Aug 24

Aug 24 Greene Central loses second half lead, falls to South Central

WINTERVILLE — The 2019 season opener was deja vu all over again for Greene Central.

Despite holding a 14-point second half advantage, their upset bid came up short in a 29-28 road loss to Winterville South Central on Friday. It wasn’t the result Jay Wilson was hoping for in his varsity football coaching debut, but there were a lot of positives to take.

“Obviously, it’s frustrating to come up short with how well we played,” he said. “I saw a lot of things we can build on from tonight. We did made some mistakes we need to correct, but I’m proud of my guys for their effort. It’s a learning experience for us and hopefully we can finish in the fourth quarter next week.”

After Zakvil Smith’s punt pinned the Falcons inside their own 5, the Rams forced a safety when Quantavious Horne made an end zone tackle with 2:32 left in the opening quarter. A Jayden Willis interception put the Rams in the Falcons red zone early in the second quarter before a lightning delay forced both teams to exit the field.

When the game resumed about 45 minutes later, the Rams failed to score off the turnover. The Greene Central defense stymied South Central for most of the first half and the Rams’ Cole Dawson found Smith on a 32-yard touchdown pass to make it 10-0 midway through the second.

The Falcons would answer with a Zyaire Williams 1-yard rushing touchdown before the half. Greene Central would force a three and out to start the second half, but were pinned inside its own 10 before Dawson found Smith again for a 78-yard connection down to the 15. Knowledge Branch scored on the next play, and after a fumble recovery on the ensuing possession by Hezekiah Pagan, Branch scored from eight yards out on third and goal to make it 22-8 late in the third.

The Falcons wouldn’t go away as Williams scored on a 17-yard run late in the third to make it a one-possession game. After a Rams three and out, Kevone Harris’ 29-yard touchdown and two-point conversion tied the game at 22 early in the fourth.

The Rams answered with a touchdown drive of their own as Dawson found Lamar Pridgen for a 17-yard strike to regain the lead, but they failed to score the two-point conversion. South Central capitalized as with 4:33 left in regulation, Falcons quarterback Justin Humphries found Jyquan Sheppard for a 66-yard touchdown on third-and-12 to take a 29-28 lead.

Greene Central got stopped on fourth down late in the game, and a Hail Mary attempt on the last play fell well short of the end zone.

“They’re a physical, athletic, and well coached team,” Falcons head coach Andy Tew said about the Rams. “I’m happy that my team fought back from the big deficit, but we were fortunate to get the win tonight. (Greene Central) is going to have a really good season and this was a great test for my team.”

The Rams face Pikeville C.B. Aycock next Friday in their home opener.

First quarter

GC — Safety, Quantavious Horne tackles ballcarrier in end zone, 2:32

Second quarter

GC — Zakvil Smith 32 pass from Cole Dawson (Branch run), 5:40

SC — Zyaire Williams 1 run (Xavier Meachem pass from Justin Humphries), 1:17

Third quarter

GC — Branch 15 run (kick blocked), 8:19

GC — Branch 8 run (run failed), 6:23

SC — Williams 17 Run (pass failed), :32

Fourth quarter

SC — Kevone Harris 29 run (Harris run), 10:17