Eastern Wayne foiled by another last-second play

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 4, 2007 2:24 AM

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Oh no, not again.

Less than seven seconds away from a much-needed season-ending win, Eastern Wayne couldn't close the deal Friday evening.

Kinston quarterback Donavan Ingram threw a 32-yard touchdown pass and added the two-point conversion with 6.6 seconds remaining in a 22-21 victory at Little Big Horn. The loss denied the Warriors (5-6 overall) a fourth-place finish in Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference play.

"That (last play) just sums up the year," said Warriors head coach Jeff Price. "You try to make your breaks and keep your players playing, but you just can't buy a break. Our guys have been in every game we've played this year."

Eastern Wayne logged a 1-4 ledger against league opposition this season. All four defeats were by a combined 26 points, including Monday's three-point setback at archrival Charles B. Aycock. The Golden Falcons booted the game-winning field goal with 6.9 seconds to go.

"We couldn't find the magic key to create a break," said Price.

After a lethargic offensive effort in the opening half, the Warriors engineered two third-quarter scoring drives. Hassan Best, who led all rushers with 169 yards, tallied the first of his two touchdowns with a 2-yard plunge at the 5:17 mark.

Kinston (1-4 ECC) went three-and-out on its next possession and Eastern Wayne took over near midfield. Best -- again -- emerged the workhorse with seven carries as the Warriors moved into the red zone. Dan Price's 9-yard, fourth-down scoring strike to Will White capped the nine-play drive.

The Vikings blocked the extra point and led 14-13.

"We had lost some of our confidence along the way and we told the guys at halftime they needed to refind that confidence, that they could win this game," said Price of the 13-point surge. "We did nothing out of the ordinary, but kept pressing to our players the importance of what they had to do to get the job done. They did better."

Best's 25-yard halfback option pass to White set up his go-ahead, 51-yard touchdown with less than 6 minutes remaining in regulation. Price completed the two-point pass to Eric Brofft for a 21-14 advantage.

The teams traded punts, which set the stage for the Vikings' miraculous comeback. Antonio Harris' 26-yard completion to Demarcus Quinerly on a flee-flicker started the game-winning drive.

A questionable late-hit penalty pushed the ball into the Warriors' red zone with less than a minute remaining. Working with no timeouts, Kinston overcame an offensive pass interference penalty which negated a touchdown with 35.7 seconds to play.

Two plays later, Ingram took the snap and stayed in the pocket on a third-and-goal from the Viking 32. He threw a high-arching pass near the right sideline to Quinerly, who caught the ball along with Warrior defensive back David White.

The two wrestled for control as they landed on their backs in the end zone. The officials signaled touchdown, giving Quinerly his third scoring play of the game on a game-high 10 receptions.

"Give credit to our players for executing and dealing with adversity," said Kinston coach Tony Edwards. "We seem to give up things here and there, but our kids just stuck through it."

Down 21-20, Edwards didn't want to play overtime.

Ingram called his own number and executed a perfect naked bootleg on the two-point conversion, giving the Vikings just their third win of 2007 in 11 tries. Ingram finished with 176 yards passing, including first-half touchdown throws of 18 and 23 yards to Quinerly.

"I wasn't about to go for two," said Edwards, soaked from a post-game shower of cold ice water. "We had the momentum and Bo, one of our seniors, sent us out on a great note."

Kinston 6 8 0 8 -- 22

Eastern Wayne 0 0 13 8 -- 21

First quarter

K -- Quinerly 18 pass from Ingram (kick failed), 4:25

Second quarter

K -- Quinerly 23 pass from Ingram (Herring pass from Harris), 10:24

Third quarter

EW -- Best 2 run (Hughes kick), 5:17

EW -- White 9 pass from Price (kick blocked), 0:00

Fourth quarter

EW -- Best 51 run (Brofft pass from Price), 5:51

K -- Quinerly 32 pass from Ingram (Ingram run), 0:06.6

K EW

First downs 19 12

Rushes-yds 30-103 46-219

Passing yds 216 58

Total yards 319 277

C-A-I 18-38-0 4-10-1

Fumbles-lost 4-3 3-2

Penalties-yds 5-54 5-53

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Kinston -- Antonio Phillips 18-61; Brandon Harris 4-14; Khristan Murphy 2-(-1); Tykeem Williams 2-28; Donavan Ingram 3-(-3); George Gooding 1-4. Eastern Wayne -- Dan Price 4-(-4); Orlando Midgette 4-21; Hassan Best 30-169, 2 TDs; Eric Brofft 7-26; Dwight Ulmer 1-5.

PASSING -- Kinston -- Donavan Ingram 16-35-0 176, 3 TDs; Brandon Harris 2-2-0 40. Eastern Wayne -- Dan Price 3-9-1 33, TD; Hassan Best 1-1-0 25.

RECEIVING -- Kinston -- Demarcus Quinerly 10-154, 3 TDs; Brandon Harris 2-9; Tykeem Williams 1-5; Bryan Bouie 3-52; Jaquin Davis 1-(-2); Antonio Phillips 1-(-2). Eastern Wayne -- Eric Brofft 1-14; Will White 3-44, TD.