FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Aycock meets league's best defense

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on October 21, 2016 9:57 AM

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PIKEVILLE -- Tonight's game between Charles B. Aycock and New Bern will be the end result of what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.

The Golden Falcons enter the Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference game averaging 45.6 points per game, which is second-best in the conference. Meanwhile, the Bears' defense is allowing just 19.9 points per contest -- first in the conference.

Something has to give.

"They're just so athletic, and have lots of talent," said CBA head coach Steve Brooks. "They're fast, they swarm to the ball and they're going to play man-to-man defense across the field. We have to run good routes when we throw the ball."

Both teams' strengths have been on full display in recent weeks.

In CBA's record-setting 83-68 loss to D.H. Conley, the Golden Falcons registered over 700 yards of offense. In what may have been the best performance of their careers, running back Caleb Gough and quarterback Jake Flowers combined for 10 touchdowns.

Although it's difficult to draw a comparable standard to CBA's offensive fireworks, New Bern's latest defensive performances do come close.

After an 0-4 start due to a brutal non-conference schedule, the Bears are 3-0 in ECC play. Two of those wins were shutouts against Southern Wayne and Eastern Wayne by a combined score of 76-0.

Brooks said the Bears' defensive line presents a challenge.

"The (defensive linemen) are very disciplined," Brooks said. "If you watch them on film, the D-line does what they're taught to do. They're looking for the football -- searching and not running straight up field. They have some good size in the middle, and they're tall and lanky on the edges."

For much of the season, however, CBA's high-powered offense and New Bern's staunch defense have masked the struggles each team has experienced on the other side of the ball.

The Golden Falcons have allowed 37.1 points per game, while the Bears' offense has only mustered an average of 18.8 points. CBA has allowed over 35 points three times this season, and New Bern has scored fewer than 20 points four times.

The match-up doesn't quite fit the "unstoppable and immovable" turn of phrase, but something will have to give, nonetheless.

"We just have to tackle," Brooks said. "That's what it comes down to every single week. I don't know if anyone can work on it more than we can -- they have to apply it to the game. They have to go out there and want to do it."

With the disruption caused by Hurricane Matthew, the Golden Falcons -- along with several other eastern North Carolina teams -- lost a substantial amount of practice time. During that break, Brooks said his players logged into Hudl and spent time trying to correct the mistakes they made against Conley.

The fourth-year head coach added that it wasn't hard to get back into a routine, and much of the credit goes to the leadership.

"Our captains and guys talked to each other last week, communicated and watched a ton of film," Brooks said. "I think they were excited to be back and be able to play football again."