Some are jumping up and down — hoisting their white helmets skyward, shouting toward the bleachers.
Others are embracing — coaches, cheerleaders, one another.
Most members of the Charles B. Aycock football team are so lost in the celebration they don’t seem to notice that the young man who, in many ways, was responsible for their 21-14 win over Goldsboro High School isn’t among them.
Taevian Jackson is some 30 yards away, walking slowly toward his teammates.
His head is down.
And when, moments later, he looks up, the Golden Falcons’ star running back has tears in his eyes.
Sure, every victory is special to a young man who will, more than likely, be playing college football next fall.
But this particular win — in a rivalry clash that pitted him not just against GHS, but against a group of teenagers he’s played football with since childhood — had always eluded him.
So, achieving it in his senior season, in front of a hostile crowd, was a moment he intended to savor.
“I always wanted this moment. I always wanted to beat Goldsboro,” Jackson said. “It just feels amazing.”
After a season spent sacrificing personal glory for the good of the team, Aycock’s most touted player turned in a breakout performance Friday evening, rushing for 129 yards and all three of his team’s touchdowns.
But it was a fumble recovery in the endzone on a play that would have tied the game that those in attendance will likely remember.
“I just had to go get it,” Jackson said. “Had to go get it.”
The Golden Falcons defense got more than just that.
Free safety M.J. Cooper played arguably his best game of the season — picking off two passes and laying hits on just about every one of Goldsboro’s offensive weapons.
“Two picks by a guy that I absolutely challenged and pushed his tail every day last year. It was to the point where we were almost like fighting dogs,” CBA head coach Steve Brooks said. “I knew he was going to have to help us this year. The dude was a baller tonight.”
But it will, undoubtedly, be Jackson that fans will be talking about this weekend.
“(Taevian) has sacrificed so much of his individual stats this year for our team to be successful and he has never complained once. He’s the most humble great football player I’ve ever been around,” Brooks said. “He has never come to me one time and said, ‘Coach, I want the ball more.’ He has always been about, ‘Tell me what I can do to help this team win.’”
Just how far the Golden Falcons can go this year is anyone’s guess.
But after a 3-1 start that includes wins over Rosewood and Goldsboro, Cooper says he and his teammates sense that this season has the potential to be special.
“Right now, anything’s possible for us. I really believe that. We really believe that,” he said. “We’re just going to keep on going, keep on grinding.”
Jackson agrees.
“We’re working hard every day in practice and it’s paying off,” he said. “Every Friday night, it’s paying off.”
But don’t blame him if he chooses to hold onto the emotion that overcame him Friday night for a little while longer. Because whatever the future holds for No. 1, it doesn’t get much better than what unfolded long after the sun set on Goldsboro.
“I’ve been dreaming of this one, so it means a lot,” Jackson said. “And I’ve got my team with me. I’ve got my family with me. So, man, it’s just amazing. Amazing.”
