WILSON—What was almost a comeback for the ages ended up just short, lost in a sea of turnovers and ill-timed penalties.
Kinston dug itself a 28-point hole in the second quarter, and then had the ball with a chance to tie late in the game before falling 41-34 at Wilson Fike Friday.
The loss was the first for the Vikings (2-1) this season. Fike remained undefeated at 3-0.
“What can I say, we gave it everything we had,” Kinston coach Ryan Gieselman said. “The problem is in the first quarter, we played like we practiced. We had a sloppy week of practice, and it carried over to the start of the game.”
Kinston turned the ball over seven times in the contest and twice in the first quarter as the Golden Demons built a quick 21-0 advantage.
Fike’s last two scoring drives of the opening period covered 38 and 12 yards, respectively, after Kinston’s mistakes.
When Demons battering ram A.J. Hines barreled into the end zone from 13 yards out on the second play of the second quarter, Fike led 28-0 and seemed on the way to a blowout victory.
But entered Superman, also known as Kinston’s Tiquan Canady.
The 6-2, 220-pound senior, one of the state’s top receivers, moved behind center with his team buried and nearly engineered an amazing rally.
Canady completed 12 of 25 passes for 248 yards and also rushed 16 times for 111 yards in the final three quarters.
He accounted for all five Kinston touchdowns —three on the ground —but was also picked off three times, the last with 1:46 remaining after Kinston took over at its own 37 following a blocked Fike field goal attempt.
“Tiquan left everything on the field,” Gieselman said. “He literally willed us back into the game. I don’t know what else he could have done.”
Qwari Ham also proved unstoppable for the Vikings, catching five passes for 170 yards and a touchdown. Three of his receptions covered at least 38 yards.
But while the Kinston hummed liked a well-oiled machine behind Canady and Ham, the Vikings’ defense was shredded by the Fike running game.
The Demons rushed for 403 yards, 195 of those by Hines, who also scored five touchdowns. Lightning bug Anthony Evans was the perfect slippery counterpart to Hines’ power, rolling up 149 yards on 24 carries.
“We played much better defensively in the second half, but we still had trouble getting the big stops when we needed them,” Gieselman said. “They have two excellent running backs and we didn’t have much of an answer for them.”
Kinston’s defense also let Fike off the hook in several long-yardage situations.
On the Demons’ opening scoring drive, they converted a third-and-26 with the help of a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Late in the first half, Fike’s Ian West ran for 23 yards after a fake punt on fourth-and 16. The Demons scored on the very next play.
In the fourth, with the Vikings trying to rally, a 15-yard penalty on an out-of-bounds Fike kickoff led to a subsequent touchback on the ensuing re-kick, costing Kinston 20 yards of vital field position.
“With all the turnovers and mistakes, we still had a chance to win,” Gieselman said. “It’s a shame we put ourselves in that position. Fortunately, everything we did wrong is correctable.”
Kinston won’t have a lot of time to set things right as they host the two-time defending 3A state champion Havelock next Friday.
“They’re one of the best teams in the state at any level,” Gieselman said. “How we perform on Friday will be determined by what we do in practice Monday through Thursday. We’ll have to better than we were tonight.”