Eastern Wayne struggles at D.H. Conley

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on October 25, 2014 11:14 PM

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HOLLYWOOD CROSSROADS -- Shake this one off and move forward.

But it's gonna sting a little bit.

One week after stunning No. 8-ranked J.H. Rose in phenomenal fashion, Eastern Wayne appeared still hungover. D.H. Conley took advantage of the Warriors' sluggishness.

Freshman quarterback Holton Ahlers directed six scoring drives and the Vikings' defense forced two turnovers in a 42-21 victory on the Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference football scene Friday evening.

"We just didn't do a good job of preparing them this week," EW head coach Bubba Williams said. "We've got to do a better job as we go forward. The mistakes, turnovers ... kids were not ready to play.

"We just didn't play very well."

D.H. Conley (7-2 overall, 3-1 ECC) flourished in its misdirection offense to the tune of 367 rushing yards. Ahlers rambled for 132 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries, while Myles Taylor gobbled up 125 yards and a TD on 17 totes.

Ahlers didn't complete a pass in two attempts.

The Vikings scored touchdowns on three of four second-half possessions.

"We couldn't make defensive stops consistently," said Williams, whose unit allowed 18 first downs and eight third-down conversions on 10 tries.

"We just got blown back by their offensive line. They had a good push up front and we didn't meet the challenge. That's coaching. We have to do a better job of putting our kids in position to succeed."

Ahlers' 12-yard touchdown run and Cam Andrews' 22-yard interception return to the end zone gave Conley a 14-0 lead in the opening quarter.

The Warriors eventually knotted the game at 21-21 on two touchdowns from DayDay Pridgen (31, 14 yards) and a 79-yard gallop by quarterback KK Best just two plays into the second half.

Pridgen finished with 125 yards on 14 carries. Best provided 135 rushing yards and another 82 yards on 6 of 15 passing. The junior quarterback threw two picks.

Eastern Wayne held a 382-367 advantage in total offense. Williams, however, lamented the Warriors didn't consistently move the chains.

"We're just so up and down," he added.

Done with the gauntlet -- four consecutive games against 4-A schools -- on their conference slate, the Warriors (6-3, 2-2) begin their most important stretch of the season. They face 3-A foes Charles B. Aycock and Southern Wayne in back-to-back weeks.

Williams' team won both meetings a year ago.

"If we don't play better than tonight, we might not beat anybody," Williams said. "Honestly, we've got to do a better job ... come mentally prepared to play a tough Aycock team."