Tarboro Overpowers Greene Central in Conference Opener on Homecoming Night
Tarboro Overpowers Greene Central in Homecoming Game, Rams Turn Focus to Rivalry with Kinston
SNOW HILL — It was homecoming night in Snow Hill, the first cool Friday of the season, and the stands were packed shoulder to shoulder. Greene Central honored its 1995 football team — a group that went 11-2 and won a conference title — with longtime head coach Spence Grantham delivering the game ball before kickoff. The stage was set for a memorable night, but the visiting nine-time state champion Tarboro Vikings had other plans.
Tarboro, coming in 5-0, wasted no time showing why it’s the favorite to cut down the nets in December. After Greene Central opened the game with a promising drive that produced three first downs, the Vikings struck in just two plays. All-State running back and reigning state title game MVP Kam McDowell-Moore broke free for a 54-yard touchdown, setting the tone for a 56-16 Tarboro win.
“They’re that team — a team that’s probably going to cut down the nets this year,” head coach Jay Wilson said afterward. “We didn’t help ourselves. Some things schematically we didn’t do, and we just didn’t get it done.”
The Rams trailed 22-0 by the end of the first quarter after Tarboro scored again on a 44-yard run by Antonio Draughn Jr. and then capitalized on a muffed kickoff that set them up at the 10-yard line. The Vikings’ T-formation offense was relentless, breaking tackles and controlling the tempo. By halftime, Tarboro led 44-0.
Still, Wilson’s team didn’t quit. “I saw some things in the second half I felt like we could grow off of,” he said. “We didn’t have that ‘I quit.’ We came back and scored two touchdowns. We’ve got some things we can build off of, but we just have to say it was a bad moment, a bad Friday night.”
Those scores came in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Josh Cetnar hit Sam Avent on a 40-yard touchdown pass, then connected with Jason Wilson for a 5-yard score to close out the game.
Offensively, the Rams moved the ball early and found some rhythm late, but missed chances cost them throughout. “We had some opportunities — some plays, some passes — that we didn’t hit,” Wilson said. “But it was a learning experience. I told the guys the moment they walked off the field that this was done. Now we’ve got a four-game regular season left.”
That final stretch — Kinston, Ayden-Grifton, Farmville Central, and Beddingfield — will decide Greene Central’s playoff positioning. Wilson said the message to his team is simple: reset, respond, and get back to playing Ram football.
“We’ve had two bad Fridays in a row, and now we’ve got to get back to who we are,” Wilson said. “We’ve got Kinston coming in tomorrow night, and everyone knows they’re bringing the greatest show on turf in here. We’ve got to be ready.”
The Rams (4-2) host Kinston (3-3) next Friday in one of the area’s biggest rivalry matchups — a chance to rebound, refocus, and remind everyone what Greene Central football looks like when it’s at its best.
