SNOW HILL—There really weren’t more penalties than points during Friday’s Eastern Wayne-Greene Central football game. It just seemed that way.
The undefeated Warriors rolled to a predictable 50-20 victory over the winless Rams in a contest that featured a combined 29 penalties for 251 yards to go along with some sloppy and occasionally contentious play.
“All the penalties definitely got us out of sync, but they’re not to blame for the loss,” Greene Central coach Allen Wooten said. “We just didn’t play very well, and the penalties were a part of that. The bottom line is that we’ve got to tackle better, block better and do just about everything better. Against a good team like Eastern Wayne, you have to play your best.”
The Rams (0-4) were whistled 12 times for 126 yards and twice had touchdowns called back.
The litany of yellow laundry started on the opening kickoff, when GC’s Curtez Braswell returned 80 yards only to be called back for an illegal block.
Trailing 14-0 in the second quarter, an apparent 53-yard TD pass from Rams quarterback Austin Batchelor to Michael Mitchell was also nullified because of holding downfield.
On both occasions, the infraction occurred well behind the ball carrier and would have had no effect on the outcome of the play.
“Both were silly penalties,” Wooten said. “In each case, the flags were thrown 10 to 20 yards behind the play. You have to be more aware of what’s going on around you. You’re your guy’s about to score, why do something that might cause the official to throw a flag?”
In addition to their penalty woes, the Rams biggest albatross was their inability to stop the big play, especially on the ground.
Five of EW’s 7 touchdowns covered at least 26 yards. Warriors running back Kamone Best churned out 234 yards on just 11 carries, including scoring scampers of 69 and 83 yards. Best also reeled off a 50-yard run that didn’t wind up in the end zone.
GC’s defense had a difficult time getting off the field in key situations as well. On their first drive of the game, the Warriors (4-0) converted a third-and-20 predicament and then scored on a fourth-and-goal pass from the 11.
“They’re strong and athletic and won the battle on the line of scrimmage,” Wooten said. “We also didn’t help ourselves with our poor tackling. Even when we had them trapped, it seems like they would get away from a nice gain.”
EW burned the Rams for 360 yards on the ground.
The Rams, meanwhile, collected 330 total yards, 161 through the air. Batchelor completed 13 of 28 passes and was picked off twice.
He did hook up with Braswell for one scoring strike, and Braswell also scored once on the ground to go with 60 yards rushing.
Shyheem Carmon tallied GC’s last score on a 15-yard dash in the fourth quarter.
“We have flashes of brilliance on offense and defense, but we can’t seem to generate any consistency and put everything together,” Wooten said. “Once we do that, we’ll be okay. It’s just a matter of when that will be.”
The road doesn’t get any easier for the Rams, who host a surprising Farmville Central (3-0) next Friday at the James Fulghum Athletic Complex.