Kinston’s Tale of Two Halves: Early Lead Slips Away From JV Vikings

The Junior Varsity Kinston Football team faced South Central in their season opener, a game that Kinston Coach Corey Bryant described as a “tale of two halves.” Kinston led 14-0 at halftime but fell 20-14, a loss Bryant attributed to “self-inflicted wounds” and “bad timing penalties.”

The game started strong for Kinston, with Josh Speight forcing a fumble that led to a 7-yard touchdown. Later, a 35-yard connection between the Kinston Quarterback and Emanuel Sutton set up an 8-yard run by TJ Bradshaw, making the score 14-0 at halftime.

“We played hard,” Bryant said, reflecting on the first half, “but had way too many self-inflicted wounds.”

The second half saw a shift in momentum. South Central forced a safety and followed with a scoring drive, making it 14-8. Kinston’s offense was plagued with penalties, stalling their progress.

“Every time we made a positive play, it seems like we followed up with some bad timing penalties that killed our momentum,” lamented Bryant.

With 4:29 left in the fourth quarter, South Central tied the game at 14. Kinston’s offense continued to struggle, committing multiple penalties that backed them into long down situations they couldn’t overcome. South Central took the lead with 1:49 left, winning 20-14.

“We can’t have double-digit penalties if we expect to win,” Bryant emphasized, pinpointing the reason for the loss. “Today our freshmen found out what High school football is all about.”

Looking forward, Coach Bryant is focused on improvement: “We’ll get back to basic fundamentals and go at it again on Thursday at GC.”