Unbeaten New Bern hands Eastern Wayne first loss

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on October 4, 2014 11:07 PM

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NEW BERN -- Stop Mike Hughes.

The scheme worked after Hughes directed an touchdown-opening drive that ended with a 9-yard run less than two minutes into the game Friday evening.

Hughes saw little daylight for the next two quarters.

Eastern Wayne's defensive line stopped penetrating in an effort to sack the Division I recruit, and worked on containment instead. Hughes became a non-factor until the Warriors' defensive unit showed signs of second-half fatigue due to an offense that struggled to move the ball against a bigger and more-physical Bears' defensive unit.

Offered scholarships by 20 schools, including 19 from the "Power 5" conferences, Hughes took over in the second half and accounted for all four touchdowns -- three passing, one rushing -- in a 26-3 victory at Caruso-Coates Field. No. 1-ranked New Bern remained unbeaten in seven outings this season, and handed Eastern Wayne -- ranked No. 14 in the latest NCPreps.com 3-A poll -- its first loss in six games.

"I think our kids played extremely hard, couldn't have asked anything more out of their effort," EW head coach Bubba Williams said. "We've got to fix some things, fine-tune some things ... this one is probably on me. (I've) got to do a little better job of getting them in spots where they can be a little more successful.

"New Bern has an excellent defense, they shut us down."

Eastern Wayne managed a season-low 136 yards of total offense and committed three turnovers --one which led to Bears' touchdown. New Bern recovered one fumble inside its red zone in the second quarter after quarterback KK Best had hooked up with DayDay Pridgen for a 51-yard gain.

The Bears hurt themselves with penalties, including a defensive pass interference infraction that set up the Warriors' lone score -- a 27-yard, second-quarter field goal by Cameron Dove.

"Cameron did an excellent job making the field goal right before the half," Williams said. "That was big in a big game, and positive going forward."

New Bern forced Eastern Wayne into back-to-back 3-and-out series to start the third quarter. Hughes found Tyric McCarter for a 45-yard touchdown pass that started a game-clinching 16-0 scoring run.

The Bears held the Warriors to 31 yards of total offense in the second half. Eastern Wayne didn't convert a third-down conversion on five chances in the final two quarters after going 6 for 8 in the opening half.

"I thought our defense played excellent, thought we did a good job containing their quarterback for most of the night," Williams said. "He got a couple of runs when we got tired and they kind of wore us down towards the end, but I think that's more of a result of us not being able to sustain offensive drives tonight."