Kinston falters late in second half, downed by West Craven in state playoffs

VANCEBORO - Kinston’s football season came to an end on Thursday night.

The Vikings held a slim advantage early in the third quarter, but gave up 19 unanswered points in a 31-13 loss to West Craven in the first round of the NCHSAA 2A State playoffs. This win puts the Eagles in the second round against Red Springs next Friday. For Kinston, it marks the end of an adversity-filled season for head coach Ryan Gieselman and his team.

“We’ve faced a lot of adversity all year and these men are going to be better in the long run for it,” Gieselman said. “It’s not the ending we wanted, but there’s a lot of life lessons that these guys will take into the community. My seniors gave so much effort to the program and I’m going to miss them, but the underclassmen learn from this loss and prepare for next season.”

Kinston (6-6) had a goal-to-go situation early in the game as they looked for a quick start. However, penalties and negative plays caused their drive to stall out. Added a scoreless first quarter, the Eagles (9-3) struck first with a Trent Casey 61-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Ward. They’d hook up through the air on two more occasions. 

Eagles defensive tackle C.J. Mims intercepted a pass from Vikings junior quarterback Demetri Holmes on the ensuing possession and took it 30 yards to the house. After the game was scoreless for just over 17 minutes, the Eagles had a 12-0 lead late in the first half. However, Kinston would respond in a big way right before halftime.

Holmes, who returned to the lineup after missing a few games with a foot injury, would find senior Will London for a five-yard touchdown on the next drive to make it 12-7 with less than two minutes left before halftime. Kinston started the second half with a quick touchdown drive that ended in Holmes’ second touchdown of the night: a six-yard pass to senior Khari Pitts.90 seconds into the third quarter, the Vikings had their first lead of the night at 13-12.

After the two teams traded possessions, the Eagles took back the lead on a big momentum-changing play. On fourth and five from the Vikings 18 yard-line, Casey found Ward for his second score of the night and the Eagles would never trail again.

The Vikings turned the ball over twice in the fourth quarter and the Eagles began to manage the clock. Casey and Ward connected again this time on a 31-yard touchdown to make it 24-13 early in the final period. Then, they’d begin to hand the ball off to sophomore running back DayQuan Shelton. He continued to move the chains and eventually he’d ice the game with a 12-yard touchdown run with four minutes left.

Kinston will lose a lot of standout players to graduation like Pitts, London, Kymonte Roberts, Kaceion Williams, and Shykel Harvey-Grady among others. However, having players like Holmes, Iverson Ward, and Mechaelin Davis (who had an interception in the game) back for next means that the Vikings football program will be in good hands.

“We’re going to get after it during the offseason,” Gieselman added. “My team will be better for what we’ve learned throughout this season. There will be motivation to improve during the offseason as we go towards workouts, spring ball, and whenever we reconvene in the summer. “We’re going to get better and be better for it.”

West Craven 31, Kinston 13

K         0              7             6              0 — 13

WC     0              12             6              13 — 31

Second Quarter

WC — Trent Casey-Johnathan Ward 61 pass (kick blocked), 6:34

WC — C.J. Mims 30 interception return (pass failed), 6:16  

K — Demetri Holmes-Will London 5 pass (Diego Patino kick), 1:45

Third Quarter

K — Holmes-Khari Pitts 6 pass (run failed), 10:30

WC — Casey-Ward 18 pass (pass failed), 1:40

Fourth Quarter

WC — Casey-Ward 31 pass (kick failed), 9:35

WC — DayQuan Shelton 12 run (Caleb Baker kick), 4:04

                              K          WC

First Downs            8           16

Rushes-yards    16-34   41-142

Passing             13-32-3   8-12-2

Passing yards     146         165

Total yards           180         307

Punts-avg.        4-38.3    3-25.0

Penalties             11-85      9-54

Fumbles-lost        1-1          2-1

Individual statistics

RUSHING— Kinston: Iverson Ward 4-28, Calvin Holloway 1-7, Caleb Gooding 8-4, Demetri Holmes 1-0, Josh Holloway 2-minus 5. West Craven: DayQuan Shelton 25-130, Carice Raynor 12-21, Arthur Abrams 1--1, Trent Casey 3--8.

PASSING—Kinston: Holmes 9-27-3, 105; Gooding 4-5-0, 41. West Craven: Casey 8-12-2, 165.

RECEIVING—Kinston: C. Holloway 3-65, Khari Pitts 3-28, Ward 2-23, J. Holloway 2-19, Will London 2-11, Gooding 1-0. West Craven: Jonathan Ward 6-150, Tyquan Kearny 1-13, Sheldon Yates 1-2.