FOOTBALL: Hawks cage Cougars in ECC 2A opener

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on October 7, 2016 9:57 AM

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bcoley@newsargus.com

Both Goldsboro and North Lenoir entered Thursday night's game with glaring weaknesses on the defensive side of the ball.

It didn't take long for the Hawks to show that the Cougars' problems were more significant.

Operating out of the Wing-T, North Lenoir quickly seized control of the game by scoring touchdowns on its first four possessions. The Hawks rode the early momentum, and handed the Cougars a 47-24 loss in the Eastern Carolina 2-A Conference opener for both teams.

"I told them our defense was and still can be the strong point of our team," said GHS head coach Bennett Johnson. "Earlier in the season, our defense kept us in games. It's the same people, but right now it's hard to keep them believing.

"But that's what we have to do right now -- keep them believing."

The crowd was barely settled into their seats when North Lenoir's Ja'lyn McNeil scampered 39 yards to the end zone on the second play from scrimmage.

Goldsboro countered in five plays, which concluded with a 51-yard TD run by quarterback KJ Alston.

After the Cougars scored, the Hawks received good field position and once again scored in just two plays. This time it was a 52-yard TD run by Keithan Morris.

With the game already 13-6 in just four minutes of game play, it appeared the two teams were headed for a high-scoring, back-and-forth shootout.

But then North Lenoir's Stephon Swinson broke off an 88-yard TD run. Four minutes later, he scored from 20 yards out. The scores extended the Hawks lead to 25-6 at the end of the first quarter.

"Not one thing that we hadn't done before," said Hawks' head coach Kim Brown, regarding the explosive offense. "We just broke a couple of big runs. It was the same things we've been running all year."

Goldsboro's Dayquell Dawson replaced Alston late in the first quarter. On his first drive of the game, the backup quarterback connected with Ronnie Tookes for a 30-yard TD.

The momentum garnered by the Cougars was eventually squashed again by Swinson, who broke free for an 82-yard score with two minutes before halftime. That gave North Lenoir a 33-12 advantage.

In the first half, Swinson had 196 yards and three TDs on just five carries. He finished the game with 251 yards.

"It's what's underneath his shirt -- his heart," Brown said about Swinson's inspired play.

Goldsboro did keep the margin at 14-12 in the second half, but the damage had already been done in the first 24 minutes of play.

The Cougars must now turn their attention to Kinston, the 2-A state runner up from last season.

Johnson said there can't be any pouting or moping after Thursday's loss. He added that all the team can do is begin practice at 4 p.m. on Monday and continue to go to work.

"We can't feel sorry for ourselves. No one is going to feel sorry for us," Johnson said. "Kinston doesn't feel sorry for us, Ayden-Grifton, Greene Central and South Lenoir -- nobody cares what our record is or how we're struggling. It's real simple -- you just have to get better."

FREQUENT SCORING

* North Lenoir scored quickly and often to begin the game. In fact, the Hawks scored their first four TDs in a total of eight plays. All of them were runs of 20 yards or more.

SPREADING THE BALL

* Both teams had a variety of players touch the ball in the running game. Five North Lenoir rushers combined for 440 yards. For Goldsboro, five rushers combined for 282 yards.

QUITE THE SWING

* This was Goldsboro's first loss in four games to North Lenoir since joining the Eastern Carolina 2-A Conference. From 2013-15, the Cougars outscored the Hawks 127-49.