EAGLES OVERCOME SLOW START, DISPATCH SURRY CENTRAL

Wilkes Central’s nonconference football matchup with Surry Central started promptly at 7 p.m. on Labor Day Monday in bright, sunny Moravian Falls. The Eagles, however, didn’t really get going until around the 3:25 mark of the first quarter. But once Wilkes Central got on track, with a little help from Head Coach Ron Turner, it was able to decisively defeat the visiting Golden Eagles 34-19 in a contest rescheduled from a rainy Friday. Wilkes Central improved to 2-1 on the season with the victory, despite a slow start. The Eagles’ first drive was stymied at the Surry Central 26-yard line and the visitors proceeded to march down the field after the turnover on downs to reach Wilkes Central’s 25. That was when Turner called a timeout to wake up his squad. And the fiery speech instantly paid dividends. “We came out flat. Who knows why…maybe it was because we weren’t on our normal Friday routine, but we just weren’t ready to play. And the blame for that falls on me,” said Turner. “After (the timeout), we started playing really hard. We still didn’t necessarily play smart, but the effort picked up. So at halftime we challenged them to put it all together and play as hard and smart as we could for a half. “If we could just put together four quarters like that,” added Turner. “We can be a very good football team.” After the first quarter timeout, the intensity heightened. A pass completed on the left to Surry Central receiver Tanner Boone was met instantly by Wilkes Central’s Anthony Lopez, who blew up the play for a three-yard loss. But the Golden Eagles were able to keep the drive alive for a 16-yard field goal by Martin Palacios, who staked the visitors to a 3-0 lead that would dissipate quickly. Wilkes Central’s offense took over on the subsequent possession, and three plays later the Eagles hit pay dirt. Quarterback Skylar Brooks found Jasiah Ferguson on the left with a quick-hitting bubble screen, and Ferguson did the rest, breaking free and turning on the jets for a 58-yard touchdown and a 7-3 lead for the home team. Palacios would tack on another field goal before the intermission but that’s as close as the Golden Eagles would get the rest of the way. The teams traded turnovers to start the third quarter, but Wilkes Central got rolling on their second possession of the half. Tyler Boles struck first for the home team, turning a first-and-15 into a 35-yard gain by cutting into the middle of the field and bursting through the Golden Eagles’ line. Palacios saved a touchdown with a shoestring tackle of Boles and officials added 15 more yards to the burst by assessing a personal foul penalty against the visitors after the play had been blown dead. The next big gain of the drive came from Evan Howell, straight up the gut and through a big hole created by the Eagles’ offensive line for 10 yards. And Boles did the rest, popping up the right sideline for 23 yards and six more points, helping the Eagles go up 13-6. A three-and-out followed from the Golden Eagles and on its next drive Wilkes Central continued to soar offensively. Boles and Howell again led the way, and this time Howell surged ahead on an eight-yard run to extend the margin to 21-6. The two teams traded touchdowns to close out the third, with Surry scoring on a Boone reception from Maisen Holt and Wilkes Central’s quick-footed Boles once again gutting the visitors’ defense for a 37-yard run. That left the fourth quarter fairly anti-climactic, with both teams scoring once again before the final whistle. Boles led all rushers with 178 yards on only 20 carries, for a yards-per-carry clip of nearly nine yards. Howell added 86 yards, and the passing duo of Ferguson and Brooks, who took turns under center, combined for more than 200 yards through the air. Ryan Martin paced the Golden Eagles’ offense with 107 yards on the ground. Palacios threw three interceptions — Lopez, Brooks and John Brame all had picks — as the visitors tuned the ball over four times. Those miscues were a major part of the reason Surry Central dropped to 0-3 with the loss. “Our defense did a pretty good job keeping them out of the end zone,” said Turner, “but we made way too many mistakes that kept putting them in a position to score. We weren’t flying to the football, especially early, the way we want to see.” Turner and his team now face a quick turnaround with a game against Watauga tonight in Boone. The tough Pioneers are 3-0 so far this fall. “We went through the same thing two years ago,” said Turner. “So some of our seniors have experienced this type of turnaround. We’re going to have to really be mentally sharp this week; after Friday games, we don’t have contact practices until Tuesdays and this week, that’ll mean no contact until game night. So it’ll be a very different week.” Surry Central will try and find its first win of 2017 with a Friday game at East Surry (1-2).

EAGLES OVERCOME SLOW START, DISPATCH SURRY CENTRAL

Photo Credit: Brandon Moree

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