FOOTBALL: Pikeville Shootout -- Aycock, Conley set state scoring record

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on October 7, 2016 9:57 AM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

PIKEVILLE -- Want a story to tell your children and your grandchildren?

How about the night two prolific-scoring high school football teams lit up the scoreboard in record-setting fashion on a misty Thursday evening at Hardy Talton Stadium?

Boy, was it one to remember.

D.H. Conley survived an 83-68 shootout against Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference foe Charles B. Aycock in the highest-scoring game in North Carolina history. The teams combined for a state-record 151 points, and broke the old mark (144) set by Conley and ECC rival J.H. Rose just three weeks ago.

"I didn't want to get into a shootout with them and that's what it turned into," Golden Falcons head coach Steve Brooks said. "There were a couple of times where we got down, I don't know the exact number, but (CBA) teams past would have folded... a lot of teams would have folded.

"We just continued to attack. We've talked about finishing the fight the last month or so. We might have lost the war, but dad-gum, I feel pretty good that we won a fight. We just came up a play or two short."

Two plays -- an interception and an onsides kick -- changed the complexion of a game that several Golden Falcon alumni in attendance had never witnessed at the community-based school tucked away silently on Highway 117 just outside the town limits.

One play shifted the momentum before halftime.

Holton Ahlers, a four-star Division I recruit, collected a "pick six" off CBA quarterback Jake Flowers that was called back due to a illegal blocking penalty. Five plays later, the Vikings scored to build a two-touchdown lead.

"I wasn't supposed to play defense because I got hurt last week, but as soon as he (coach) told me, I was ready to roll," Ahlers said. "That was a huge point in the game. Once we scored off that and then we got the ball (at start of second half) to score again, we felt comfortable and kept rolling after that."

Rolling, indeed.

Ahlers, who threw for a career-high 513 yards, directed the Vikings to the end zone early in the second half. That gave Conley a somewhat comfortable lead until Aycock trimmed the deficit to seven points within a 56-second span in the fourth quarter.

Tim Woodard reeled in a 16-yard touchdown pass from Flowers, one of four scoring strikes thrown by the senior quarterback who logged a career-best 388-yard outing. Sophomore linebacker Tyler Parrish recovered a muffed Conley punt that led to Caleb Gough's fifth TD of the night -- part of his career-high 269-yard, six-touchdown effort.

CBA trailed 69-62.

The margin stayed at seven points when the Golden Falcons attempted their third onsides kick of the night. The ball deflected off a couple of CBA defenders and the Vikings recovered it. Isaiah Gamble's 23-yard run sealed the outcome with 4:41 left in the ballgame.

"The onsides kick, we've got our arms all around it," Brooks said. "It wasn't meant to be."

But, oh what a story he can tell.

UNOFFICIAL

* CBA and DHC combined for 1,397 yards of total offense -- which would be the second-highest, single-game performance by two teams according to the NCHSAA record books. The Golden Falcons and Vikings combined to run 144 plays on 31 offensive series.

BIG HOLTON

* Ahlers accounted for 620 yards of total offense -- 513 passing and 107 rushing, which is the single-best individual output in state history. Until the record is verified, former Athens Drive standout Nick Demuro holds the top spot with 608 yards set in 2007 against Fuquay-Varina.

Ahlers' single-game passing yardage ranks him 12th all-time in the record books.

"(The offense) starts with the guys up front," Ahlers said. "We've got some big 'ole hunks up there that will give me time. It's not just about me. We've got some guys out wide that can make some plays as well."

TAKING COMMAND

* The teams traded the lead on seven occasions in the opening half.

Ahlers' 63-yard TD pass to Jazion Daniels pushed the Vikings in front for good, 42-35, with two minutes left before halftime. The interception and a TD on Conley's opening drive of the second half extended the margin to 20 points.