NCHSAA 3A Second Round: Kinston Rolls Past Midway 34–13
NCHSAA 3A Second Round: Kinston Rolls Past Midway 34–13
SPIVEY CORNER— Kinston shook off an early turnover, leaned on explosive playmaking from its senior leaders, and put together a dominant defensive stretch to defeat No. 3 Midway 34–13 on the road Friday night, advancing to the third round of the NCHSAA 3A playoffs once again.
The Vikings opened the night with a fumble on the 3-yard line, but the defense refused to let the early mistake define the game. Midway drove inside the 15 before Kinston held, and that stop set the tone for what became one of the Vikings’ most complete outings of the season.
Second Quarter Sparks the Surge
With the game still scoreless early in the second, senior running back Genesis Wiggins broke loose for a 60-yard run — part of his 147-yard, 12.3-per-carry night behind an offensive line that repeatedly cleared lanes.
Moments later, quarterback Tyler Jones delivered a 19-yard touchdown strike to senior receiver Tyreek Copper, giving Kinston a 7–0 lead with 8:45 left in the half. The touchdown had historical weight — it moved Copper into a tie for second all-time at Kinston for most consecutive games with a receiving touchdown.
Midway responded immediately with a kickoff return to tie the game, but that was their last moment of momentum for nearly two full quarters.
The Vikings marched back downfield again, and although a red-zone possession stalled, the defense answered with a key play from junior linebacker Justin Gooding to force a Midway punt.
Jones attacked again late in the half, hitting B. Chambers on a 50-yard deep ball to flip the field. With 53 seconds left, Wiggins finished the drive with a short touchdown run, giving Kinston a 13–7 lead at halftime despite a blocked PAT.
“We do a great job trusting our blocks,” head coach Ryan Gieselman said. “Genesis sets things up, hits the gas, and gets down the sideline. When we get the run game going, we’re very dynamic.”
Vikings Dominate the Third Quarter
Midway opened the second half needing points, but senior Ex’Zavion Croom stuffed a fourth-down run at the 8:17 mark — one of his team-high 12 tackles — to halt the Raiders again.
Just four minutes later, Gooding delivered the defensive play of the game, pulling in a leaping interception at the 4:49 mark. He finished the night with 3 tackles and the lone defensive takeaway for Kinston.
The Vikings capitalized quickly. Jones hit sophomore Pap Brown for a touchdown to extend the lead, and on the next Midway punt, Copper electrified the stadium with a 70-yard return for a score, blowing the game open at 27–7 with 1:00 left in the third.
“I’m about used to being bracketed,” Copper said after drawing double teams and sometimes a third defender for much of the night. “At the end of the day you’ve got to compete and play through it — they’re doing it for a reason.”
Finishing the Job
Early in the fourth quarter, senior running back Eljai Sumpter powered in another rushing touchdown to push the lead to 34–7. Sumpter ran for 10 yards on the night, while Jones added 8 yards on the ground to go with his 13-for-17, 190-yard, 2-touchdown passing performance.
Kinston’s offense finished with 363 total yards (173 rushing, 190 passing), while the special teams added a game-changing 150 return yards, including Copper’s 70-yard punt-return touchdown and a 55-yard kickoff return.
Defensively, the Vikings posted 62 total tackles, 6 tackles for loss, and held Midway to 87 passing yards and 155 rushing yards on 37 attempts. Jahmeire Brown recorded 7 tackles with 3 TFL, Christian Ham added 7 stops, and Nor’Rice Bell contributed 6 tackles with 2 quarterback hurries.
Wiggins credited the blockers in front of him after carrying the Vikings in key moments.
“Big shoutout to my O-line,” Wiggins said. “They’ve been working hard all week long for this.”
Next Up
Kinston (now moving into another third-round appearance) will travel to face No. 6 Pasquotank, who defeated No. 11 Martin County 54–41, in a high-powered third-round matchup.
