TARBORO —
All three county coaches are hoping week four of the high school football season will be better for them than the first three weeks have been. All three schools are giving up 22 or more points per game this year, which seems to be a problem for them.
The coaches are hoping that their teams can make the adjustments tonight and next week during practice, because this is the last non-conference game on the schedule. Next week will begin conference play for all three teams.
Tarboro Vikings head coach Jeff Craddock has made a change defensively this week hoping it will make his defense stronger when they host the North Edgecombe Warriors.
Craddock has moved senior Travonne Marshall from defensive end to middle linebacker. He is hoping the move makes the Viking defense stronger in the middle while junior linebacker Saiid Murphy sits for the third consecutive game with an ankle injury.
"Travonne is a great athlete and that makes the transition a lot easier," Craddock said. "He is a physical guy and he is going to get to the football and make the plays."
Craddock is hoping with the move and with him putting Keithion Battle at defensive end that his team will stop the run.
Craddock knows that North Edgecombe will try to control the clock and the ball and is hoping the moves he has made will help stop the Warriors on big third down conversions tonight.
On the offensive side of the ball, Tarboro has not had many problems this season and are clicking like Craddock had hoped they would. The only thing he isn't happy about is the number of fumbles the Vikings have lost.
Running back Quentin Roberson has been the go to guy for Tarboro. He has gained 541 yards on 40 carries this season and has scored seven touchdowns.
Marshall and Radja Bobbitt have also been instrumental in the Vikings offensive attack. Marshall and Bobbitt both have gained over 200 yards on the ground and quarterback Aaron Moore has scored four times and gained 186 yards.
North Edgecombe is hoping that they will be able to control the ball against the Vikings and keep the ball out of Tarboro's hands.
Craddock said the two keys to winning will be keeping from fumbling and the defense being strong and not giving up big plays.
North Edgecombe has had two weeks to prepare for the Vikings, because they had an open week last week.
The Warriors have put some long timely drives together this year with their young back field. During their game against SouthWest, the Warriors burned eight and half minutes off the clock on one drive that was 14 plays.
Their go to guy has been Antwoin Pittman. He has stepped in to fill the fullback slot while senior fullback Darius Phillips has been out, because he fractured his foot two days before the jamboree.
Head coach Keith Parisher just wants his team to continue work hard. He wants his guys to take their hard work from practice into the game and make the big plays.
The SouthWest Edgecombe Cougars will be hosting the Rocky Mount Gryphons. Last year, the Gryphons defeated the Cougars 34-14.
Cougars head coach Raymond Cobb and his Cougars are looking for a little revenge tonight.
Offensively, Gerald Hinton has been the spark plug for the Cougars. He is averaging 133.6 yards per game on 17 carries and is averaging 7.7 yards per carry. Hinton has eight TDs.
Hinton said after the the loss to Hunt last Thursday, that SouthWest has to keep fighting as a team.
"Everybody needs to come out and stay pumped up and be ready to play. We have to find that spark and keep going with it. We need to keep working hard in practice and things will fall our way."
Cobb is looking for other backs to start adding to the Cougars offensive numbers and make some big plays to go along with Hinton. Milton Ransome, Barry Smith and Devante WIlliams are giving the Cougars some additional offense, but it is not what the Cougars need.
Cobb is still trying to find the right fits at the defensive end positions. His linebacker corp is still trying to adjust and make plays as well. The Cougars linebacker group are a group of young players who are trying to get game experience which will help them in the conference.
Cobb said he is proud of his team so far this season, because they have played a tough non-conference schedule.
He said after last weeks game, that his team gave a great effort and didn't give up and said his team was getting better each week.
He is hoping his team learned from the Hunt loss and learned about their mistakes at practice this week.
Sports
Related Photos
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Tarboro Vikings head coach Jeff Craddock talks to his offense during a timeout in the fourth quarter last week against the Northern Nash Knights. He set up a pass play to win the game.
