DUDLEY — Defense allowed Kinston to continue its mastery over Southern Wayne on the football field Friday evening.

Junior free safety Nicky Walters Jr. picked off two passes and the Vikings forced a total of five turnovers during their 44-9, nonconference romp. KHS claimed its seventh consecutive win the series and 17th overall against the Saints in 25 meetings.

Two Kinston defensive players sat due to suspensions.

"To change those guys around like we did on Thursday and practice just yesterday, I thought showed just how well-coached our guys are on defense, and how we can plug and chug in our defensive scheme," said Kinston head coach Ryan 'Diesel' Gieselman. "With the conditioning and pushing of these guys, hopefully that will help us in the long haul."

The Vikings, who snapped a two-game skid, yielded 15 yards rushing and 97 passing. The Saints failed to convert seven fourth-down plays.

While the defense stepped into the limelight, Kinston's offense continues to seek an identity with backup quarterback Caleb Gooding. The junior ran the spread in the absence of starter Demetri Holmes, who continues to recover from an injury.

Gieselman said Holmes is "day to day."

Gooding directed a six-minute scoring drive in the opening half and a five-minute TD possession in the second half. The 165-pounder completed seven passes to four different receivers and emerged as the team's second-leading rusher with a hard-earned 65 yards on 18 carries.

However, he experienced trouble on the snap from center on occasion and miscommunicated with his backs. The Vikings misfired on a couple of red zone drives in the opening half and struggled against the Saints' blitz.

Gieselman expects that to change in the next "Goal Line Wednesday."

"You can definitely believe this week coming up that our Goal Line Wednesdays will be intense," he said.

Notes: Kinston is 51-39 all-time against Wayne County schools since 1970. ... The Vikings have won 12 straight against Wayne County opposition since 2008, and is a combined 17-4 against the Saints (8-3), Goldsboro (5-0) and Eastern Wayne (4-1) during that stretch. ... Gieselman's team opens conference play Friday at home against Washington.

Kinston 12 13 0 19 - 44

Southern Wayne 0 7 2 0 - 9

First Quarter

K — Ward 5 run (kick failed), 9:15

K — Pitts 12 pass from Gooding (pass failed), 2:08

Second Quarter

K — J. Holloway 6 run (kick blocked), 6:20

SW — Callahan 8 pass from Coley (Best kick), 0:59.2

K — C. Holloway 97 kickoff return (Patino kick), 0:44.3

Third quarter

SW — Safety, punt blocked out of back of end zone, 4:03

Fourth quarter

K — London 18 pass from Gooding (kick failed), 9:48

K — C. Holloway 3 run (Patino kick), 5:25

K — J. Holloway 84 run (pass failed), 2:13

KHS SWHS

First downs 22 7

Rushes-yds 46-294 34-15

Passing 7-11-1 7-20-4

Passing yds 113 97

Total yards 407 112

Fumbles-lost 5-2 4-1

Punts-yds 1-41.0 1-27.0

Penalties 11-120 6-46

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Kinston: Josh Holloway 6-112, Calvin Holloway 4-33, Will London 4-(minus-5), Khari Pitts 2-31, Iverson Ward 11-59, Caleb Gooding 18-65, Team 1-(minus-1). Southern Wayne: Jamari Leach 8-19, Demoregea Coley 12-(minus-14), Tione Jones 1-10, Xavious Speight 4-6, Kalif Barnes 1-(minus-2), Jerome Moore 4-22, Paul Francis 1-3, Wadshon Pierre Lewis 2-(minus-9), Team 1-(minus-20).

PASSING — Kinston: Gooding 7-11-1, 113. Southern Wayne: Leach 3-7-2, 47, Coley 4-13-2, 50.

RECEIVING — Kinston: Jo. Holloway 3-57, Pitts 1-12, London 2-28, Ca. Holloway 1-16. Southern Wayne: Tashawn Phillips 5-88, Tayvon Callahan 1-8, Daylan Kornegay 1-1.