football preview 2011

PI_PROGINDEX/SPECIAL_SECTION/PAGES [01] | 09/02/11 14:53 | SUPERIMPPB


COLONIAL HEIGHTSCOLONIALS

BY THOMAS C. DOZIER

SPORTS EDITOR

There is always strength

in numbers. The more

individuals that you

can rally to your cause,

the better. There are plenty of

old sayings, which often apply to

football, to explain the benefit

of numbers.

One such says: “It’s about cre-

ating strength in numbers, find-

ing common ground and sup-

porting each other.”

But Colonial Heights High

School does not possess the

numbers, therefore the Colo-

nials will have to rely on their

quality to put their stamp on a

successful 2011 Central District

season.

However, the best saying to

describe Colonials Heights’

quality came from William Fos-

ter in his book, Igniting theSpirit at Work: Daily Reflections.

“Quality is never an accident;

it is always the result of high

intention, sincere effort, intelli-

gent direction and skillful exe-

cution; it represents the wise

choice of many alternatives.”

The Colonials key returning

players include quarterback

Derek Mears, a senior who

threw for more than 1,500 yards

last season, and senior running

back Mario Smith, who amassed

650 rushing yards last year.

Mears is a gift-

ed three-sport

athlete, who also

excels on the

baseball field and

basketball court,

but the 6-2, 185-

pounder can be a

difference-maker

for the Colonials.

He is a three-year

starter who can make all the

appropriate throws.

Also the Colonials expect to

get major contributions from

senior center/linebacker Trevor

Schoot, senior wide receiver

Austin Emerson, who hauled in

24 receptions last year and

junior defensive lineman

Hayden Zinn.

The Colonial Heights line,

which includes both offensive

and defensive line, will get a

major boost from two newcom-

ers Deonte Jenkins, a 6-3, 230-

pound senior, and Deanthony

Babers, a 6-4, 265-pound sopho-

more.

Also, Robert Dubberly, a 5-11,

160-pound junior, will make an

appearance on both sides of the

field at wide receiver and defen-

sive back.

The focus for Colonial Heights

fourth-year

coach Bert

Krupp is up

front.

“We will go as

far as our offen-

sive and defen-

sive lines prog-

ress will take

us,” Krupp said.

“In the [Central]

district, the top four of Dinwid-

die, Meadowbrook, Thomas Dale

and Matoaca can all beat each

other on any given night.

“Petersburg is right on the

edge of that and Prince George

and Hopewell had some of the

best young talent in the district

last year.”

Needless to say, Krupp thinks

things are wide open, but finds

his greatest pleasure on the

sidelines “seeing our kids play

hard and battle each week.”

As a legitimate NCAA Divi-

sion 1 recruit, or at the very

least a I-AA, Mears will get an

assist in the backfield from

Smith, who according to his

coach, has D-II, and D-III college

capability.

Emerson will certainly be see-

ing a lot of attention from

Mears at his wide-receiver spot.

If the Colonials, who went 0-7

in the district and 2-8 overall

last season, want to find success

they must allow Mears the time

to see his peers.

“We have to protect our quar-

terback Derek Mears,” Krupp

explained. “So he can get the

ball to players like Austin Emer-

son and Mario Smith in space.

So that they can use their [play-

ing-making] abilities.”

The remaining seniors on

Colonial Heights roster besides

Emerson, Jenkins, Mears and

Smith on the roster are Ta’quan

Davis, Devin Miles, Andrew

Gaskin, Raffi Simon-Khacheki-

an, Manny Jimenez, Kris Dun-

lap, Peter Baik and Quinton

Drumright.

Their senior leadership will

be called upon often as the 12-

members of the senior class will

be instrumental in the develop-

ment of the other players, which

include 11 juniors, four sopho-

mores and one freshman.

The Colonials open their sea-

son at home on Sept. 3 against

Thomas Jefferson.

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Colonials experience a call to arms — Mears

SMITHMEARS

2 Sunday, September 4, 2011 The Progress-Index, Petersburg, VA


COLONIAL HEIGHTS

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The Schedule

2010 record: 0-7 Central District, 2-8 Overall

2011 schedule

(all games at 7:00 p.m., unless noted)

Friday, Sept. 3 THOMAS JEFFERSON 7:00

Friday, Sept. 16 at Park View (SOUTH HILL) 7:30

Friday, Sept. 23 ARMSTRONG 7:00

Friday, Sept. 30 at Petersburg 7:00

Friday, Oct. 7 at Matoaca 7:00

Friday, Oct.14 HOPEWELL 7:00

Friday, Oct.21 at Dinwiddie 7:00

Friday, Oct.28 PRINCE GEORGE 7:00

Friday, Nov. 4 MEADOWBROOK 7:00

Friday, Nov. 11 at Thomas Dale 7:00

Big games: Before entering Central District play, the

Colonials have three winable games to help develop confi-

dence and allow the young players to grow before entering

the tough district slate. After that, the final seven games,

Colonial Heights will look to improve upon its winless dis-

trict record of last season.

KEY RETURNERS

KEY RETURNERS:

Senior QB Derek Mears, senior WR Austin Emerson, se-

nior RB Mario Smith.

OTHER RETRUNING PLAYERS:

Junior LB Trevor Schoot, Junior DL Hayden Zinn.