Defense still the big question
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14-Under softball tryout
The Tarboro Parks and Recreation Department and Edgecombe County Girls Softball League will be having tryouts for 14-under girls fast-pitch softball Wednesday, May 29 from 7 - 8:30 p.m. at Farmington Park in Rocky Mount. The is located at 319 Wellington Dr. There will also be a tryout Thursday, May 30 at Indian Lake Sports Complex on field 1 in Tarboro from 6 - 7:30 p.m. There is a $10 fee for Tarboro residents and a $35 fee for non-residents. For more information call the sports complex at 641-4202, Kathy Webb 252-813-4697 or Jamie Lindsey 252-883-0883 or sftbllgrlunc@hotmail.com.
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Thorne tabbed Regional Player of the Year
Tarboro Lady Vikings forward Shayla Thorne is still learning about the game of soccer. She has turned into one of the best female soccer players in school history. Every time she takes the field she gets better and better, because of her hard work and the help of her teammates. Her hard work paid off for her during her junior year as she led the Vikings with a winning record, co-confoerence championship and into the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
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Cobb, Rhodes inducted in Cougars Hall of Fame
PINETOPS – The SouthWest Edgecombe Cougars athletic department inducted two legendary coaches into their Hall of Fame Monday night. Former football coach Raymond Cobb and former baseball coach Bruce Rhodes were the recipients of the awards.
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SWE Athletes of the Year
SouthWest Edgecombe Cougar Dawson Gould was named Female Athlete of the Year and Kenneth Plummer was named Male Athlete of the Year Monday night at the Cougars annual athletic awards banquet. Gould played volleyball, basketball and softball. Plummer played football, ran indoor and outdoor track.
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Pinetops 300
PINETOPS – With the threat of rain during the weekend, it put a little damper on the Pinetops 300 Tractor and Truck Pull attendance. Friday night there was a large crowd in attendance, but not the amount it has been the last several years. There was 500 less people in attendance Friday then there was a year ago, but it didn't stop the pullers from slinging mud everywhere. The fans in one section even had a chance to see what it looked like when a belt breaks on a fine tuned machine. During the Mini Modified run, Thomas Coleman, of Stoneville, had a belt break on his KB 526 Pure Hell ride and the belt slung into the crowd. No one was injured.
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Vikings, Cougars compete in 2-A state meet
The Tarboro Vikings and SouthWest Edgecombe Cougars had six girls apiece competing in the NCHSAA 2-A state track meet in Greensboro Friday at North Carolina A&T State University.
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Six Tarboro girls to compete in track finals
Motivation is a big part of the Tarboro Viking girl's track team's success this season. They enjoy working hard during practice for their coach Rickie Dozier and get fulfillment when they compete in events. Friday will be no different for the six girls that are headed to Greensboro to compete in the NCHSAA 2-A state championship meet at North Carolina A&T State University. They will compete in three relay events and the long jump.
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BIG FISH
Camden Grant and her boyfriend Ricky Davis, Jr. caught a 10 pound carp at a state wildlife pond Wednesday morning off of Highway 33 just outside of Tarboro. Grant said she caught the fish on a piece of shrimp around 10:30 a.m.
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Vikings ousted from playoffs by Jaguars
CARRBORO – After defeating the No. 1 seed in the playoffs Friday, the Tarboro Vikings forgot one thing, they had to hit the ball again Tuesday against the Carrboro Jaguars or their season would be over.
Tarboro failed to be productive at the plate and were eliminated from the NCHSAA 2-A playoffs after losing 8-0 in the second round. Tarboro never gave in after getting down early, but they just couldn't catch a break offensively and get anything going after trailing by five runs after the second inning. -
Cougars finish 7th in state golf match
The SouthWest Edgecombe Cougars went through the regionals and won by four strokes. They just couldn't get it going in the state golf championships Monday or Tuesday at Longleaf Golf and Country Club in Southern Pines. The Cougars finished seventh as a team after shooting 658 over the two day period.
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14-Under softball tryout
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