2016 wilkes county high school football outlook · 2016. 8. 17. · wilkes journal-patriot football...

2016 Wilkes County high school football outlook

WJPSPORTS

See inside for outlooks, schedules and team photos for each Wilkes County high school football team. Pictured above are, clockwise from top left, Wilkes Central’s Justin Parsons, West Wilkes’ Trenton Walsh, North Wilkes’ Jarrett Grimes and East Wilkes’ Bryce Vestal.

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2 • Wilkes Journal-Patriot Football Preview • August 17, 2016

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By ZACH COLBURNWilkes Journal-Patriot Staff

The East Wilkes Cardinals were four points away from possibly earning a spot in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 1AA West Regional final last season.

Despite the 17-14 loss to Mitchell in the third round of the 1AA playoffs last season, East Wilkes still set a school-record for wins in a season (13) and captured its first confer-ence championship since 1995.

With last season in the rearview mirror, East Wilkes Head Coach J.K. Adkins wants his players focused intently on this season.

“We’ve preached hard to our kids about putting last year in the past and that’s where it’s at. This is a whole brand new team, new season, new challenges,” said Adkins. “It’s always good to have a great year and it builds momentum but at the same time, the 2016 edition of East Wilkes is unproven and I think our guys realize that.”

The Cardinals, who lost 18 seniors to grad-uation, return 11 starters from last season — five on offense and six on defense.

OffenseThe Cardinals will lean heavily on a pair of

backs from last season’s undefeated JV team.

Billy Mullis, a junior, and sophomore Jay-veon Ross split time between the JV and varsity teams in 2015.

Junior Deven Couch, the team’s top return-ing rusher from last season at 549 yards, is another option but is expected to be used more on defense.

Junior Bryce Vestal is back at quarterback after he passed for 723 yards and 10 touch-downs compared to just two interceptions.

Vestal, who also rushed for 402 yards and three touchdowns, took over during the win against North Wilkes last season after an injury to Chris Ward.

“Bryce is an excellent player, tremendous potential, did a great job for us last year,” said Adkins. “He got better as the year went on and any time that you return your quar-terback, that is an advantage.”

All-Mountain Valley Athletic Confer-ence receiver Jared Wood returns as one of Vestal’s main passing targets. The junior caught 14 passes for 321 yards and four touchdowns.

Expected to join him are senior Joah Logan and junior Jared Poplin. Sophomore Damien Reid is also slated to see time at wide receiver.

Logan compiled seven receptions for 121 receiving yards last season. He came up big in the postseason for the Cardinals when he caught four passes for 73 yards and two touchdowns in playoff wins against South Robeson and Swain County.

“Jared (Wood) was big for us last year; Joah Logan is returning for us and Jared Poplin is a solid receiver who does some good things for us in the blocking game for us as well as catching it,” said Adkins. “I’m also looking at Damien Reid there who I think will be a name that people will know before the season is out.”

Senior Stephen Helms (guard) and junior Tate Weatherman (center) return for the Cardinals on the line. Joining them will be

junior Malachi Combs and sophomore Bran-non Church.

Adkins said that Brandon Esparza, Mason Hartley and Austen Absher are options at the left tackle spot.

DefenseAdkins will look to seniors Andrew Elmore

and Adam Holbrook for leadership on the field after graduating four All-MVAC selec-tions on defense, including MVAC Defensive Player of the Year Chris Dixon.

Elmore, a linebacker, tied for the team led in tackles last season with 118 and 75 solo. Holbrook, a defensive lineman, finished with 78 tackles, 16 of them for a loss.

Joining Holbrook in the trenches will be junior Andrew Walker and senior Alan Royal.

Weston Miller returns at safety for the Cardinals following an all-MVAC nod as a junior last year where he tallied 86 tackles. Senior defensive back Hunter Cleary joins him after collecting 65 tackles and five pass breakups.

Logan, an all-MVAC honorable men-tion selection as a junior, returns in the Cardinals’ secondary. He picked off a team-best five passes last year in addition to seven pass breakups and 49 tackles.

At the other cornerback spot, Atkins is looking at Reid and Alex Royal.

