PREP FOOTBALL: Cougars click on all cylinders at Hobbton

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on August 20, 2017 1:48 AM

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By RUDY COGGINS

rcoggins@newsargus.com

NEWTON GROVE -- Elvin James' post-game recap barely lasted three minutes after Goldsboro dumped Hobbton, 56-0, on Friday evening.

"Coaches?" he said.

No assistant spoke up.

Zxavior Bowden stepped toward James. What happened next spoke louder than words. The junior running back, who has caught the attention of college scouts, handed the team ball to a surprised James.

"I tell you what, man. This basically goes to my assistant coaches," said James, who rolled the football around in his hands. "I'm telling you they did the work and I'm just part of the team. I appreciate it.

"This was good."

How good?

The Cougars mirrored teams previously coached by James, who believes in smash-mouth football, execution and hard work on every play.

He showed no disappointment.

Brody Morton directed eight scoring drives on eight possessions. Bowden -- who exploded through small gaps and hit the after burners in the open field -- emerged as the offensive leader with 195 yards on 14 carries that included touchdown scampers of 9, 62 and 37 runs.

GHS racked up 390 yards of total offense -- 317 on the ground.

"The offense was doing great tonight because it was an all-around effort," Morton said. "You could tell that practice makes perfect. Wide receivers ran their routes, offensive line blocked, running backs ran hard.

"It just made it easy for me and coach to make the right calls."

Morton distributed six completions to four receivers -- Darius Rodgers (2 catches, 19 yards), Jazjelle Wooten (1-7), Cameron Roux (1-38, TD) and Andrew McNeill (1-9).

A junior signal caller, Morton ended his first varsity start 6-for-8 with 73 yards.

The real story? Defense.

Perhaps Goldsboro's biggest Achilles' heel in 2016, the unit looked completely different against the Wildcats. The Cougars utilized their strength in the trenches and displayed their warp-like speed on the edges.

Hobbton managed just 37 yards of total offense and one first down.

"Any time you can shut (an opponent) out, that is a tremendous honor for the defense," James said. "I give Coach (Charles) Lane, Coach (Robbie) Jones, Coach (George) Franklin and all of those guys credit for putting the defense together.

"They're having fun on defense."

Goldsboro filed its first shutout since a 44-0 victory over county rival Southern Wayne on Sept. 4, 2015. The Cougars shut out an opponent for the 12th time overall since 2008.