PREP FOOTBALL: Aycock falls to South Central, ends year 2-9

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 11, 2016 9:57 AM

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The Association will release the playoff pairings Saturday.

Huddled one on knee around their coach, the Golden Falcons listened to one final emotional post-game speech from head coach Steve Brooks. They soon dispersed to different areas of the field and displayed their frustration.

"I can't be more proud of the group of guys than I have ever been, I love them and I let them down," said Brooks, who choked back tears.

"We didn't play our best game. That's my fault. They've done everything I've asked of them for four years. Just because our name is not going to say 'champion' beside it doesn't mean we're not one."

Aycock couldn't overcome four turnovers -- two fumbles and two interceptions -- that translated into 27 points for SC. The Falcons (5-5, 2-4 ECC) also needed a win to extend their season at least one week.

Quarterback Dexter McDuffie threw six touchdown passes -- all in the second quarter -- as the Falcons built an insurmountable 45-12 lead by halftime. McDuffie ended the night an efficient 14 of 18 for 282 yards.

Caleb Gough, as usual, led Aycock's ground charge. The hard-nosed senior running back churned out 151 yards and two touchdowns on runs of 9 and 3 yards. Mike Hemmingway added a fourth-quarter TD when the outcome had been all but decided.

Golden Falcons' quarterback Jake Flowers completed 14 of 25 passes, including a 7-yard scoring strike to Damien Darden. Flowers spread the wealth among six different receivers.

"You had two teams that wanted to get into the playoffs and they just played better than we did," said Brooks, who offered no comment on the eligibility issue.