FOUR OAKS - South Johnston made a big move in the Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference football race Friday night, turning what was a late go-ahead touchdown drive into a game-winning drive, stopping C.B. Aycock in the closing seconds for a 28-21 victory.

The win moves the Trojans to 7-1 overall and 2-0 in the Eastern Carolina Conference, while Aycock (7-1, 1-1) suffered its first setback of the season.

With the score tied at 21 in the fourth quarter, South senior quarterback Pat Dunigan threaded a pass over the middle between two defenders and hit Dee Williams in stride for a 34-yard gain before he fumbled the ball. A C.B. Aycock defender nearly hauled in the fumble, but the bounce went right back to Williams who recovered it at the 1-yard-line. Anthony Crumity finished the deal with a hard-nosed dive to put South up for good at 28-21 after Edgar Herrera's extra-point.

But the Golden Falcons refused to just give in.

With 1:46 to play, Aycock quarterback Tyler Farmer overcame an 11-yard loss on a sack and an illegal shift penalty, and was still able to find Craig Murdoch for 37, 11 and 13 yards on successive completions, and a first down on the South 17-yard-line.

Farmer dropped back to pass with 1.3 seconds left and made the fatal mistake of scrambling across the line of scrimmage, instead of waiting for a receiver to come open.

Committed now to the run, he had to make the full 17 yards, but he was tackled short of the goal line as time expired.

"Offense, defense, kicking game," said South Johnston coach Joe Salas after the game. "All three units did their jobs. Every one stepped up when they needed to.

"I'm so proud of these guys. They kept playing tough and kept coming up with big plays."

After holding Aycock on its first possession, South's Josh Barbour blocked a punt and recovered the football deep inside Falcon territory at the 14. Edgar Herrera slammed home a 27-yard field goal to start the scoring and put South up 3-0 in the first quarter.

Aycock halted the next Trojan drive by forcing and recovering a fumble on their own 44. A 12-play drive ensued and culminated in an 11-yard pass from Farmer to Murdock to put the Falcons up 7-3. Farmer to Murdoch was a familiar chime that the Falcons repeated 11 times for 130 yards on the night.

South got back within 7-6 after an 18-yard field goal by Herrera, which followed a C.B. Aycock fumble inside of the Trojans' 20-yard-line.

But Aycock came back with a Marcus Cobb-powered drive, taking a 14-6 lead with less than a minute before the break. Cobb finished with 120 yards rushing on 26 attempts for the Golden Falcons.

But it was enough time for Dunigan and Williams, who connected on a 33-yard touchdown pass that pulled South within 14-13 at the half. Williams finished with 129 yards receiving on the night.

Dunigan provided South's next touchdown as well, hitting Brandon Bussiere on a play-action roll out pass on the final play of the third quarter. Dunigan then ran in the two-point conversion for a 21-14 South advantage.

Dunigan was a stellar 23-of-33 on the night for the Trojans for 224 yards.

Aycock was able to drive back down the field, nabbing the game-tying score on a 14-yard run by Thyeim Pitt.