Calvin Adkins
Sports Editor
TARBORO —
The SouthWest Edgecombe JV Cougars made the first step toward the county top bragging rights by beating North Edgecombe 40-0 Thursday night.
Chris Hopkins led the Cougars with four carries and two touchdowns. Quarterback Gerald Hinton added two carries and one touchdown run and another 25-yard touchdown reception.
On the Cougars’ first possession, they marched all the way down to the Warriors’ 10 yard line but turned the ball over on downs. SouthWest’s defense took control of the Warriors possession and forced them to punt after four plays. Unfortunately for the Warriors, a bad snap went over the punter head and fell haplessly out of the endzone giving the Cougars a safety and the first score (2-0) of the game with 4:06 left in the first quarter.
The remainder of the quarter turned disastrous for the Warriors. On the ensuing kickoff, the Warriors punter snub the kick and the Cougars started their series on the 20 yard line. On the first play from scrimmage Hopkins earned his first TD from the right side of the line. He also added the 2-point conversion and the Cougars led 10-2.
Less than two minutes later, Hopkins scored again and the Cougars were off to the blowout.
Tarboro will play North Edgecombe Sept. 10 in Leggett. If Tarboro beat North, the Vikings and the Cougars will play for county bragging rights in the County on Oct. 8.
Vikings vs. Knights
While the Cougars and the Warriors were playing, the Vikings defeated Northern Nash Knights 28-18 in Tarboro.
Tarboro (2-0) racked up 330 yards on the ground. Quentin Roberson led the Vikings with 15 carries for 216 yards and two touchdowns runs of 80 and 16 yard runs. The sophomore also had a 27 yard touchdown catch.
So far in two games this season Roberson has carried the ball 25 times and has a total of 378.
Also scoring for Tarboro was DJ Harris who had 5 carries for 57 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Aaron Moore was 2-3 for 42 yards and a touchdown pass.
The Vikings defense was led by Saiid Murphy who had 12 tackles on the night and Dante Tillery who had 11.
“I am very proud of the way our guys battled back when things didn’t go our way and we just have to keep getting better each day” said Vikings Coach Ricky Babb. We have to begin getting ready for our next opponent, but I’m also proud of my guys.”
Volleyball
The Tarboro Vikings avenged an earlier loss to Nash Central by defeating them 25-23, 19-25, 25-18, 20-25, and 17-15. The Lady Vikings were led by Parker Cannon with 13 service points and eight digs; Ciera Franklin added 12 service points, 13 digs, and a team leading five blocks; Erin Proctor 11 service points; and Miressa Dickens 10 service points, 10 digs, and four kills. Kearra Brinson continued her solid play contributing with a team leading 15 digs and 3 dinks. the Vikings improved to 4-2 for the season.
The JV volleyball continues to improve although they dropped another match falling to Nash Central 18-25 and 20-25. They were led by Courtney Perkins with 10 service points followed by Jess Gaul with four.
The Lady Vikings will continue conference play on Tues when they host Beddingfield. The JV match will start at 5p.m. with the Varsity to follow around 6:00.
Tennis
The Tarboro Vikings defeated the Williamston Tigers 9-0 Thursday. The Vikings improved to 7-2 for the season. They will host Kinston on Tuesday for their second conference match of the season.
Sports Correspondent Van Holland assisted with this story