KEY LOSSES: Mark Negron-Boyle, Matt Mumford, Robert

Johnson, Mack Krupp, Jesse Vaughan.

TOP NEWCOMERS:

Senior Deonte Jenkins, 6-3, 230, OL/DL; sophomore

Deanthony Babers, 6-4, 265, OL/DL; junior Robert Dubberly,

5-11, 160, WR/DB.

TEAM STRENGTHS:

Senior quarterback Derek Mears, who is a three-year

starter, can make all the throws and get the ball to the skill

positions — especially Mario Smith and Austin Emerson.

TEAM WEAKNESSES:

Offensive and Defensive line must replace four three-year

starters. And depth at every position.

Name: Bert Krupp, third year

Age: 51 (fourth

year as head coach,

29 years of coaching

experience)

Family: Wife Alli-

son; Sons Kyle 22,

Dylan 20, Mack 16.

College: University

of Virginia

Greatest moment in coaching

last season: “Seeing our kids play

hard and battle each week.”

— Bert Krupp

COACH

PATRICK KANE/PROGRESS-INDEX PHOTOS

2011 Colonial Heights High School football team.

KRUPP

The Progress-Index, Petersburg, VA Sunday, September 4, 2011 3


BY COURT WILLS

SPORTS WRITER

For second year ThomasDale football coach KevinTucker this season is about

getting back to the team’s roots —playing in-your-face power-I foot-ball.

But in order to carry out thatmission, changes would have tobe made overthe summer.

Those chang-es involvedgoing to theweight roomconsistently andgetting faster.

“The job wassomething that Ialways wantedbut I kind of went into it blind.There were a lot of responsibili-ties,” Tucker said. “We were veryyoung and inexperienced and Ithink a lot of that came from alack of prep time in the weightroom during the prime time thatwe needed to be preparing.”

Tucker took over after longtimeKnights coach Vic Williams lost

his battle to cancer after havingwon the Group AAA Division 6championship in 2009.

Coming into last season, Thom-as Dale had graduated 33 seniorsleaving only 10 seniors, thatincluded five players that hadsome varsity experience. The restwere in the beginning stages ofbeing on a higher varsity level.

“Coach Wil-liams had defi-nitely left uswith a systemthat we knewhow to preparefor, we were justvery young andonly had about10 guys thatknew that sys-tem,” Tucker said.

But what a difference a yearhas made for the Knights footballteam, as many of the players havetaken ownership and leadership,causing their teammates to be inthe weight room.

“We got re-energized and hadabout 50 kids a week coming tothe weight room to get stronger

and better. It was a complete turn-around in which our strength ismuch improved which I thinkwill help us to be able to win moretight ball games,” Tucker said.

From working out four days aweek from Monday to Thursdayor gathering different groups ofplayers to the local parks to liftrocks or run particular plays, theKnights were hungry to get backwhat they had always been before— winners.

“Our biggest strength is ourspeed. We want to run more ofthat power run game of ThomasDale. We want to get back to thoseroots,” Tucker said.

With the exception of threeplayers playing both ways on thefootball field, everyone else willbe having one job to fulfill whichis a valuable plus in terms of stay-ing healthy and fit.

Three players that Tucker isexcited to take leadership of theKnights football team is LorenzoFields who will be sharing timewith their featured backs along

Knights appear tohave shining armor

THOMAS DALEKNIGHTS

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The Schedule


2011 schedule

Sept. 9 at L.C. Bird 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 16 at Varina 7:00 p.m.

Sept. 23 PETERSBURG 7:00 p.m.

Sept. 30 MATOACA 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 7 at Hopewell 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 14 at Dinwiddie 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 21 PRINCE GEORGE 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 28 at Meadowbrook 7:00 p.m.

Nov. 4 L. C. BIRD 7:00 p.m.

No. 12 COLONIAL HEIGHTS 7:00 p.m.

Big games; The first five games — L.C. Bird, Varina,

Petersburg, Matoaca and Hopewell — will provide tough

competition for the Knights both outside the Central Dis-

trict and the games against the Crimson Wave and War-

riors will go along way to determing district frontrunners.

FIELDS FRYE

Key Returners:Lorenzo Fields, RB/CB; 5-foot-9, 188 pounds, a

three-year starter. Quinton Taylor, QB/DB; 6-foot-1,188 pounds.Desmond Frye, WR/DB; 6-foot-3, 180 pounds, who

has committed to Virginia Tech. Anthony Prevost, K;5-foot-6, 165 pounds. Aaron Green, LB; 5-foot-1, 185pounds. Darius Spruill, LB; 6-foot-2, 220 pounds.Zach Rhodes, OT; 6-foot-5, 270 pounds. Darius McK-eeny C/WR. DJ Reid RB/athlete.

Other returning members:Transfer David Robinson, a senior wide receiver:

Brandon Bowe, senior C/LB.

Key Losses: Sam Hartman, Demetrick Jackson,Ryan Nolan.

Promising Newcomers:Freshman Darvis Taylor 6-2 280-pound fast and

powerful freshman will play a lot on the defensiveline; Junior Chris Bright 6-3, 250-pound tight end withgreat hands; Sophomore CJ Revis, a 6-1, 185-pound-er; and sophomore Lamar Webster, a 6-0, 190-poundlinebacker. Both will start on defense and both al-ready have D-1 schools looking at them.

