Turnovers Plague Greene Central in Loss to Southwest Edgecombe

PINETOPS—In a matchup of two teams riding the momentum of last week's victories over previously undefeated opponents, Greene Central couldn't overcome a slew of turnovers, falling to Southwest Edgecombe 45-15 Friday night.

Six Straight Turnovers Doom Rams

Last week, it was the Greene Central defense that stepped up to the plate, forcing five turnovers in a win against North Pitt. This week, the offense stumbled with a demoralizing six turnovers on six consecutive possessions, digging a hole that proved too deep for the Rams to climb out of.

After taking an early 7-6 lead on a Montrell Moore touchdown, the Rams would steal the ball back with a James Ballard interception. However, Rams quarterback Jordan Scott gave the ball back to the Cougars on a deep pass picked off on third and long. This set the tone for a difficult night for the Rams' offense. Montrell Moore, Jaylen Wynn, and Will Radford would each contribute to the turnover tally as the game wore on.

"You can't win like that. That's just football. You can talk scheme, you can talk personnel, talk whatever you want to," said Greene Central's Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator Jay Wilson. "If you turn the ball over six straight times in high school, you give the other team six straight extra possessions; you just can't win ball games like that."

Unorthodox Offense Under the Microscope

In an intriguing twist, despite trailing by double digits for most of the game, Greene Central's offense opted to stick with a ground-heavy strategy out of the spread offense. Excluding six jet sweeps, the Rams tallied 39 rushing attempts compared to Southwest Edgecombe's 36, despite the Cougars lining up in a power run formation 95% of the night.

Defensive Performance Overshadowed

The Rams' defensive performance was stronger than the score indicated, holding the Cougars to multiple fourth downs and showing the same resilience that led them to victory in previous games. Despite their best efforts, the multiple turnovers placed them in unfavorable positions throughout the night, limiting their impact on the game.
"We just didn't give ourselves the opportunities to be successful, and that's what it boils down to tonight," Wilson said. "The score is not indicative of our talent level, but it is indicative of our six turnovers tonight."

Looking Forward

The loss puts Greene Central at a 2-4 record as they head into a pivotal matchup next week against Ayden-Grifton. For a team struggling on offense, finding a solution to their turnover woes will be crucial for any hopes of a late-season resurgence.

Jordan Scott finished the night with 3-6 for 46 yards and one interception, Will Radford was 2-4 for 11 yards with one interception, James Ballard carried the ball 25 times for 151 yards and one touchdown, Montrell Moore had 10 carries for 92 yards and one touchdown along with a fumble, Jaylen Wynn had 4 catches for 37 yards and a fumble, and Christian Tavarez finished with 2 catches for 30 yards.

For Greene Central, the path ahead is steep but not insurmountable. However, solving the turnover problem and fixing the struggling offense will be essential if they hope to turn their season around.