FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Warriors get another shot at South Johnston

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on November 17, 2016 9:57 AM

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bcoley@newsargus.com

Eastern Wayne head coach Leander Oates was on the sideline for last year's first-round loss against South Johnston.

He believes the Warriors should have won the game.

On Friday, Oates' team will have a chance to prove last year's early exit was nothing but a fluke. The second-seeded Warriors will host the seventh-seeded Trojans in the opening round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A (small-school) playoffs for the second consecutive year.

Oates remembers that EW was in a position to win last season's game, but he hasn't gone back to look at the film.

The Warriors have a new crop of players, and so do the Trojans.

"South Johnston is like us -- we're two new coaches," Oates said. "Coach (Matthew) Riggsbee is the new coach over there, and it's hard to say what they're going to do compared to last year's team."

In 2015, EW entered the game riding a two-game winning streak. This year, the Warriors will have to muster momentum that has been non-existent the past couple weeks.

The Warriors recently dropped games against county rival C.B. Aycock and J.H. Rose. Neither game was close -- EW lost by a combined score of 120-54. Although they were blowouts, Oates said there were positives to draw from both games.

He saw fight from his team and hopes that will carry over to Friday's game.

"It's playoff time," Oates said. "We just have to put everything out and understand that there's no next week. And I think if I get the guys' mentality understanding that, the effort will show on the field."

The improvements will have to begin on the defensive end, which has allowed 33.8 points per game this season.

Oates said South Johnston has talented skill players, particularly Javonte Smith -- a 6-foot-4 wide receiver. The first-year head coach said Smith has been a favorite target this season, proving the No.1 on the back of his jersey is quite appropriate.

"Last couple weeks the deep ball has been thrown on us," Oates said. "So we just have to make sure our guys are prepared to stop (Smith). That's a tall target out there."

This is the third consecutive season that EW has hosted at least one playoff game. The Warriors are 6-3 in their last nine postseason appearances. Two of the losses were to 3-A powerhouse Havelock, and the other was to South Johnston last season.

Oates said that KK Best won't be on the field. Neither will Robert Gonzalez, Austin Hite or Blake Hartsfield.

However, the Warriors' coach emphasized that this year's group will have an opportunity to accomplish a feat those past players failed to finish.

"I tell my guys that right now -- be the team that beats South Johnston," Oates said. "Last year's team definitely had more skill sets than we got this year and should've won."