Bruins batter Cougars 49-6 for 1st win

Establishing the running game ranked as a foremost priority for the Beddingfield High football team on a comfortable Friday night, when it kicked off its five-game 2-A Neuse 6 Conference schedule at home with a 49-6 demolition of visiting Goldsboro before a small turnout.

In a matchup of the winless, the Bruins, while throwing just one pass, rolled up a 21-0 first-quarter lead and expanded the cushion to 35-0 before the Cougars received the second-half kickoff and plowed 80 yards for their TD.

A co-champion with Eastern Wayne and Princeton in the six-team conference last season, Beddingfield started 1-0 in the Neuse 6 in winning for the first time in five starts. Goldsboro fell to 0-1 and 0-6, respectively. Next up for the Bruins is a league test at home against neighboring North Johnston next Friday night.

“We hadn’t been doing well with the running game,” Beddingfield head coach Ben Ellis said. “We were kind of hoping we could do that tonight. We really, really wanted to be on top of that and do better than we have been doing.”

Beddingfield responded by rolling up 178 of its 189 rushing yards in the first half and scoring four touchdowns via the run.

Bruins offensive linemen opened gaping holes in the Cougar front wall and the backs zig-zagged crisply and accelerated well. Beddingfield ball carriers repeatedly ran through would-be Goldsboro tacklers.

Providing effective running were senior Desmond Wooten, junior Jamauris Howard, junior Jahtavious Johnson and sophomore quarterback Sam Finch. Wooten emerged the top Beddinngfield rusher with 97 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries.

Howard enjoyed a dandy all-around performance, amassing three TDs and contributing 64 rushing yards on 10 totes. Howard notched his first TD on the ground and added two more on a kickoff return and a pass reception. He snared four of Finch’s five completions for 80 yards.

Another bright spot was senior kicker Chris Aguilera with a precedent-setting performance. Aguilera split the uprights on all seven PAT tries and registered a touchback on his first three kickoffs. The Bruins did not punt.

Howard endorsed the concept of first establishing the run.

“This is my best game of the year,” he divulged. “Running the ball first got me warm. I could see how they (Goldsboro) were going to play and what I could do and what I couldn’t do. I was very confident in myself and catching the ball feels good. We came out really good. We got some good yards. And when they thought we were going to keep on running the ball, we were able to get the pass off.

“This is our first win and our first conference game—feels great! I’m about to go to the locker room and celebrate.”

The major role of the Beddingfield offense the second half was to work the clock. The Bruins’ two scores in the third quarter came on a kickoff return and interception. With the running clock in force (Beddingfield led by at least 42 points), the fourth quarter required just minutes, resulting in a game contested in less than two hours.

The Bruins scored seven points on their first six possessions. But twice they were challenged in the second half and kept drives alive on long tosses from Finch to Howard that resulted in first downs.

“Sometimes, it’s simple like that,” Ellis noted with a grin. “You get the guys the ball and let them do what they do.”

Beddingfield received the opening kickoff and promptly trudged 60 yards, with Wooten bolting the final 10.

The Cougars of head coach Donnie McClary were forced to punt their first possession. However, the punter could not handle the snap from center, and Bruins’ senior Jayden Anderson pounced upon the football at Goldsboro’s 10-yard line.

Howard slashed for the TD on first down. Still with nearly three minutes left in the opening quarter, Wooten broke loose on a 16-yard TD burst.

Despite the running of speedster Jacquez Best, Goldsboro’s best first-half bogged down because of haunting penalties. Best wound up the game’s top rusher with 123 yards on 19 carries.

Beddingfield struck for two second-quarter TDs on Finch’s 22-yard toss to the wide open Howard and Johnson’s eight-yard jaunt.

Goldsboro’s TD was set up on Colby Darby’s 46-yard scamper. Darby found the end zone from eight yards out.

Before the TD in the same drive,, scores by quarterback Zacari Coates on a keeper and Coates’ pass to Chris McKinney were nullified by penalties. McKinney later stalled a Bruins’ drive with an interception inside the Cougars’ 10-yard line.

When Finch needed long yardage in the second half, he simply fired accurate tosses to Howard.

But the scores came on Howard’s electrifying 87-yard kickoff return on the heels of the Goldsboro score and Johnson’s 24-yard interception return.

“The main thing was that we did what we have been talking about,” Ellis assessed. “We did not turn the ball over (one interception). When you do that, you get field position and it works out pretty good. We played clean football and were able to run first.”

To some extent, Beddingfield’s head coach played down 2024 win No. 1.

“It’s always good to get a win,” Ellis assured, “but we just try to emphasize worrying about the next play and, after tonight, worrying about the next challenge.”

Cautioned Howard: “We’ve got to play a little better.”

Beddingfield 49

Goldsboro 6

G B

First downs 8 15

Rushing yards 152 189

Passing yards 10 85

Att-Comp-Int 10-2-1 8-5-1

Fumbles-Lost 3-1 1-0

Punts-Avg 2-26 0-0

Penalties-Yds 10-91 4-35

Score by quarters:

Goldsboro            0    0    6    0—6

Beddingfield        21  14  14  0—49

SCORING SUMMARY

B — Desmond Wooten 10 run (Chris Aguilera kick), 7:11, 1st.

B — Jamauris Howard 10 run (Aguilera kick), 5:41, 1st.

B — Wooten 16 run (Aguilera kick), 2:34, 1st.

B — Howard 22 pass from Sam Finch (Aguilera kick), 5:52, 2nd.

B — Jahtavious Johnson 8 run (Aguilera kick), 1:51, 2nd.

G — Colby Darby 8 run (run failed) 8:12, 3rd.

B — Howard 87 kickoff return (Aguilera kick), 7:55, 3rd.

B — Johnson 24 interception return (Aguilera kick), 0:00, 3rd.

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