THOMAS DALE CAPSULE

Please see KNIGHTS, Page 12



CENTRALDISTRICT

DINWIDDIEGENERALS

BY THOMAS C. DOZIER

SPORTS EDITOR

The Dinwiddie football teamand its coaches do not likeuse the word rebuildingwhen it comes to an upcom-

ing season. It is more in the area ofreloading and retooling that willbring the ultimate rewards.

The sad fact facing the Generals,on the surface, is this year’s team fac-es many challenges of the 2009 sea-son.

Both teams are coming into theseason after the previous teamclaimed the Central District and Cen-tral Region title. In fact, last year’steam added to that mix Dinwiddie’sfirst unbeaten regular season.

However, that 2009 team followingthe state runner-up team from 2008,finished the season with a 6-4 recordand earned a region berth. But theamount of losses, the attitude and theway the team went out in the playoffs,still leaves the program with a blackeye from the insider’s view.

“The theme this year is to notrepeat that season,” Dinwiddie coachBilly Mills said. “We will not do thatagain for a couple of reasons. I toldthis year’s team just the other day we

have just as much talent as that 2009[team] but we also have just as muchtalent as the 2010 and 2008 teams.

“The biggest difference in thosegood years is leadership – who isleading and who is following.”

In 2009, Mills acknowledged thathis quality juniors did not take on aleadership role until late in the sea-son or waited until the following sea-son to be heard.

Another big plus, with the limitedDinwiddie roster (35 varsity players),is to use players both ways.

“It is tough to run a two-platoonsystem when you have 35 varsityplayers and 20 of them are juniors

“So we have to play guys both waysand we feel like we have great coach-es on both sides of the ball to keepthem pointed in the right direction.

“I am really excited about the pros-pects of the upcoming season.”

Drakar Harvell, an all-state defen-sive back, broke onto the Dinwiddiescene during his freshman yearwhen he intercepted two passes fromTajh Boyd in the Group AAA Divi-sion 5 championship game at Virgin-ia Tech’s Lane Stadium. The 6-0, 195-pounder has been making plays ever

Generals focus on accountability

Please see DINWIDDIE, Page 6

HARVELL

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DINWIDDIEGENERALSsince, on both sides of the ball, and will be askedto do more this season.

You could say he is a big fan of the Generalsprogram too.

“It feels great to be a part of a great footballprogram,” Harvell explained. “It not only getsyou ready for football, but it gets you ready forlife. The hard work that we putin pays off in the games and itleads to winning football games.But the best part is we havebecome a family.”

Mills stated Harvell will lineup on either side of the offensiveline and will be asked to catchthe ball in traffic. The otherreceivers include DariusHawkins and Sadarius Williams,who both had several breakout games late in theseason last year, and Wesley Reed, who possessesTrey-Gardner like stature and will also be askedto go over the middle.

Johnathan Sprucebank, the fastest player onthe team, is currently nursing an injury but willbe in the receiver fray as soon as he is cleared toplay.

It will be interesting to see what this teamlearns and carries over from that season and howthey will implement that with this year’s team toavoid the pratfalls of 2009 and have the seasonthey want to have. Or more importantly, a seasonthey are capable of having.

“The biggest mistake that we made in 2009 wastrying to do things the same way we did in 2008.”Mills, who is in his seventh year, said. “It was anhonest mistake because we did go to the statechampionship game, but each team is differentand must be handled differently to a certainextent.

“We scrapped the two-platoon system whichwas not feasible because I had to split my coach-ing staff to do so. As a result we’ve got some two-way players that have helped us on both sides ofthe ball since making theswitch.

“This year like last, we havesome youth, the difference thisyear is they are starting out infront on the depth chart insteadof working them in mid-yearlike we did in the 2009 seasonwhen it became evident that ourseniors were not getting it done.This will help us in bringing ouryounger players along and will help us down theroad.

“Don’t get me wrong, we’ve got some seniorsstarting, but the junior reserves from a year ago,who are now seniors, have had to battle allthrough pre-season to take an underclass player’splace and some haven’t been able to do this.

“We have great effort and talent but we aremaking a lot of mistakes right now, we’ve got togo to work everyday to get better and so far thesekids have shown that.”

The Generals are still working through themistakes of their first scrimmage against Bethel.

One of the things Dinwiddie implemented to

great success last season was a running game.The diminutive Andre Thweatt blew up with

1,206 rushing yards, not to mention him becom-ing the leading tackler in school history, andquarterback Chris Hall added 1,056 yards.

Senior Bryan Finney, a 6-2, 190-pounder, willtake over the signal-caller duties while a trio ofrunning backs — Williams (5-10, 200-pound soph-omore), Darius Johnson (5-11, 226-pound junior),Rashard Hicks (5-10, 175-pound sophomore) andRashaad Goodwyn (6-1, 190-pound sophomore)will carry the load on theground. Johnson will get most ofthe downhill carries while theothers will become more off-tack-le slashers.

