Editor’s Note: Were it not for COVID-19, the latest chapter of the Little River Rivalry would have been written in a few days. So we thought – because like many of you, we, too, are going to miss Wayne County football until it resumes in February – we would reach back into our archives to share the heart-warming story that unfolded at last year’s CBA/Rosewood game – a tale of perseverance, friendship and an unlikely comeback that added to the legend of Golden Falcon Clay Matthews.
Nobody would have blamed Clay Matthews if he had decided to walk away from football after an awkward hit from a Goldsboro High School defensive tackle ended his 2018 season 351 days ago.
Everybody who knows the young man, including Charles B. Aycock head coach Steve Brooks, understands that he’s a baseball prospect with a potential career on the diamond waiting for him after his days in Pikeville are through.
But Matthews would tell you that not long after hundreds of CBA fans lowered their heads in prayer as the Golden Falcons’ quarterback was helped off the field Sept. 7, 2018, he set his sights on Friday night — on the 2019 Little River Rivalry game against Rosewood.
“That’s the great thing about this young man,” Brooks said. “He’s gonna make his money on the baseball diamond. We all know that. But he’s out here because he absolutely loves it.”
And make no mistake. He’s also out there because he can flat out play the game.
Matthews didn’t look like a player who hadn’t faced a pass rush in nearly a year.
It didn’t seem to faze him that his return pitted his team against a cross-county rival that was within shouting distance of playing for a state championship last season.
The young man, for lack of a better word, torched the Eagles — throwing for more than 250 yards and 3 touchdowns. And were it not for a desperation tackle that saw Aycock fumble inside the Rosewood red zone at the tail end of a monster reception, he would have had a fourth.
“I’ve never had a game like that,” Matthews said. “It was a big night.”
Brooks isn’t surprised.
“As long as he stays healthy, I think the sky is the limit. He just plays his tail off,” he said. “I think he’s pushed himself and he’s been hungry (since his injury) to be back on the field with his guys.”
His guys. The young men like senior running back Taevian Jackson who said during an interview this summer that “it hurt” to see Matthews go down last season.
They never gave up on their quarterback.
And Friday, they complemented his performance to ensure his comeback was a victorious one.
Jackson rushed for two touchdowns. The defense forced two critical turnovers — the biggest, a fumble on the CBA 1-yard line midway through the third quarter when it looked like momentum was, after a lopsided first half, finally on Rosewood’s side.
Alijuan Moore, who filled in for Matthews at quarterback for the second half of Aycock’s 2018 season, caught two touchdown passes on more than 100 yards receiving.
On both sides of the ball, the quarterback’s supporting cast was clicking.
They battled alongside him just as they stood beside him during his recovery.
Perhaps that’s why Matthews shied away from reflecting extensively on his journey back from injury — or on what he called the “biggest” performance of his football career.
It was “we” who “got rolling” in the first half, “we” who “prepared for this moment right here” all summer.
It was “we” who “worked our butts off” on that field Friday night to achieve “our” first win of the season.
Brooks said this summer that his team, his school and the community that supports it are a “family.”
Friday night, they looked — and sounded — like one.
And Matthews was this particular game’s favorite son.
“I’m extremely proud of him. He rose to the occasion,” Brooks said. “I knew he would come back and lead our football team. He loves being with the guys. He loves being with his coaches. And he doesn’t take it for granted. He’s a special, special kid.”
