Photo by William “Bud” Hardy / Neuse News

AYDEN - Ayden-Grifton painfully remembers opposing teams capitalizing on its mistakes early in the season.

The Chargers turned opportunistic Friday evening.

Aggressive special teams play led to short fields on two occasions in the fourth quarter as Ayden-Grifton prevailed 27-14 over Kinston on senior night. Not only did the Chargers (7-3 overall, 4-2 EC 2A) snap a two-game skid in the series, they claimed sole possession of third place in the league.

The Vikings (6-5, 3-3) dropped into a fourth-place tie with North Lenoir, but own the head-to-head tiebreaker for the postseason.

The N.C. High School Athletic Association will release the some time today for the "AA" (large school) and "A" (small school) playoffs in all four classifications.

"It's become a really big rivalry and our kids, losing to those guys twice last year, they answered and played with great effort," Ayden-Grifton head coach Paul Cornwell said.

Tied at 14-all nearly midway through the final period, Ayden-Grifton employed its "block" scheme and forced a bad snap on a fourth-down punt. Kinston punter Ja'Lique Rouse tried to escape trouble, but got dropped for a six-yard loss on his own 13-yard line.

The Chargers' first play netted six yards.

Quarterback Josh Wright faked the handoff to Marlon Cannon on the next snap and then tucked it in. Just before an AG defender closed in, Wright pitched the pigskin to Michael Webb, who stepped untouched into the end zone from seven yards out.

"It all starts with the line," Wright said. "They have to block good, then I make my reads on the ends and the receivers make their blocks on the outside."

After another three-and-out series, the Chargers took over at the Vikings' 41. Wright traded handoffs between Cannon and Webb, who capped the possession with his fourth TD of the night - a five-yard burst.

Cannon led all rushers with 130 yards, while Webb had 105.

"In big games, any time there is an opportunity, you've got to be ready to take it," Cornwell said. "Early in the year, we gave away some of those opportunities and lost some ballgames when we allowed somebody else to take advantage of those opportunities. To get a chance to go out and make plays on those was big for us."

Ayden-Grifton held leads of 7-0 and 14-7 only to see Kinston respond.

Vikings signal caller Caleb Gooding connected with Will London on a 48-yard scoring strike in the second quarter. Josh Holloway broke free for a 37-yard TD in the third.

Kinston managed just 30 yards of total offense in the second half and 134 for the game.

"We did get stops. We got the ball offensively, we just couldn't put a drive together," said Kinston head coach Ryan Gieselman. "Special teams and missed opportunities...small things we've got to take care of."

Kinston 0 7 7 0 - 14

Ayden-Grifton 7 7 0 13 - 27

First Quarter

AG - Webb 3 run (Hernandez kick), 7:03

Second Quarter

KHS - London 48 pass from Gooding (Patino kick), 10:32

AG - Webb 3 run (Hernandez kick), 0:43.9

Third Quarter

KHS - J. Holloway 37 run (Patino kick), 3:55

Fourth Quarter

AG - Webb 7 run (Hernandez kick), 7:26

AG - Webb 5 run (kick failed), 1:29

KHS AG

First downs 5 17

Rushes-yds 28-40 54-287

Passing 8-13-1 0-2-0

Passing yds 94 0

Total yds 134 287

Fumbles-lost 3-0 4-2

Punts-yds 4-26.3 2-21.5

Penalties 4-25 5-35

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - Kinston: Caleb Gooding 17-22, Calvin Holloway 3-(minus-2), Josh Holloway 3-31, Iverson Ward 3-(minus-10), Will London 1-4, Team 1-(minus-5). Ayden-Grifton: Marlon Cannon 20-130, Josh Wright 10-37, Michael Webb 19-105, Kevin Boomer 3-15, Team 2-0.

PASSING - Kinston: Gooding 8-13-1, 94. Ayden-Grifton: Wright 0-2-0, 0.

RECEIVING - Kinston: C. Holloway 2-17, London 1-48, J. Holloway 5-29.