FOOTBALL CAPSULE: Goldsboro @ South Lenoir

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on November 10, 2016 2:46 PM

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GOLDSBORO (0-10, 0-4 ECC 2A)

at SOUTH LENOIR (3-7, 0-4)

Last time out: Goldsboro lost 28-20 to Greene Central; South Lenoir lost 9-6 to county archrival North Lenoir.

Last meeting: 2015, Goldsboro won 64-6.

Notable: South Lenoir and Goldsboro rank fifth and sixth, respectively, among league teams in scoring offense this season. The Blue Devils average 25.5 points, while the Cougars score 14.8. Goldsboro averages 191.6 yards of total offense per game. Zxavior Bowden has rushed for 582 yards and four TDs. Defensive leaders - RJ Dodson (73 tackles), Bowden (71) and Emmanuel Persky (49). Persky, Ronnie Tookes and Jacob Owens have combined for 12 tackles for loss.

What are your thoughts on South Lenoir? "South Lenoir is much improved, really believe in the direction they're heading. They play very disciplined and very hard," GHS head coach Bennett Johnson said. "Maybe not the most-talented group in the world, but they make up for it with extreme effort and really good execution. They do what they do and do it well. I've been very clear with our guys that we've got one more left and we need to make sure we finish this thing out on the right track."

How much momentum does the success against Greene Central give you for this week? "We've had moments where we've played with good effort and good energy, but we've never really strung it together an entire game," Johnson said. "We really put ourselves in position to win and could have won. I think it was a big eye opener for our guys that if I play all out, I've got a chance to be successful. I think they will follow that up with another great effort Thursday night."

What do you have to do to be successful against South Lenoir? "We've got make sure we're really good against South Lenoir on first and second downs," Johnson said. "If we can put them third-and-long, that will limit their situation. Three-yard plays are key for them. As long as they're in third-and-short, they're very comfortable. Against North Lenoir, they were able to keep the ball for a long portion of that game. We have to make sure we get their offense off the field. When our offense is on the field, we have to be aggressive and put up some points."

Talk about how your defense played last week. "We gave up a long touchdown the first play of the game and I told our guys that could have been a situation where we put our head down and say 'here we go again,' but they were playing with a lot of heart and passion," Johnson said. "With it being senior night, I think our guys just laid it all on the line. We had some guys step up and play better. Zxavior Bowden probably played his best game of the season at linebacker. What you saw Friday was all of the guys consistently doing what they were supposed to do."