Southern Wayne head football coach Matt Hine talks with his team after a recent game. The Saints concluded regular-season play with a 29-22 loss at Charles B. Aycock Friday evening. Hine said he is excited about the future of the program and the foundation his 13 seniors laid for the underclassmen this season. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
PIKEVILLE — Disappointment shrouded the faces of Southern Wayne’s football players as they gathered for their final post-game huddle of the season Friday evening.
Saints head coach Matt Hine felt their pain.
A disastrous third quarter allowed county rival Charles B. Aycock to build a comfortable three-touchdown advantage and hang on for a 29-22 victory at Hardy Talton Stadium.
“It’s been tough the last two weeks,” Hine said. “They were devastated to lose senior night on their home field, especially how they played for a majority of the game against a team [Fike] that’s wound up winning our [Quad County 3A] conference.
“To our kids’ credit, as they’ve done all year, they kept swinging and kept fighting. I can’t be disappointed with the way played the vast majority of the game against an 8-2 team that’s headed to the playoffs.”
As usual, Tez White carried the Saints’ offensive load due to a backfield depleted by season-ending injuries and other issues. White accounted for all three touchdowns and racked up 260 yards on 31 carries.
Southern Wayne had 288 yards of total offense — all on the ground.
The Golden Falcons rattled off 29 consecutive points after White gave the visitors an early 8-0 lead. The biggest blow was a blocked punt recovered in the end zone that extended Aycock’s advantage to 21 points after three quarters.
White provided two TDs in the final period.
“I thought we certainly played well enough to win, but we didn’t do a good job in the third quarter,” Hine said. “Tez and the offensive line did a great job in the first half, were able to run the ball and [we] played great defense. We got back on track in the fourth quarter.
“Still you can’t make mistakes in a quarter that will catch up with you.”
Hine and his coaching staff hugged their 13 seniors before they boarded the bus back to Dudley. Though the trip had a solemn feel, the Saints knew they had turned a few heads and opened a few eyes this season on the gridiron.
“[Our] seniors bought into what we try to preach, try to do everything right and didn’t necessarily get the rewards they hoped to get from it,” Hine said. “Hopefully down the road in a few years they’ll see the foundation they helped laid in getting the Southern Wayne football program moving forward.
“Everyone of them, in their own way, has done a tremendous job serving as great football players on the field, etc. It’s been two weeks of hugs and trying to get the message [delivered] that here are all of the great things you have done and put in place here at Southern Wayne.”
The Saints’ JV team filed a 4-6 worksheet.
Three of the losses were one-score outcomes, including a double-overtime defeat.
“We’ve got some good foundational stuff in place and will have a full, true offseason this year where I don’t have to spend my hunting for a coaching staff [and] putting schemes in place,” Hine said. “We’ve got the program moving in the right direction.”