If all goes well they can dupli-cate the Hall-Thweatt numbers,which in turn could exhibit thestrength of the Dinwiddie pro-gram. The Generals’ six-playerUnity Council — Finney, Harvell,Kates, Yoshi Monroe, Ronald Kearney and ElijahHarris — agree that the roles are interchangeableas long as everyone is in agreement of putting thework in and making the adjustments along theway.

Dinwiddie is not always about a winning sea-son, it is more about building a winning pro-gram.

“It feels great to be a part of this program,”said the sophomore Harris. “It’s just a great expe-rience and an honor to be taught by these coach-es. We keep it going by our work ethic.

DINWIDDIEContinued from Page 5

FINNEY

Please see DINWIDDIE, Page 7

GOODWYN WILLIAMS



CENTRALDISTRICT

DINWIDDIEGENERALS

“Even when people leave we do whatwe have to do like getting in the weightroom and getting after it.

“It’s a lot of work and really intensebut its worth it and that we are as goodas we are.”

In 2009, the Generals were coming offa Central District championship, a Cen-tral Region crown and Group AAA, Divi-sion 5 runner-up finish. They made theplayoffs but it wasn’t enough to go 6-4and make the region playoffs.

“You can learn a lot from differentyear’s teams,” said the senior Kates, whowas a part of that team. “As a team, wecould learn from what that team didwrong and what they did right. As ateam, we could fix those little details inwhich made them unsuccessful.

“In order to eliminate those mistakes,we have to study and pay close attentionto those small details. So we are notheading in the wrong direction.

“We have to keep sight on what to doand the goal ahead. Sometimes you needyears like that in order for it to be ablessing or a crucial stepping stone lat-er.”

Monroe echoed the thoughts of Kates,since he too, was a member of that team.

“To learn from the 2009 season, itstarts with the off-season leadership,”Monroe said. “It is a huge differencefrom the leadership from the 2009 seasonand last year’s season. Both seasons hadequal talent. Things we did as welearned from 2009, we got our teammatesdedicated to football and made losing notan option.

“We compete more to get our guys notto accept losing as in 2009 when some

guys thought it was OK.‘This year we eliminated individual

players and ones who threatened tobring down our program or who didn’twant to win.

“None of our teammates want anoth-er 2009 season and that’s why we havebeen busting our hindends off since Janu-ary to the present.”

Last season, theGenerals entered theseason with a handfulof NCAA Division 1prospects and the pre-season favorite of dis-trict offensive anddefensive player of theyear. That is not truethis season. How will they cope?

‘The guys that left from last year willbe missed are greatly appreciated,” saidDinwiddie senior quarterback Finney.“But we won’t dwell in the past. We havea lot of young talent and couple ofseniors that know how to get the jobdone, so we won’t miss a beat this year,we have just enough talent, if not more,than we had in the past years.”

Now it will just be a matter ofgoing out and showing it.

Over the past three years, thedefense but more importantly theoffensive line have gotten increas-ing better. Both may be the keys inhelping Finney settle in to†hisnew role.

“Our offensive line is very tal-ented and four out of the five arevery experienced,” said the sopho-more Kearney. “Our defensive lineis great too. Our defensive endsare fast and aggressive. Our noseguard has great size.

The offensive line will be led bysenior center Kates, who is in his

third year as a starter. But also the Gen-erals have experienced players like Mon-roe, a senior with plenty of minuteslogged over the past two seasons, RonaldCunningham, Jacory Fitzgerald andToddric Bugg.

On defense, Monroe will cement theline and defense thathas taken on a “runto the ball” motto.The 6-0, 250-pounderwill take over theaggressive role left byCorey Marshall, aformer three-yearstarter who is play-ing at Virginia Tech.Fitzgerald and Kel-vin Weaver will joinseveral of the players that will go bothways on the three-man defensive front. Itwas often if you found Marshall in thebackfield last season, Monroe was rightbehind him and vice versa.

“I feel the offensive and defensive linehave the potential to be just as good aslast year’s,” Kearney added. “Because oftheir athleticism and experience.”

Not to mention the collective attention

to detail.In summary, Dinwiddie loses a ton of

football talent but returns just enoughexperienced players to make a go of it.Furthermore, there are some promisingathletes†that will join the fray, and thetough early season schedule, whichincludes non-district games againstMonacan, Varina and Highland Springs.The tough foes should prepare for reign-ing district and region champions forthe always-tough Central District cam-paign.

“Our goal is to win all 10 games,”Mills said. “But we put together a toughschedule to prepare us for the district.We don’t want to be shocked when weplay our first district game. And then wecan go after trying to win the districttitle.”

Harvell said the formula is much likelast year.

“It is simple we just have to take it onegame at a time,” Harvell explained. “Andtake it step by step. We all have to dedi-cate ourselves to the program and cometogether as a team.”

In essence, get ready for the Monacangame.

MONROE

DINWIDDIEContinued from Page 6

KATES

As the mother of four children who were active year-round in high school sports. I know theexcitement that goes with the competition on the field. But I also know all the great lessons thatcome from being a part of the team—hard work toward goals, teamwork, and sportsmanship.

Best of luck to all the players, coaches, parents, and fans during the upcoming season.