Hartley returns at the linebacker posi-tion alongside Elmore and will be joined by juniors Cody Lovelace, Ty Benton and Jared Smith. Mullis is also expected to see time.

Special TeamsAll-MVAC selection Carlos Aquino is

back for his junior season and is expected to handle place kicking duties.

Aquino was 40-for-43 on extra points and 2-for-3 on field goals, including the

Cardinals reloading after banner 2015 season

Zach colburn/STaFF PhoTo

HUNTER CLEARY rounds the corner near the sideline in East Wilkes’ scrimmage with Avery County on Friday night in Ronda. See CARDINALS, Page 3

Wilkes Journal-Patriot Football Preview • August 17, 2016 • 3

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THE 2016 EAST WILKES CARDINALS ARE, front row, left to right, Ty Cleary, Andrew Elmore, Deven Couch, Vess Bullins, Jayron Roberts, Javeon Ross, Bryce Vestal, Weston Miller, Hunter Cleary, Jared Wood, Damien Reid, Adam Moore, Austin Jolly and Grant Bare. On the second row, Joah Logan, Alex Royal, Ty Benton, Billy Mullis, Cody Lovelace, Carlos Aquino, Jared Poplin, Brannon Smoot, Mason Hartley, Anthony Salvetti, Brannon Church, Adam Holbrook, Austen Absher and Brandon Esparza. On the back row, Jared Smith, Kole Money, Stephen Helms, Tate Weatherman, Brayden Reynolds, Billy Miller, Jacob Crabb, Chase Wood, Malachi Combs, Alan Royal, Andrew Walker, T.J. Holbrook, Tyler Hall, Dawson Shaffer and Bradley Hicks. The Cardinals are coached by J.K Adkins.

game-winning kick against Wilkes Cen-tral, and Adkins noted that he’s been to a few kicking camps this summer.

According to Adkins, Aquino is expected to handle punting duties but Benton and junior Bradley Hicks could see opportunities as well.

Head Coach J.K. AdkinsAdkins returns for his fifth season in

Ronda and has compiled a 19-30 record as East Wilkes’ head coach. The first three seasons were a bit of a struggle as the team won just six games.

But last season, the Cardinals swept all three Wilkes County teams and won the teams’ first state playoff game since 2009. The Cardinals also defeated MVAC power Starmount for the first time since 1971.

One of the keys to Cardinals’ success last season was the balance his team had on offense — something he hopes to utilize again this season.

“Our offense is different in the fact that, back in the old days, you’d find a stud horse and you’d turn around and hand it off to him,” said Adkins. “In our offense, the ball has the possibility in the run game of going into four different hands on most plays. Anybody can get it and we’re looking for balanced rushing from those four guys.

“In the passing game, there are four

different guys who could receive the foot-ball, actually five, counting the running

back, and that’s the unique thing about our offense.”Cardinals

continued from Page 2


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By JAMIE ADAMS and BRANDON MOREEWilkes Journal-Patriot Staff

Two seasons ago, the North Wilkes football team finished the season with-out a win.

Last season, the Vikings improved enough to pick up a victory — a 33-21 week two win at South Stokes.

This year, the potential is there for the Vikings to show even more growth and with one combined win in the last two seasons, it might be easy for teams to make the mistake of overlooking the Vikings.

“We’ve had a lot of kids play varsity who are juniors and seniors now,” said Chipman. “And we have kids from our JV program who have won over the past two seasons, too. So we have some qual-ity folks here right now. I think we’re a real sleeper this year. I’m very excited, because these kids have really taken it on the chin for two years to get to this point.”

The Vikings showed the most balance of any of the Wilkes County teams last year as they rushed for 59 percent of

their yards and threw for the other 41. Given the Vikings are bringing back their best running back and receiver, as well as eight starters on both sides of the ball — they could very well claim that spot again this season.

But in doing so, they’ll certainly be aiming to improve upon their Wilkes County-worst 209.5 yards per game.

OffenseThe Vikings lost their starting quarter-

back from last season, Dylan Bauguess, to graduation, but bring back several other key pieces. Bauguess threw for 933 yards and 8 touchdowns in 2015. Only Wilkes Central’s Dalton Combs had more touchdown passes in the county last year.

