ROCKY MOUNT —
The regular season has ended for two Edgecombe County schools, but the Tarboro Vikings have one more game tonight when they host the Beddingfield Bruins.
SouthWest Edgecombe Cougars ended their season Tuesday and the North Edgecombe Warriors ended eight days ago. Both of those teams are preparing for their respective conference tournaments to begin with their long break.
The Lady Cougars will play the Lady Bruins Monday in the conference tournament and boys will play either Beddingfield or North Pitt.
The Lady Warriors began tournament play Monday against Weldon. The Lady Warriors finished the season in fifth place after winning only two conference games.
The Warrior boys team finished in third place with a 4-6 conference record and are waiting to see how the season ends tonight to find out who they play in the first round.
For the Tarboro Lady Vikings, they have a lot riding on their game tonight. They could possibly earn an automatic bid to the 2-A NCHSAA playoffs if they could beat the number two team, the Lady Bruins, in the Eastern Plains Conference.
The Lady Vikings are tied with the Greene Central Lady Rams for the fourth spot in the conference with both teams posting a 5-6 record heading into tonight. Both teams have beaten each once this season. The Lady Rams have to play the Farmville Central Lady Jaguars.
The scenarios for the Lady Vikings will be, if them and Lady Rams both win or lose their respective games tonight, then they will play in the first round of the conference tournament and whoever wins that matchup, then they would be awarded the playoff berth. If one of the teams lose, then the other team will earn the playoff spot. Either way it falls, the Lady Vikings will play the Lady Rams in the first round of the conference tournament.
The Lady Vikings have been playing up to head coach Jamie WIlloughby's expectations as of late and are on a two game winning streak after defeating SouthWest and Farmville Central. They have won three of their last four with the loss coming to Kinston, who is ranked seventh in the state poll.
The Lady Vikings have been plagued with turnover problems all season. They have picked up their defensive pressure and forced their opponents to turn the ball over more frequently. The problem that lies within the forced turnovers is the Lady Vikings haven't been able to capitalize on the easy shots and have missed about 30 percent of their chances which include lay-ups.
Willoughby knows that her team is capable of winning big games and has the potential to make a run in the conference tournament and in the playoffs. For that to happen though, they have to concentrate on the Lady Bruins first. The Lady Vikings lost 44-40 the first time they met the Lady Bruins Jan. 11.
Willoughby said her team had a chance to win that game, but turnovers and missed opportunities hurt them down the stretch. They were unable to convert on numerous chances to tie the game up or either take the lead, but failed to do so.
Willoughby hopes tonight's game will be a different outcome and her girls understand what the meaning of it is.
The Tarboro boys are fighting just for bragging rights heading into the conference tournament. They have won only one game in the conference this season and that was a three point victory at Greene Central. The are riding a nine game losing streak in conference action.
The conference tournament scenario for the Vikings is, if they win they will possibly be moved up to the sixth spot and play either Beddingfield or North Pitt, who will be the third seed. If the Vikings lose then they will play the second seeded Farmville Central Jaguars.
The Viking boys have struggled this season and have made a massive amount of careless turnovers even when their opponents weren't pressuring the ball. They have made poor shot selections and been inconsistent on the defensive end of the floor. Their opponents have out rebounded them every game this year and Tarboro is giving their opponents numerous chances per possession on the defensive end to score.
Second-year head coach Craig Savage hasn't been pleased with his teams performances this season and said he couldn't figure out why they have lacked offensive production and weren't playing the hard-nosed defense like he knew they were capable of playing.
Tonight is senior night for the Vikings. The Lady Vikings have two seniors, Quadasha Ruffin and Kharlil Perry. The boys have three, Aaron Moore, Kelvin Jones and Delvin Jones.
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Related Photos
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Tarboro Lady Viking Lisa Jones plays tough defense against a Greene Central Ram. (Photo/Van Holland)
Lady Vikings want to make things happen
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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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Vikings advance to second round after defeating Bunn
BUNN – The Tarboro Vikings brought their "A" game and some lively bats with them Friday night when they defeated the Bunn Wildcats 7-5 in the first round of the 2-A NCHSAA state baseball playoffs. The last time the Vikings won a playoff game it was at the same location five years ago.
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