. In its last three games, the Golden Falcons have allowed just 13 points in the second half.

BUSINESS TRIP

• Brooks said that when CBA entered Corinth-Holders' stadium two years ago, the team was intimidated by the big-game atmosphere. That year, the Golden Falcons lost 42-28. This season, CBA not only came away with a win, but prevented the Pirates from winning their first game of the 2016 season.