Southern Wayne’s Jaylen Bowden, center, picks off a pass intended for a Goldsboro receiver during first-period play Tuesday evening. Backing up Bowden is teammate Dorien Toussaint (2). (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
DUDLEY — Southern Wayne celebrated a much-needed triumph Tuesday evening.
Yet, the Saints go back to work today.
That’s part of the post-game message second-year head football coach Matt Hine delivered to his team after a nail-biting, 16-8 decision over county rival Goldsboro High.
“Ugly, ugly, ugly,” Hine said. “I can be very proud of my team. They’re resilient. They certainly increased their toughness level by a ton [tonight]. “We made mistakes all over the place. Let a team like that stick around, so that’s what you get – a nail-biter at the end, for sure.”
Southern Wayne claimed its fourth straight win in the series and 11th overall in 20 meetings since 2004.
However, this “not-so-classic” encounter involved grit, heart, guts and determination — particularly during a lackluster second half. The Saints overcame a safety, turnover on downs, blocked punt and fumble — all in the final quarter.
They compensated with defense.
A stellar goal-line stand occurred before the safety.
Goldsboro blocked a punt and scored two plays later.
What had been a 16-0 advantage quickly dwindled to 16-8 with 4;17 remaining in regulation.
“And whatever I said at halftime didn’t work because we came out and we played kind of lifeless,” Hine said. “[We] played not to lose instead of playing to win. We didn’t play with aggression until moments when we had to and then all of a sudden, it’s like you see a [light] switch flip.”
After the Cougars’ collected their first touchdown of the season, the Saints took over at their own 37-yard line. They managed to recover their own fumble and benefit from a Goldsboro penalty that pushed the ball past midfield.
Hine grimaced a minute later.
The Cougars (0-2 overall) pounced on a loose ball. One pass play put the ball in Saints’ territory. An illegal block in the back negated the visitors’ next completion.
With less than 40 seconds remaining, Southern Wayne’s defensive line broke through for a quarterback sack. Sophomore lineman Landon Schroeder recovered the loose pigskin.
“That was a beauty,” Hine said of Schroeder.
Southern Wayne seized an 8-0 lead less than four minutes after the opening kickoff.
Jaylen Bowden, who emerged as the team’s top rusher, broke loose for a 56-yard run. Quarterback Brandon Lark provided the two-point conversion.
A myriad of miscues plagued both teams throughout the remainder of the first quarter and the entire second period. The Saints recovered two Cougar fumbles, lost one and punted twice.
Goldsboro, unexpectedly, delivered a profitable punt.
Bowden intended to let the ball roll dead around the Cougars’ 35-yard line.
It bounced into his hands instead and he raced 33 yards to the end zone. Lark supplied his second two-point conversion of the night with 29.8 seconds on the clock.
“Jaylen just made enough key plays for us that got us on the scoreboard, gave us some things to work with and build off of [offensively],” Hine said. “[But] I’m sure you can see all over my face that I’m stewing over about 20 different things that we have to improve on.
“At the end of the day, that’s a young team [for us] that needs to learn how to win. They took a huge step tonight.”
Southern Wayne (1-1 overall) has little time to celebrate, though. Hine’s team returns home Friday for another non-conference, county clash against Rosewood.
Kickoff is 7 p.m.
You may reach sports writer Rudy Coggins at prepswriter2@gmail.com or call/text 919-709-9257.