This year, newcomer, Cedric White looks to be the Vikings new signal caller. Chipman described white as “a running back taking snaps,” but he’s not the only option North Wilkes will have at quar-terback in its shotgun spread system.

Daniel Pruitt, who led the county in receiving yards in 2015, could also see some time at quarterback, but Chipman

likes to keep him outside where he was so dangerous a year ago.

“If Daniel is in the slot, people have to honor him,” said Chipman. “So they can’t load the box against our backs. But we have a lot of options with either kid playing the position.”

A lot of the Vikings’ potential to move the ball this season will depend on the big guys up front. That offensive line will include Jacob Wood at center, Wesley Joines and Lane Wood at the guard spots, and Seth Wagoner or Anthony Cornia at right guard and the over-powering Jacob Combs handling the blind side.

Combs is a 6-foot-5, 275-pound sopho-more lineman who Chipman expects to draw interest from college programs.

Chipman added that the offensive line is “the strength of our team” and one of the best he’s seen in his 25 years of coaching.

DefenseA year ago, the Vikings allowed 326.8

yards per game, the second highest mark of any Wilkes County team.

But the Vikings return an experienced core in their front seven and look to pose a serious threat to offenses that want to run the ball against them. North Wilkes will utilize a 3-4 set up and Chipman feels like he has five athletes to slide into those front three spots.

Cornia, a senior, will be flanked by Corey Sidden and David Hooker on the defensive line but Combs as well as Joines, Wood and Luke Absher could also put some work in down in the trenches.

Behind them, North Wilkes brings back a pair of senior linebackers who combined for 161 tackles and 14 sacks in Gavin Huffman and Dalton Hall. Those two will be joined by Luke Miles, J.L. Miles and Graylan Galloway on the outside and Jacob Brown and Matthew South in the middle.

That leaves the secondary, where Ced-

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THE 2016 NORTH WILKES VIKINGS are, front row, left-to-right, Haven Winebarger, Christian Church, Jarrett Grimes, Gavin Huffman, J.L. Miles, Ethan Penaloza, Luke Miles and Cedric White. On the middle row are, Jacob Brown, Jacob Wood, David Hooker, Wesley Joines, Luke Absher, Dalton Hall, Cory Sidden, Graylan Galloway and Jonah Wagoner. On the third row, Jonah Wagoner, Jason Roten, Kameron Walsh,

Jacob Combs, Seth Wagoner, Ezekiel Hayes, Anthony Cornia and Lane Wood. On the back row are, Assistant Coach James Cline, Assistant Coach Logan Johnson, Assistant Coach Jamie Miles, Head Coach Monty Chipman, Assistant Coach David Gregory, Assistant Coach Tyler Robbins and Assistant Coach Mark Shumate. Not Pic-tured: Matthew South, Javier Ocampo, Ernesto Ortiz, Daniel Pruitt and Manly Pruitt.

ric White and Christian Church will play the safety spots and Jonah Wagoner, Kameron Walsh, Jason Roten, Ethan Penaloza and Pruitt will also see action.

“We have a lot of options in the secondary, and some of those options will depend on what kind of offense we face,” said Chipman.

Special TeamsRoten and Javier Ocampo have been

battling for punting duties so far this sum-mer. Roten handled punts last year for the Vikings but Ocampo has impressed with his strength.

Ocampo as well as Ernesto Ortiz will take

care of the place kicking. Chipman said that Ocampo has hit field goals from as far out as 45-yards this offseason.

Head Coach Monty ChipmanChipman is entering his 25th season of

coaching football in Wilkes County. Before coaching at North Wilkes, Chipman was the head coach at East Wilkes for 12 seasons.

The 2016 season will be his fifth as the head man for the Vikings and he has com-piled a 14-32 record in his first four years in Hays.

This year, as the Vikings look to continue to rebuild, Chipman said that every game is a key game.

“All games are key games,” he said. “It is important for us to get wins early to build our confidence. We have played young kids

the last two years from our losses of key players from our 10-3 season.

