THE HEART OF KINSTON: THE VIKING'S DEFENSE
THE HEART OF KINSTON: HOW A GRITTY, RELENTLESS DEFENSE CARRIED THE VIKINGS TO THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
The story of Kinston’s run to the 2025 state championship doesn’t begin under the bright lights of December or the roar of a playoff crowd. It starts on a humid August night in Greenville, when South Central completed just nine passes for 109 yards—yet still stole a 21–19 win. It starts in the frustration that followed. In the long walk from the field. In the sting of a loss that quietly planted the seed for everything this defense was about to become.
That night wasn’t Kinston’s breakthrough. It was their ignition.
From that point forward, the Vikings built an identity rooted in toughness, unity, and an absolute refusal to break. By the time winter arrived, that identity would carry them through Midway, crumble Pasquotank, grind down Northeastern, dismantle James Kenan, and send them to a stage few expected them to reach: a Saturday meeting with 19-time state champion Shelby.
And they did it with defense.
THE EARLY SEASON: A BLUEPRINT BEGINS TO FORM
Kinston’s first two weeks flashed both their potential and their personality. After the opener, they limited a physical Wallace-Rose Hill team to 24 points in a 26–24 victory—a performance that showed the front seven’s willingness to stand in and take punch after punch. A week later, they suffocated North Lenoir, holding them to 0 passing yards, 2 interceptions, and 75 rushing yards in a 42–7 win.
The message was subtle but unmistakable: this defense played fast, they hit hard, and they swarmed.
The only real slip came in Week 4. White Oak—one of the top rushing teams in the region—found space on the ground, but even then, Kinston made plays through the air, allowing just 175 yards, with three pass deflections sprinkled throughout the night. A 32–26 loss didn’t shake them. It fueled them.
One week later, they delivered one of the most dominant defensive showings in school history.
South Lenoir managed 65 total yards in a 59–6 Kinston victory. That game became the mold for what this unit would eventually perfect: smother the quarterback, choke off the perimeter, funnel everything inside, and let their tackling machines take over.
THE GRIT BUILDS: CONFERENCE PLAY CREATES A MONSTER
Ayden-Grifton opened conference play with a 33–21 win—another moment that would test this group. But it didn’t define them. What came next did.
Greene Central rolled in averaging big numbers on the ground, and Kinston survived a 32–31 shootout, thanks largely to defensive grit in the fourth quarter. A week later, they faced Farmville Central and its high-powered offense. Farmville came in averaging over 30 points and plenty of chunk plays, but Kinston’s defense stole the night. Despite Farmville rushing for 232 yards, the Vikings forced turnovers, limited explosive passing, and won 55–32.
Beddingfield followed—and Kinston delivered a defensive masterpiece.
8 points allowed. 131 total yards surrendered. Dominance everywhere.
As they reached the Tarboro game, Kinston already had the reputation of a defense that might bend, but would never fold. And although Tarboro’s 547-yard rushing night skewed the season totals, the Vikings walked away hardened, not shaken. Tarboro does that to nearly everyone. Kinston used it as late-season fuel.
THE PLAYOFFS: THE DEFENSE BECOMES A FORCE
Everything sharpened when the playoffs began.
North Moore, averaging 260 yards per game, finished with just 164 against Kinston’s speed and physicality. Midway—one of the most explosive teams in the 2A East—averaging 414 yards per game, managed 246. Pasquotank, normally a 291-yard offense, walked away with 174. Three playoff opponents, three offenses held nearly 100 yards below their season averages.
But Northeastern was the test everyone waited for.
A 397-yard-per-game powerhouse. Speed everywhere. Size on the perimeter. Big-play ability that buried opponents.
Kinston held them under their average in a 28–24 win defined not by flash, but by heart. Northeastern hit a few big plays—everyone knew they would—but Kinston responded every time, forcing two interceptions and meeting every crucial down with a wall of white jerseys.
Then came the measuring-stick game: #1 seed James Kenan.
A team averaging 366 yards per game and 420 yards per game in the playoffs. Physical. Explosive. Disciplined. Unshaken.
Kinston held them to 186.
And in that moment, on a cold December night, the identity of the 2025 Kinston Vikings was complete.
A defense that didn’t care what you averaged.
Didn’t care what you were ranked.
Didn’t care about the logo on your helmet.
They lined up, hit you in the mouth, and made you earn every inch.
THE PLAYERS WHO BUILT IT: A DEFENSE WITH NO STARS, JUST BROTHERS
What makes this defense special is that no single player defines it. They all do.
Senior defensive back Jemorris Poole became the emotional and statistical anchor—154 tackles, 7 pass breakups, 2 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, and a blocked punt. When Kinston needed composure, Poole provided it. When they needed a spark, Poole delivered that too.
Senior safety/hybrid Exzavion Croom was the hammer piece who made everything possible.
136 tackles. 8 tackles for loss. 6 forced fumbles. 3 interceptions.
There wasn’t a blade of grass on a football field this year that Croom didn’t touch.
Junior linebacker Christian Ham matched Croom’s physicality with his own—136 tackles, 5 TFLs, a pick-six, and two fumble recoveries. His instincts held the center of the defense together.
Junior outside backer Norice Bell brought containment and discipline, finishing with 117 tackles and three recoveries. His role rarely draws headlines, but Kinston’s entire structure depends on his consistency.
And then came the front—the “Gritty Gang.”
Junior Jammere Brown, the team leader in tackles for loss with 14, blew up plays before they started.
Senior Davion Jones, with 13 TFLs and 4 sacks, brought pressure that opposing quarterbacks.
Senior Mishaun Pollard added 12 TFLs, and senior Isaiah Newton, perhaps the toughest pound-for-pound player on the roster, closed the year with 11 TFLs and the kind of motor coaches dream of.
In the secondary, junior corner Justin Gooding quietly built the résumé of a shutdown corner—5 interceptions, 4 pass breakups, and the trust of a coaching staff that assigned him to the opponent’s best weapon every Friday.
Add in contributions from Riyan Parks, Tyreek Copper, and Genesis Wiggins, and Kinston found itself with a secondary deep enough to adapt to any matchup and aggressive enough to change games.
THE STATISTICAL TRUTH BEHIND THE STORY
The numbers tell their own story:
4,019 total yards allowed through 15 games
267.9 yards per game overall
228 yards per game in the playoffs
Nine opponents held under 300 yards
Five straight playoff opponents held below their season averages
Passing yards allowed: just 75 per game
No team in Kinston’s playoff path performed anywhere near its standard level of production.
No offense pushed Kinston out of character.
No moment proved too big.
This wasn’t about a talented defense. (by all means talented)
It was a committed one.
And committed defenses win in December.
A FINAL JOURNEY: SHELBY AWAITS
Now the Vikings stand one game from a state championship. One game from the mountaintop. One game from cementing themselves as one of the grittiest, most resilient defenses to ever come through Kinston High School.
Their opponent—Shelby, a 19-time state champion—brings tradition, power, and expectation. But Kinston brings something Shelby hasn’t seen often this postseason:
A defense that hits in waves.
A defense that trusts each other blindly.
A defense made of seniors who refuse to let their story end quietly.
A defense built from struggle, hardened by adversity, and sharpened by five weeks of postseason football.
Whatever happens on Saturday, one truth is already written:
Kinston reached the state championship because of a defense that never blinked.
A defense that played for each other.
A defense that turned August frustration into December glory.
And if the Vikings finish the job, it will be because the Gritty Gang carried them there—one tackle, one stop, one moment at a time.