RE-ELECT REPUBLICAN

Dorothy JaeckleChesterfield County • Board of Supervisors • Bermuda District

804-748-4364www.dorothyjaeckle.com • [email protected]

Ready for Some Football

Paid for and authorized by Jaeckle for Supervisor



2011HopewellHighSchoolfootballteam

PATRICK KANE/PROGRESS-INDEX PHOTOS


PI_PROGINDEX/ADVERTISING/AD_PAGES [09] | 09/02/11 15:48 | SUPERIMPPB



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HOPEWELLBLUE DEVILS

BY THOMAS C. DOZIER

SPORTS EDITOR

Hopewell is one of the few

schools in the Central District

that can claim it has a state

title on its decade 2000s

resume. So the Blue Devils know a thing

or two about high school playoff-caliber

football teams.

This year as the post-season arrives,

Hopewell might not be one of those

teams looking from the outside in, with

some improved play, a little luck, and

riding the strength of its returning play-

ers, the Blue Devils might be in the mid-

dle of the playoff fray at the end of the

season.

Hopewell, which finished 4-6 overall

(3-4 Central District) last season but had

a spectacular win over Thomas Dale,

returns nine players on the offensive

side of the ball. That includes all-Cen-

tral District running back Dashon Bow-

en, who at 5-6, 165-pounds, showed signs

of electricity last year.

Bowen will be joined in the one-back

backfield by senior quarterback Quanta

Gholson, who is on the verge of having

a breakout season. But what be the real

strength of this unit is the offensive line

that consists of tackles Kyle Mays and

Howard Warren, guards Jacob Roark

and Ray Paden and center Tony Cham-

bers. Brian Brantley, a 6-1, 185-pounder,

will hold down the all-important tight

end spot while the trio of Tabyus Taylor,

Dequante Taylor and Juwaine Massen-

burg will be the three-fold targets of

Gholson at wide receiver.

According to Hopewell second-year

coach Ricky Irby, the running game will

be the focal point.

“The running game should be a

strength,” Irby said. “With all-district

running back Dashon Bowen returning

behind an experienced offensive line

while dual threat quarterback Quanta

Gholson looks to have a breakout year.”

Eight returning players that include

seniors Dequante Taylor, Deonte Taylor,

Reggie Jackson, Nick Dunbar, Lamar

Perry, Markus Adams, Fuequon Clai-

borne, OJ Daniel and Darius Priest will

lead the defense.

In fact, 10 of the 11 players on the

defensive unit are seniors, the other one

is Bowen who will be joined by the lone

youngster sophomore Tyler Smith (6-2,

Blue Devils haveplans to surprise

The Schedule


2011 schedule

Sept. 9 at Cosby 7:30 PM

Sept. 16 at Lee-Davis 7:00 PM

Sept. 23 BRUNSWICK 7:00 PM

Sept. 30 MEADOWBROOK 7:00 PM

Oct. 7 at Thomas Dale 7:30 PM

Oct. 14 at Colonial Heights 7:00 PM

Oct. 21 MATOACA 7:30 PM

Oct. 28 at Petersburg 7:30 PM

Nov. 4 at Dinwiddie 7:00 PM

Nov. 11 PRINCE GEORGE 7:30 PM

TEAM CAPSULE

KEY RETURNERS: Senior Lamar Perry, LB,; Senior Fuequon Claiborne LB,

Senior Dashon Bowen RB/CB, Senor Reggie Jackson DE, Senior Darius Priest

FS, Senior Juwaine Massenburg WR, Senior Kyle Mays, tackle.

OTHER RETURNING PLAYERS: Dequante Taylor, WR; Brian Brantley, TE;

Tony Chambers, center; Jacob Roark, G; Howard Warren, T; Nick Dunbar, kick-

er; Markus Adams, LB; OJ Danile, CB.

PROMISSING NEWCOMERS: Tyler Smith, DT; Tabyus Taylor, WR; Octavious

Taylor, QB/ROVER; Ray Paden, OL; Donovan Ennis, WR.

OUTLOOK: Offense — Running game should be a strength with All-District

RB Dashon Bowen returning behind an experienced offensive line. Dual

Threat QB Quanta Gholson looks to have a breakout tear.

Defense — Our linebackers will lead the way as all 3 of them will be 3 year

starters led by D1 recruits Lamar Perry and Fuequon Claiborne. Manning the

secondary will be All-district free safety Darius Priest. Soph. Tyler Smith Is a

name to remember as he has had an excellent off-season and is poised to

have a breakout year.

250-pound tackle). A player that

the coaching staff says “is worth

keeping an eye on.”

The linebackers are key to

stopping the prolific offenses in

the Central District. The trio of

Perry, a 6-2, 185-pounder; Adams,

a 5-11, 175-pounder; and Clai-

borne, a 5-11, 180-pounder will be

filling the holes faster than

Spackle on a drywall.

“Our linebackers will lead the

way,” Irby explained about the

defense. “As all three of them

will be three-year starters led by

NCAA Division 1 recruits

Lamar Perry and Fuequon Clai-

borne while manning the sec-

ondary will be all-district free

safety Darius Priest.”



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MATOACAWARRIORS

BY COURT WILLS

SPORTS WRITER

For the Matoaca football team, there is unfin-ished business.

After a hard but positive down the stretchloss against Central District rival Thomas Dale,the Warriors are ready to finish where they leftout. On top that is.