“We should be more experienced this

season with the core being juniors and seniors. All Wilkes county games are very important also.”

Vikingscontinued from Page 4


East Wilkes Cardinals 2016 Schedule

August 19................................at South StokesAugust 26...............................vs. Surry CentralSeptember 2...............................................OPENSeptember 9............................at North StokesSeptember 16...................................at ForbushSeptember 23.......................vs. North Wilkes*September 30..............................at Alleghany*October 7................................................vs. Elkin*October 14...............................at Ashe County*October 21..................................vs. Starmount*October 28.............................at Wilkes Central*November 4..............................vs. West Wilkes* *Denotes MVAC games

North Wilkes Vikings 2016 Schedule

August 19.................................at West CaldwellAugust 26.................................vs. South StokesSeptember 2.......................................at ForbushSeptember 9.................................................OPENSeptember 16........................vs. Avery CountySeptember 23..............................at East Wilkes*September 30.........................................vs. Elkin*October 7........................................at Alleghany*October 14...................................vs. Starmount*October 21................................at Ashe County*October 28..................................at West Wilkes*November 4..........................vs. Wilkes Central* *Denotes MVAC games


West Wilkes Blackhawks 2016 Schedule

August 19..........................................at MitchellAugust 26............................vs. Pine Lake PrepSeptember 2...............................................OPENSeptember 9........................................vs. AtkinsSeptember 16..........................at North IredellSeptember 23.................... vs. Wilkes Central*September 30.............................at Starmount*October 7.................................vs Ashe County*October 14...............................................at Elkin*October 21....................................vs Alleghany*October 28...............................vs North Wilkes*November 4.................................at East Wilkes* *Denotes MVAC games

Wilkes Central Eagles 2016 Schedule

August 19..................................vs. North IredellAugust 26.....................................at West IredellSeptember 2.............................at Surry CentralSeptember 9.........................................vs. PattonSeptember 16...............................................OPENSeptember 23............................at West Wilkes*September 30.........................vs. Ashe County*October 7.......................................at Starmount*October 14.....................................vs. Alleghany*October 21.................................................at Elkin*October 28....................................vs. East Wilkes*November 4...............................at North Wilkes* *Denotes MVAC games

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By BRANDON MOREEWilkes Journal-Patriot Staff

2016 is a new year for the West Wilkes High School football team and with it comes a couple of new philosophies.

What will be most immediately noticeable is that the Blackhawks’ quarterback Trenton Walsh will be lining up under center a lot more than he did a year ago. West Wilkes Head Coach David Hunt said that there will be less of the spread option this year and much more traditional, flexbone offense in Millers Creek.

The other major change that might not be as evident but is certainly just as important, will be the Blackhawks’ efforts to eliminate having players play both sides of the ball.

West Wilkes isn’t much deeper than it was a year ago as the Blackhawks enter the season with 27 players on the varsity roster, but Hunt said that he’s focusing on specializing players to one side or the other.

“We don’t have a ton of players but we only have three or four who are going to play both ways,” Hunt said. “We have a lot of guys who can play, we just don’t have a lot of bodies.”

Of those three or four guys, most of them will be on the line. Hunt said that Austin Brown, Nate Robinson and Jacob Dyer — all linemen — will likely see time on both the offensive and defensive lines. Alex Ortiz, who played a little bit of everything last season, could also see some time on both offense and defense.

“We’re trying to not play people both ways, some of (our potential receivers) are going to be starting on defense,” Hunt said. “And we try to do it on offense by formation — in certain formations certain guys will be in that way we can give them a little bit of a break. But we’re trying our best to keep people from playing both ways.”

Hunt went on to say that not only will that keep players rested on Friday nights, but it

makes a big different on the practice field as well.

“I’ll tell you the big difference, and people don’t realize it, but our scout team. When you do that, when everybody is just playing one side, your scout team in practice is so much better,” Hunt said. “In the past, we’ve struggled to have a scout team quarterback and now Trenton is our scout team quarter-back. Our scout team has been great all week and it’s been impressive.”

