Falcons swarm Rams
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SNOW HILL — It was a night of “firsts” for C.B. Aycock’s varsity football team on Thursday night.
The Golden Falcons took down the Rams of Greene Central, 40-24, in Snow Hill. It was the first time the Falcons (2-0) had beaten Greene Central (0-2) since 2013 and it was the first time the Falcons had put 40 points on the board in consecutive weeks since 2016. The win was also some redemption for head coach Steve Brooks, who after last year’s loss to the Rams did 38 up-down exercises the Tuesday after. The Rams won after Brooks decided to throw a pass deep to run out the clock instead of punt on fourth down, but senior AJ Dupree intercepted the pass at the 2-yard line and returned it for a touchdown to win 38-35.
“We have accountability Tuesday’s, and last year when I felt I threw this game away for my guys, I took my part in accountability Tuesday,” Brooks said. “It was absolutely painful, and it has stayed in my brain for 365 days. I can’t say enough about my coaches, our players the way they played and our crowd who came over here and were huge.”
This is also the first time Aycock has been 2-0 since 2013. The game changed for the Falcons after senior Alijuan Moore’s pick-6 in the second quarter. The Rams fumbled the snap the next possession, and Clay Matthews found Moore for another touchdown. Minutes later, Matthews found running back Tae Jackson to put Aycock up 31-6.
“He (Moore) just continues to show huge as a leader, and as playmaker on both sides of the ball and special teams too,” Brooks said. “I can’t say enough great things about him. He’s making some special plays.”
The Rams would rebound and score two touchdowns to make it, 34-18 with ten minutes left in the third quarter after Quantavious Horne’s interception return touchdown. But Jackson’s score with 2 minutes left in the third all but sealed the win as Greene Central had multiple players go down with injuries during the game. The last score of the game came on a two-yard fade to Zakvil Smith from Cole Dawson. Smith, otherwise known as the ‘Big Pterodactyl’, had six catches for 189 yards and two tubs.
The Rams have played well in both games under new head coach Jay Wilson, but in both games the Rams’ mistakes cost them the win. Wilson said he hopes to cleanup mistakes.
“We have to cleanup the small things, eliminate the turnovers and go from there,” Wilson said. “When we do that, now the outcome changes. If we don’t have three turnovers and a botched punt in the first half — things may have been different.”
Wilson and the Rams will travel to North Pitt next Friday. C.B. Aycock will host Hunt on Friday.