With the return of a healthy and strongerMichael Birdsong at quarterback, Matoaca wantsto take the Central District by storm.

“Without a doubt they are learning. Down thestretch we had such a tough schedule and thesethings played strong against some undefeatedteams,” said Matoaca football coach Pat Manuel.“This is a very quiet and business-like team thatwants to win and like to play football.”

Prior to last year’s football season, a then risingjunior in Birdsong, fractured his fibiula on hisleft knee causing him to have surgery and missquite a few games for the Warriors.

It was a hard lesson to learn for the now senioras he focused hard over the summer going tocamp after camp to improve his skills as one ofbest quarterbacks in the district.

“He’s definitely bigger and stronger at 6-4, 225pounds, he lifts like an offensive lineman and

bench presses above what he needs to do,”Manuel said. “He’s got all the real intangibles

as a great quarterback would have. He likes thatdesire to compete.”

One of Birdsong’s greatest strengths if not hisphysical mechanics but his ability to crumbleunder pressure if adversity arises.

“He’s an accurate passer but he doesn’t get rat-tled very easily. His big thing that we wanted toget better was his throwing time and he’s donethat above and beyond in going to mini-campafter mini-camp every weekend.”

With the way that the season ended last year,Matoaca was beginning to come together in waysthat could be valuable in the long run - meaningnow in the 2011 season.

“After the end of last year’s season I promisedmyself that I needed to get strong and bring Mato-aca football back to the school the way it used tobe,” Birdsong said. “My doctors didn’t think thatI could come back that quickly, but my dad and Iworked hard and put together the right mindset.”

For Birdsong, that Matoaca glory is “hard hit-ting football with the crowd showing up yellingand screaming for that old Matoaca tradition offootball.”

“We have unfinished business. After thatThomas Dale game all we wanted to do was get

back to the grind and be ready to strike back,”Birdsong said.

By the leadership and dedication Birdsong,many other Matoaca players started to gather theforce with the value of getting stronger as a cohe-sive unit.

“By the end of July we all were in the weightroom getting stronger and practicing in the parksrunning plays,” Birdsong said.

Not only will there be Birdsong at the top of thehelm, the running game of Matoaca will be muchimproved. With the likes of DeQuante King,Khalil Coleman and SeQuan Franklin-Scott, thereis good variety for the Warriors to pick up soundyardage.

“The key to coaching is to take what you haveand have them work together to the best of theirability and this is a talented group,”

Manuel said. “We are all on the same page.”Come the first game of the season next Thurs-

day against Cosby, Matoaca wants to get off to agood start.

“We always say that you have to win the rightseven games because of us being in Division 6 ofthe Central District, but we want to win everygame or at least try to become one of the best,”Manuel said.

Warriors experiencedat the skill positions

PLAYERS TO WATCH

TEVIN JOHNSONMICHAEL BIRDSONG



with quarterback responsibilities; second is Tres Hum-phrey who both on and off the field has been impressiveswitching from the center to guard position at 270 poundsas well as improving his speed to a 4.9; lastly is DesmondFrye ,who by his actions on the field, will be able to makea lot of plays for the team.

“Last year I had a lot of juniors and sophomores and Idid more than I wanted to change. I had to spread peopleout because of what I had,” Tucker said.

One of the biggest things that Tucker has taken fromhis late mentor is how to be the tough coach.

“Coach Williams would always tell us assistant coacheslet me be the bad guy. During the whole time that I playedunder Vic I thought that he had hated my guts but it wasjust that he wanted me and all of us to be the best that wecould be,” Tucker said. “He would chew players whereas I

was being more lenient and I needed to be the disciplin-ary coach. I am understanding how to be that kind ofcoach, one that is a teaching and holding his teamaccountable.”

Plus while many outsiders thought that Tucker mighthave been changing too much last year, that was not true.

“I was just using the plays that we had never used outof the 10 main formations that we had developed withCoach Williams. We only maybe had used three of thoseplays during the time he was coach but really I hadn’tdesigned any new plays,” Tucker said. “I was trying to seeif they would work with the team.”

With those 10 formations Tucker plans on continuingsome of those formations but wants to mainly focus onwhat has defined Thomas Dale football for many years —hard-nosed powerful running and strength.

“Our pass-and-run protection will be much better. Wewant to be able to run and throw the ball and be verystrong upfront which I think that we have improved agreat deal,” Tucker said.

Another change that has been made to this season forThomas Dale is playing its biggest out-of-district rival inL.C. Bird twice in the Battle of Chester.

Once in the beginning and once at the end of the sea-son. These two teams are about six miles apart and drawan overwhelming amount of people causing a great foot-ball atmosphere.

“We are always trying to find competitive games beforethe district season starts. It gives us a good gauge on whatto get ready for in our tough district,” Tucker said.

But when that Central District season starts, it will be ashootout this year to see who will be on top with manyteams regrouping.

“We want to take pride in ourselves and with that weknow that every week is a playoff game for us because ofthe caliber of teams we have in the district,” Tucker said.“Anyone can sneak up on anybody like Hopewell didagainst us last year. You have to be able to win Division 6in order to go to the playoffs.”