OffenseThe Blackhawks will be anchored offen-

sively by the big guys up front this season. Hunt was pretty clear that his team would be running the ball behind those guys about as much as they could.

Granted, the Blackhawks didn’t throw the ball very much last season (just two touch-downs through the air) but with the move away from the spread option, it seems that the traditional ground and pound running game will be the centerpiece this season.

Walsh returns for his senior year at quar-terback after racking up nearly 800 yards of total offense last year. His experience and knowledge of the team’s playbook will be crucial this fall for the Blackhawks.

“Speed — and I don’t think people always see that,” Hunt said when asked what Walsh brings to the table. “But I think this year, you’ll see a little more because he’s going to carry it a lot more. And experience, now he’s got a year under his belt (at quarterback) and he’s played varsity his last two years.

“He’s played receiver and played quarter-back. He knows our offense really well. I think those are the biggest things he brings to us.”

He’ll be handing off to Cody Call and Noah Dancy — who both saw time at running back last year. Hunt added that Ortiz as well as Tyler Skeen and Dillon Eller could also see some carries.

“The good thing is, I think we’re more well-rounded this year,” Hunt said. “We’ve honestly got five running backs who can play. We’ve got those guys and we’ve got Tyler Skeen and Dillon Eller, they did a great job on J.V. last year. So it’s going to be a little different.”

West Wilkes will also have some new options at wide receiver with a pair of 6-4 athletes in Jared Serbeck and Cole Smith in addition to Dante McPherson, who is playing his first year of football in Millers Creek. But, Hunt noted, those guys might be just as likely to be starters in the secondary.

DefenseJust like on the offensive side of the ball,

everything starts up front for the Blackhawks and it will be the same core of players on both sides. Brown, Robinson and Dyer will be fix-tures on the line and will play an important role in both slowing down the opponents’ running game as well as putting pressure on the quarterback.

Behind them, Hunt will have a mix of fresh faces and players with experience.

In the linebacking corps, Hunt will use

West Wilkes aiming to overcome small roster


ALEX ORTIZ cuts upfield with the ball in last year’s contest with Starmount in Millers Creek. Ortiz returns for his junior season in 2016.

Zach colburn/STaFF PhoTo

JOHN HAMBY chases down South Stokes’ quarterback Josh Patane in the Black-hawks scrimmage Wednesday evening on the practice field in Millers Creek.

See BLACKHAWKS, Page 9


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THE 2016 WEST WILKES BLACKHAWKS are, front row, left-to-right, Alex Ortiz, Dante McPherson, Trenton Walsh, Cody Call, Tanner Clifton, Jake Boyles, Cole Smith and John Hamby. On the second row are, Gavin Willens, Noah Triplett, Zach Greene, Tyler Skeen, Noah Dancy, Dylan Eller, Luke Huffman, Stefan Wagoner and

Braxton Grose. On the back row are, Jared Serbeck, Logan Petty, Jacob Dyer, T.J. Brown, Austin Brown, Nate Robinson, Brett Shore and Grant Bare. Not pictured, Nick Nuzzolilo. The Blackhawks are coached by David Hunt and assisted by David Beck, Jackie Stone, Britt Harris, Scottie Greene, Neil Walsh and Dan Goldman.

Zach Greene and Stefan Wagoner, who both saw time there a year ago and Dillon Eller as well as Luke Huffman played there last year for the JV team.

Hunt said that they could also potentially introduce Noah Dancy and Tyler Skeen to the linebacker position.

In the secondary, Smith, Serbeck and McPherson could see time back there as well as Ortiz. Tanner Clifton is returning to his safety spot that he manned last season.

Special TeamsNick Nuzzolilo handling the punting and

kicking duties for the Blackhawks last year

and had a county-best 37 yards per punt. He’ll be back this year and Hunt said that he’s had a great summer and is kicking bet-ter than ever.Head Coach David Hunt

This season will be Hunt’s fourth at West Wilkes and he compiled a 10-24 record in his first three seasons. Last year marked his first appearance in the playoffs with the Blackhawks.

The 2016 season will be the senior season for players who were freshmen when Hunt came to Millers Creek and he’s excited about the progress they’ve made and he added that they’re easy to communicate with given all the time they’ve spent together.

