They had been shut out all night.
They were more than an hour away from home.
It was cold.
There were less than five minutes remaining on the clock.
It would have been easy for members of the Goldsboro High School football team to accept a road defeat and pin a tough loss to Northside High School on opening game jitters or rust.
But this particular group — with 11 seniors and a host of talented underclassmen on the roster — isn’t built that way.
So, after junior running back Justin Taylor put the Cougars on the board with 4:48 left in regulation, a pair of seniors put the team on their backs.
Senior Damon Brown intercepted a pass with two minutes remaining and then, a minute later, caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jamin Jacobs to tie the game at 13.
And after two missed field goals in overtime sent the game to a second extra frame and Northside scored but missed the extra point, Jacobs hit another senior, Deonte Moore, for a touchdown that knotted the score again.
In the end, freshman Robert Govan sealed the deal with a game-winning extra point.
Cougars 20. Monarchs 19.
Goldsboro (1-0) plays its home opener Friday against Anson (0-1).