KNIGHTSContinued from Page 4

THOMAS DALEKNIGHTS C

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Team strengths: The line and running backs

love to play old-school football — 4 yards and a

cloud of dust. They are big and powerful. The de-

fense is a fast as it has ever been. The Knights

return a kicker (Anthony Prevost) that is good

from 47 yards out which is a big scoring threat.

The overall team chemistry is great. According

to coach Tucker, “these kids all work hard for one

an other.”

Team weaknesses: The depth of the defense.

After the Thomas Dale starting line, it only has

two or three players who can back them up. Tuck-

er pointed out, knowing how to win in the sec-

ond half will be important. “Last year we played

with everyone until the third quarter then we fell

apart,” Tucker said. “So until we prove we can

play four quarters that is a weakness.”

Overall Season Outlook, including a glimpse at

the Central District by Coach Tucker.

“I think we are the team to beat this year. in the

Central District,” Tucker said. “Hopewell is the

surprise team to watch because they could be

the playoff team in Division 5.

“Meadowbrook and Dinwiddie are also tough

and will play us to the wire every time we play.

“Petersburg is young but very fast. Colonial

Heights and Prince George will be much improved

from last year. From top to bottom. it will be the

toughest district in the region.”

THOMAS DALE OUTLOOK

THOMAS DALE HEAD COACH

Name: Kevin Tucker

Age: 31

Family: Wife Ashley, daughter Sydney.

College: Hampden Sydney College 2002

Greatest moment in coaching last season:

“I think the last win of the year vs. Matoaca

— the seniors and coaching staff were having

a rough year,” Tucker explained. “I had talked

to coach [Vic] Williams the night before and

knew it would probably be the last game he

would probably be able to listen too. So we

dedicated the game to him and went out and

won the game Coach Williams style, run the

iso/power run game and won a hard-fought

battle between to tough teams. We sent

the game ball to him after the game and it

brought a big smile to him to know how much

those kids loved and missed him.”



PATRICK KANE/PROGRESS-INDEX PHOTO

2011 Petersburgh High School football team



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The Schedule

2010 record: 5-2 Central District, 7-3 Overall, Central

Region semifinalist

2011 schedule

Friday, Aug. 26 GW Danville Win

Friday, Sept. 9 HUGUENOT 7:00 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 16 at Garfield 7:00 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 23 at Thomas Dale 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 30 COLONIAL HEIGHTS 7:00 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 7 at Prince George 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 14 MATOACA 7:00 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 21 at Meadowbrook 7 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 28 HOPEWELL 7 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 11 DINWIDDIE 7 p.m.

Big games: The Crimson Wave opened the season with a

34-33 win over GW Danville. The tough stretch will come next

with three road games in September before they finish the sea-

son with consecutive games against Meadowbook (on road)

and Hopewell and Dinwiddie at home.

KEY RETURNERS

KEY RETURNING PLAYERS:

Quardrick Barnes, OT/DL; 6-foot-2, 305 pounds.

Darcell Whitaker, OT; 6-foot-4, 305 pounds.

Ahmod Pair, WR/LB; 6-foot-0, 185 pounds.

Desmond Harris, OG; 6-foot-2, 285 pounds.

Ray Prosise, DL; 6-foot-0, 245 pounds.

OTHER RETURNING PLAYERS:

Quadree Walker, LB; 6-foot-3, 195 pounds.

Devondre Pollard, DB/WR; 5-foot-10, 175 pounds.

Marion Harris, DB/RB; 5-foot-10, 165 pounds.

KEY LOSSES:

Kevin Green, Keith Johnson, Demonte Gregory, Damond

McGlaughlin.

PETERSBURGCRIMSONWAVE

PROSISEPAIR

BY COURT WILLS

SPORTS WRITER

There is already that notion that maybe thePetersburg football team won’t be as good thisyear without the likes of University of Virgin-

ia’s Kevin Green.Think again.Change is a good thing. But so is tradition with the

back-to-back trips to the Central Region playoffs.With the graduation of 13 players and the return of

34 players, the Crimson Wave football team is rearingto go.

This will be the last of the first group that fourthyear Petersburg football coach Mike Scott had whenhe first took the job.

“They are my pioneers. I can tell you that my work-load is less because they understand what I want tohave done and are able to police each other,” Scottsaid. “I love coaching this team.”

One thing that is hard for a coach to teach his play-ers is for them to understand the imminence of thenow. That this is your team.

“This year my returning players learned the differ-ence of working harder than before. They know we

lost a lot of talent and that you cannot replace a play-er like Kevin Green or a Keith Johnson, but that youcan be your own team that will be great,” Scott said.“They are a more disciplined and accountable team.”

Scott loves the fact that many of his players chal-lenged themselves to play another sport with thatsport being track and field.

“We are very fast and the biggest reason for that isbecause my guys run track and field. We are muchstronger in the skill positions and on the offensiveline we have more experience,” Scott said.

“Defensively there isn’t as much talent but we aremuch better tacklers.”

Performing well at the skill positions however hasnot really been much of an issue for the CrimsonWave due to their natural athleticism, but being a lit-tle faster and a little stronger doesn’t hurt.

One of those athletes being Ahmod Pair who lastyear was a versatile player and the back-up quarter-back to Green. Scott expects big things from the ris-ing senior.