“The seniors are the first group that I’ve been with for four years so I’ve kind of got-ten to see them go through the program for

four years,” Hunt said. “It’s easier making adjustments and communicating with them because I’ve been around them for so long.

It’s not like it’s my first year with them. “I’m probably closer to them than any team

I’ve coached.”Blackhawkscontinued from Page 8



JASIAH FERGUSON streaks up the field after receiving a pass from quarterback Camden Wyatt in the Eagles scrimmage against St. Stephens last week.

By BRANDON MOREEWilkes Journal-Patriot Staff

The Wilkes Central football team, like most teams, is faced with filling some holes left by graduation from a year ago.

But the most important missing piece for the Eagles right now is Head Coach Ron Turner. Wilkes Central’s head man was diagnosed with a synovial sarcoma in his right leg over the summer and had to have his leg amputated on Aug. 2.

Turner’s timeline for return is still up in the air for now but he’s planning on being back with his team some time this season. He’s also planning on continu-ing to contribute to the game plan and watching film this season.

But Terry Johnson will be handling the interim head coaching duties until Turner returns.

“It’s been tough and it’s tough on our kids,” Johnson said, “but they understand that the tough part is what he’s going through, not what we’re going through.”

Johnson said that the rest of the coach-ing staff as well as the players have been in continual communication with Turner throughout the process.

The Eagles scrimmaged once last week and were scheduled to scrimmage again on Friday night but were forced to cancel and this week, they’ll open up the season with a home game against North Iredell.

And in terms of what the Eagles can produce on the field, there’s a lot to be excited about.

OffenseThis year the Eagles will be looking to

sophomore quarterback Camden Wyatt to take the reigns of the offense and he’ll have some big shoes to fill. Last season, Dalton Combs threw for a Wilkes County-best 1,437 yards and 15 touchdowns while completing nearly 50 percent of his passes.

And when Combs wasn’t throwing the ball, he was handing the ball off to the incomparable Andrew Bynum, who set the school record for rushing yards in a season with 2,700.

“Obviously, last year, we threw the ball effectively at times but we had such a tremendous running back, that even if people were geared up to stop us, we were

still going to give the ball to Andrew,” Turner said. “I’m not the smartest guy in the world, but I’m smart enough to give the ball to Andrew Bynum.”

Wyatt won’t have Bynum, but he will have Justin Parsons, who will be mak-ing the move over from the slot position. Parsons was the Eagles leading receiver last year and also picked up a few car-ries, but he figures to be a crucial part of this year’s Eagle team on both offense and defense.

The same goes for Jojo Horton, who will likely throw some passes, catch some passes and defend some passes this year just like he did last year. The Eagles also have several other options at wide receiver and Turner believes they have the most depth they had at the skill

positions since he’s been there.“Our second leading receiver last year

was Jasiah (Ferguson) and he’s back on the outside and we think he can have a good year for us,”Turner said. “We may not have an Andrew Bynum but we feel like we have a lot of play makers. We feel like this is the best depth we’ve had at the skill positions since I’ve been here.”

DefenseAccording to Johnson, the Eagles will

have about a 16-man rotation on the defensive side of the ball and the key will be the big guys up front.

Dedric Smith is returning for his senior year as an interior defensive lineman

Eagles’ depth critical for 2016 season


CAMDEN WYATT fires a pass in the Eagles’ scrimmage last week.

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THE 2016 WILKES CENTRAL EAGLES are, front row, left to right, Justin Parsons, Shawn Nickens, Jared Yates, Jojo Horton, Jasiah Ferguson, Tony Lopez, Trent Love, Terry Calhoun and Camden Wyatt. On the second row are, Orion Mathis, Nathan Born, Donta Graham, John Durham, Ethan Scott, Dakota Hodges, Joseph Rosales, Phillip Lambert and Dedric Smith. On the third row are, Zamian Gwynn, Austin Blackburn,

Jacob Ballard, Copeland Stone, Cameron McNeil, Grant Cowles, Justin Price, Joel Sparks, Kyle Tinnin and Billy Mitchell. On the back row are David Simmons, Garrett Blackburn and Dax Lopez. The Eagles are coached by Ron Turner, Terry Johnson, Jodi Weatherman, David Brooks, Steve Tapley, Shane Compton, Zach Huffstetler, Dustin Foster, Martin Hague and Casey Katzenstein. Alex Martinez is not pictured.

after being an all-conference selection on both offense and defense last year and he’ll be joined up there by Grant Cowles — two players who Turner is excited about this season.

