GREENVILLE—Kinston football coach Ryan Gieselman described his team’s brutal non-conference schedule as “running a gauntlet.”
After the Vikings third straight defeat, a 59-7 thrashing at the hands of Greenville Rose Friday, it might seem more like dancing through a minefield with no empty spaces.
In successive weeks, Kinston (2-3) has fallen to Wilson Fike, two-time defending 3A state champion Havelock and perennial 4A power Rose. Those three teams are a combined 15-0 on the season.
“We knew it would be tough,” Gieselman said. “But we also knew that playing a challenging schedule would help us get ready for the conference part of our schedule.”
The Vikings still have another tough one to go before finally delving in to East Carolina 2A conference action.
After a bye this upcoming week, Kinston hosts a Washington team that has defeated Tarboro and Greenville Conley so far this season.
“We’ve got to get back to work and try to get better,” Gieselman said. “We have another excellent opponent in Washington before the conference starts. It’s time to start playing our best football.”
If the contest against Rose was any indication, Kinston will have plenty to work on in their off week before the Pam Pack comes to town.
The Rampants (5-0) thoroughly dominated every aspect of the game, outgaining the Vikings by an almost 3 to 1 margin (458 total yards to 154), picking off two passes, blocking a punt for a touchdown and setting up a pair of scores with long returns on special teams.
Rose needed just 1:10 to register its first TD after an 80-yard drive, and then the Rampants’ outstanding senior defensive end Christian Pleasant scooped up a blocked punt and rumbled into the end zone from nine yards just over a minute after the first score.
With 9:46 left in the first quarter, Kinston trailed 13-0 and the rout was blooming.
“We didn’t handle adversity very well at the start of the game,” Gieselman said. “They had a long opening drive and then we made the mistake in the punt game; it all just snowballed from there.”
The Rampants led 28-0 after one quarter and 35-0 at the break.
It only got worse after halftime.
An interception on the first play of the third quarter set Rose up at the KHS 11. Three plays after Rose scored to go ahead 42-0, a high snap on a Kinston punt gave the Rampants possession at the Vikings 7.
“You can’t make mistakes like that against a good team,” Gieselman said. “They blocked a punt for a touchdown and twice we gave them the ball near our own goal line. We can’t do that against anyone, especially a great team like Rose.”
Kinston failed until sophomore backup quarterback Thomas Vermillion found Anthony Pitts in the rear corner of the end zone for a 3-yard scoring strike long after the outcome had been decided.
Vermillion completed all three of his pass attempts for 44 yards.
“We were able to get some younger kids like Thomas a good bit of playing time,” Gieselman said. “That will only help us as we move into the conference season.”
Although they didn’t generate a lot of yardage, Kinston’s offense did squander some scoring chances, especially in the second quarter.
Kinston was stopped on downs on fourth and 2 from the Rose 26, but three plays later, Marquan Harris gave the Vikings the ball right back with an interception at the Rose 19.
However, Kinston QB Tiquan Canady threw an interception on the very next snap. As the first half drew to a close, the Vikings gave the ball up after a fourth and goal pass from the Rose three fell incomplete.
Kinston’s fourth quarter scoring drive engineered by Vermillion covered 70 yards in 11 plays and took 6:56 off the clock.
“We’ve got to stay together and keep our heads up,” Gieselman said. “We lost to an excellent team tonight. And we’ve lost to very good teams the past two weeks. But we’ve competed and haven’t quit, and that’s what will get us ready for what lies down the road.”