“It’s clear to see that Ahmod is one of the leaderson this football team. He is the type of player that youalways need to have on the football field no matter

what,” Scott said. “There will be no one like KevinGreen, he is a dime a dozen, but Kevin made sure toteach him

how to become a leader and you can see that.”Similar to Green, Pair will have an athletic back-up

quarterback in sophomore Levey Jones who went 14of 15 in the last scrimmage Petersburg had.

Besides two good quarterbacks, Petersburg willhave a plethora of running backs in Mardell Abramsand Marion Harris who are both seniors.

“Mardell and Marion are good complements toeach other. They each do different things that aregood at different times in the game,” Scott said.

However, defensively and special teams will have tocontinue to get better along the way for the CrimsonWave.

“This defense kind of is lacking experience butthey are slowly finding ways to gel. We are smallerbut definitely are quick,” Scott said. “With RayProcise and James Dugler a transfer fromBenedictine,we have two great leaders in those two.”

But needless to say Petersburg will be ready tocompete for the third consecutive trip to the CentralRegion playoffs.

Crimson Wave has surprises in store



Royals continue on upward trek

PRINCE GEORGEROYALS

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BY THOMAS C. DOZIER

SPORTS EDITOR

The past week has presentedthe area with plenty weatherdevelopments and that is nev-

er more so than at Prince GeorgeHigh School and the Royals footballteam.

The Prince George team, withsome key elements in place, appearsto be a storm in the horizon that canstrike at anytime.

As Andy Warhol once said: “Theyalways say time changes things, butyou actually have to change themyourself.”

The Royals have plans to changethings themselves.

The team will start the 2011 with16-year veteran coach – Bruce Car-roll – who came over from Windsorand is now in his third-year coach-

ing the Royals. Also, back is juniorquarterback John Ford, who once hefound his way under center in thePrince George offense last season asa sophomore, good things started tohappen.

The Royals team, which was 1-9 inCarroll’s first season, improved to 3-7 last season and one a few early-sea-son games before faltering down thestretch. Prince George lost its finalfive games, all Central District con-test.

However, the offensive backfield,which lines up in a spread offense,should be the key to hold districtopponents at bay. It starts with Ford,a 5-11, 185-pounder, along with twostout running backs Daquon Chap-man and Conner Stevenson. Howev-er, in the spread option the key willbe efficiency – meaning no turn-overs and converting first downs.

Ford has an able wide receiver tothrow to in Keith Jefferson, WR; 5-foot-9, 185-pounder, who will receivermany of the throws from the juniorQB. And the biggest mainstay on theoffensive line is Travis Barglof, 6-2,255-pound tackle who will provideblocking and protection.

The good news is the teamreturned two key players – CalebJohnson on defense and Travis Tay-lor, who will handle all kickingchores. Johnson, a 6-2, 20-5-poundsenior junior, was an all-district per-former last season at linebackerwhile Taylor, a 5-5, 155-pounder, hasthe ability to put points on the boardand drop the opposition deep intotheir own territory.

“We must be an opportunistic clubthat does not make mistakes,” CoachCarroll told virginiapreps.com.“Being tough on defense, great on

special teams, and effective onoffense are the ingredients to oursuccess.”

The good news for the youngsquad is the team doesn’t start theseason until Sept. 9 but the bad newsis the Royals will face one of thebest teams in the Dominion Districton the road, Clover Hill, and therehighly recruited QB Joel Caleb.However, they play two straighthome games that could produce awinning record before entering dis-trict play.

The most difficult point again thisseason for Prince George, is the dis-trict is very tough, and it plays threestraight games against the meat ofthe district – Dinwiddie, Petersburg,Meadowbrook, and Thomas Dale toopen the Royals district campaign.


Caleb Johnson, LB; 6-foot-2, 205 pounds.

Daquon Chapman, RB; 6-foot-0, 205 pounds.

John Ford, QB; 5-foot-11, 185 pounds.

Travis Barglof, OT; 6-foot-2, 255 pounds.

Conner Stevenson, RB; 5-foot-9, 205 pounds.

Keith Jefferson, WR; 5-foot-9, 185 pounds.

Travis Taylor, K/P; 5-foot-9, 155 pounds.


Joseph Purnell, Darius Dawsey. Dominique Walker, Josh Slavenhoupt (CHECK THESE)

KEY LOSSES:

Lawrence Taylor, Albert Williams, Thomas Miller, Jon Williams, Dominique Washington,

Anthony Grant.

TEAM CAPSULES

PATRICK KANE/STAFF PHOTO

JOHN FORD

PATRICK KANE/STAFF PHOTO

CALEB JOHNSON

The Schedule


2011 schedule

Friday, Sept. 9 at Clover Hill 7:-30 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 16 THOM. JEFFERSON 7:00 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 23 JOHN MARSHALL 7:00 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 30 at Dinwiddie 7:00 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 7 PETERSBURG 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 14 MEADOWBROOK 7:00 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 21 at Thomas Dale 7 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 28 at Colonial Heights 7 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 4 MATOACA 7 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 11 at Hopewell 7 p.m.

TO SEE MORE

FOOTBALL

TEAM PHOTOS

SEE B SECTION

OF SPORTS

SECTION.


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football preview 2011

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