Behind them, Johnson said that he’s got about six different guys who can go at the linebacker spot including senior Nathan Born, who had a strong year there last year.

Phillip Lambert, a junior, could also see some time at linebacker but will likely spend most of his time on the other side of the ball.

The rest of the linebackers are sopho-mores or juniors with limited varsity experience.

But the secondary is a different story as it is full of experienced players.

Several of the athletes who could serve as potential wide receiver targets could just as easily be threats in the secondary. Par-sons, Horton, Ferguson and Terry Calhoun all come back this year with experience at safety or corner and they’ll be joined by Shawn Nickens, Garrett Blackburn, John Durham, Donta Graham and Trent Love.

“We’ve got a pretty good core all over,” Johnson said. “We just have to get them here and make sure they’re doing what

they need to be doing.”

Special TeamsJack Privette returns this year to han-

dle the kicking responsibilities for the Eagles. He will take the kickoffs and extra points as he did last year but Horton could be doing the punting this season.

Johnson said that Horton and Privette have been competing for punting duties in practice so far. Horton’s role as an offensive threat would help disguise the punt as the Eagles liked to do last season.

Head Coach Ron TurnerThe 2016 season will be Turner’s third

in command of the Eagles. In his first two years he has compiled a 14-11 record with playoff appearances both seasons. Last year, the Eagles won their first-round playoff game with Newton-Conover 47-40.

But Turner will not be on the sideline early in the season as he recovers from surgery. Johnson will serve as his interim and his other duties have been distributed among the rest of the staff.

“One coach is handling the play calling for the offense, another is taking over eligibility and things like that,” Turner said. “Terry Johnson will speak to the media and will be answering phone calls for the head coach at the school.”

Eaglescontinued from Page 10


Video Rundown returning for 2nd seasonBy BRANDON MOREEWilkes Journal-Patriot Staff

Every week during the 2015-16 school year, Sports Editor Zach Colburn and Assistant Sports Editor Brandon Moree published a four to five minute video that highlighted the previous week in Wilkes County high school sports.

With the help of River Street Produc-tions and Cook’s Sporting Goods, the video series has returned for its second season.

The show, which won a third-place honor from the North Carolina Press Association in the Best Video category in February, will come out every Mon-day both on YouTube on the WJP Sports channel and at www.journalpatriot.com/sports.

The show will have a slightly different format this year than it did at the end of last school year. Each week, the program will showcase video highlights from each of the four Wilkes County high schools’ games on Friday night with a special emphasis on one Game of the Week.

We’ll also be introducing a brand new Play of the Week feature to cap off each show. Be sure to nominate your favorite play from Friday night on social media by tagging WJP Sports — and feel free to send along any video.

The first show of the 2016-17 school year is already available for your view-ing pleasure online. In the first episode, which was published on Monday, the WJP Sports staff takes a look at the upcoming football season, making note of some key players and circling the big time match-ups on the calendar.

This school year, we’re putting a special

effort into our social media platforms. So be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram (@WJP_Sports), LIKE us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel. We’ll be posting and updating those with news, notes, photos, graphics and of course, up to the minute scores all year long.

We’re looking forward to another great season of high school sports here in Wil-kes County and we want you to be a part of the conversation on social media, so follow along.

Follow along on Social Media

@WJP_Sports

@WJP_Sports

www.facebook.com/WJPSportswww.

www.youtube.com/WJPSports

ON THE SET — Brandon Moree, left , and Zach Colburn, right, talk Wilkes County sports in the first show of this school year.

Football time is Bo Time!

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2016 wilkes county high school football outlook · 2016. 8. 17. · wilkes journal-patriot football...

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