North Lenoir improves to 5-0 for the first time in school history, beats Eastern Wayne
North Lenoir defeated Eastern Wayne 21-20 to improve to 5-0 for the first time in school history. Photo by Junious Smith III / Neuse News
By Junious Smith III
GOLDSBORO — It may not have been pretty, but neither is history in many cases.
North Lenoir defeated Eastern Wayne 21-20 Friday, improving to 5-0 for the first time in school history and winning its second consecutive road game in Wayne County by one point. On Sept. 13, the Hawks defeated Southern Wayne 14-13 before a 47-0 home win over East Carteret Tuesday.
The Warriors (0-5) outgained the Hawks 366-100, but seven turnovers and two critical kickoff returns from Justin Cobb proved to be the difference in a monumental win for North Lenoir.
“I’m so proud of the entire group, from JV all the way to varsity,” Hawks coach Jim Collins said. “We’ve worked hard all winter and when you work hard, you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor. It’s an amazing experience.”
Eastern Wayne forced a punt on the opening drive before picking up a 6-yard touchdown run from J.J. Murray. On the ensuing kickoff, Cobb went 94 yards before being tackled at the Warriors 4. One play later, Jaden Kilpatrick punched it in and Filipo Sualevai added a 2-point conversion to put the Hawks up 8-7.
The Warriors countered with a 31-yard touchdown pass from Wesley Case to Brandon Joyner, but after the teams traded possessions Ny’Jai Koonce took a handoff and broke a few tackles on the way to a 21-yard touchdown and 15-14 North Lenoir lead. The Hawks couldn’t garner traction in the second quarter with a pair of three-and-outs, but the Warriors committed three turnovers inside the North Lenoir 30 to keep the score the same heading into the break.
Eastern Wayne seemed to have momentum to start the fourth, but Ben Mitchell fumbled inside the North Lenoir 10 with 6:21 left and the Hawks recovered. The Warriors forced a three-and-out and capitalized offensively as Case found Joyner again for a 20-yard touchdown with 2:02 to play as Eastern Wayne took a 20-15 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, Cobb found a hole in the coverage and raced to the end zone for the 90-yard touchdown to give the Hawks the lead back. Cobb said his teammates were the catalyst for his big play.
“If it (wasn’t) for them, I don’t know if I would’ve had the chance,” Cobb said. “They lift me up every play and they always help me out no matter what. That play was something special — I felt like I could run faster than anybody out there (and) I felt like I wasn’t going to stop, so I kept going all the way.”
Eastern Wayne had one more chance and made it to the North Lenoir 34, but four straight incomplete passes ended the threat, setting off a wild celebration on the Hawks’ sideline.
North Lenoir hosts Greene Central Sept. 27 with hopes of remaining undefeated and winning its first Eastern Carolina Conference game since a 42-14 win over South Lenoir on Oct. 27, 2017.
North Lenoir 21, Eastern Wayne 20
NL 15 0 0 6 — 21
SW 14 0 0 6 — 20
First Quarter
EW — J.J. Murray 6 run (Angus Dove kick), 6:33
NL — Jaden Kilpatrick 4 run (Filipo Sualevai run), 6:12
EW — Brandon Joyner 31 pass from Wesley Case (Dove kick), 5:52
NL — Ny’Jai Koonce 21 run (Trey Kivett kick), 1:46
Fourth Quarter
EW — Joyner 20 pass from Case (run failed), 2:02
NL — Justin Cobb 90 kickoff return (run failed), 1:47
NL EW
First Downs 5 19
Rushes-yards 32-75 39-226
Passing 1-2-0 9-18-1
Passing yards 25 140
Total yards 100 366
Punts-avg. 6-32.0 1-19.0
Penalties 9-91 4-15
Fumbles-lost 4-0 6-6
Individual statistics
RUSHING—North Lenoir: Ny’Jai Koonce 7-32, Jaquan Shackleford 2-24, Filipo Sualevai 9-11, Jaden Kilpatrick 7-10, Savion White 2-10, Malik Jones 5-minus 12. Eastern Wayne: J.J. Murray 14-114, Ben Mitchell 14-82, Tobias Roberts 4-20, Denislyn Swinson 4-14, Wesley Case 3-minus 4.
PASSING—North Lenoir: Sualevai 1-2-0, 25; Koonce 0-1-0, 0. Eastern Wayne: Case 9-18-1, 140
RECEIVING—North Lenoir: Tre Olds 1-25. Eastern Wayne: Brandon Joyner 5-105, Albert Brown 3-25, Clementa Battle 1-10.
