BARCO — In Kinston’s last crack at saving their playoff bid, the Vikings just ran out of time.
“If we would have had 15 seconds on the clock,” said senior quarterback Tiquan Canady, “we would have scored.”
Kinston trailed 21-7 entering the fourth quarter against Currituck County in the second round of NCHSAA 2AA state playoffs Friday. The Vikings managed two touchdowns in the final period, but it wasn’t enough.
The Knights ended Kinston’s football season with a 28-21 victory, as they advanced to the semi-finals.
Neither team scored in the second or third quarters, as they traded interceptions in the second. In Currituck’s second possession before halftime, Raheem Freelandpicked off a Tyler Schuster pass with 5:48 on the clock. Dakwon Foreman answered by intercepting Canady’s pass three plays later.
Kinston (7-6) quenched the scoring drought when Canady scored on a three-yard run four minutes into the last quarter; the score was 21-14 until 6:26 read on the board. While Kinston’s defense was responsible for the Knights’ negative yardage on their previous four drives (-13), Currituck snapped back with a 69-yard TD.
Schuster found Foreman as CC went up 28-14.
“Dakwon Foreman made an incredible play on the ball,” said Currituck coach John Wheeler, “and we had a big block on the edge that allowed him to get to the outside. … We had some big plays from a lot of guys tonight.”
Foreman finished with 95 receiving yards, while Schuster went 13-of-22 for 214 yards and two interceptions.
As the clock winded down from about five minutes, Kinston’s offense sped up tremendously.
After Kinston converted a third-and-9 on its own 32, the Vikings wound up scoring once more to reduce its deficit by a single TD. From the 20, Canady linked up with Anthony Berry for a scoring pass.
Kinston’s defense made a big stop, as they forced the Knights to turn the ball over on downs with 2:03 left in the game. Taking over at the Currituck 27, Kinston’s final 48-yard drive expired when the clock did.
“Your seniors are down and it’s tough,” Kinston coach Ryan Gieselman said. “They left it on the field tonight, exactly what I wanted them to do. After the first quarter, we kind of dug our heels in and played a good two and a half quarters of football.”
Kinston had 14 first downs in the second half.
Herns led the Vikings in rushing with 120 yards, as Canady followed him with 62 yards on the ground. Canady finished his passing with 190 yards on a 16-of-23 effort with two interceptions.
Anthony Pitts started at QB and completed two passes for 13 yards. He led Vikings receivers with 78 yards.
Currituck hosts Washington next week.
“They’re an incredible program,” Wheeler said of Kinston. “They have a great, athletic, explosive program every season. It’s a privilege to have them here in Barco.”
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.
CURRITUCK COUNTY 28, KINSTON 21
Currituck County 21 0 0 7 — 28
Kinston 7 0 0 14 — 21
First Quarter
K: Tavon Herns 15 run (Will Deters kick), 10:34
C: Tyler Schuster 2 run (River Gwaltney kick), 8:30
C: Dakwon Foreman 5 pass from Schuster (Gwaltney kick), 5:15
C: Schuster 34 run (Gwaltney kick), 0:26
Fourth Quarter
K: Tiquan Canady 3 run (Deters kick), 8:00
C: Foreman 69 pass from Schuster (Gwaltney kick), 6:26
K: Anthony Berry 20 pass from Canady (Deters kick), 3:18
C K
First downs 8 21
Rushes-yards 24-104 40-201
Passing 5-3-2 10-2-1
Passing yards 214 202
Total yards 318 403
Fumbles-lost 0-0 4-1
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:
RUSHING — K: Herns 22-120, Canady 14-62, Anthony Pitts 1-5, Qwarri Ham 3-13, Raheem Freeland 1-1. C: Schuster 15-85, Charles Nicols 4-16, Fred Huff 1-2, Josh Garrett 2-1, Chris Stefenack 1-0.
PASSING — K: Canady 16-23-2 190 yards, Pitts 2-6-0 13 yards. C: Schuster 13-22-2 214 yards
RECEIVING — K: Pitts 8-78, Berry 5-66, Shemar Adams 3-44. C: Foreman 6-95, Gwaltney 2-54, Huff 2-38, Dylan Abrams 3-21, Kanyon Cole 1-6.