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FIRST DAY OF HITTING; Pam Pack coaches have mixed reactions
By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
There were some jarring blows, a whole lot of popping and even some smack-talking.
It may have been the first official day of contact for prep teams across the state, but the Washington Pam Pack looked to be in mid-season form at times. Then again, at other times, it looked like the first day of contact.
“The first day of hitting went okay,” fifth-year coach Sport Sawyer said. “It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible. There were some good things we saw from some guys who are going to be big-time players for us, and then there were some players that will really have to step up if we’re going to make some noise this year.”
While the Pack competed in a passing league throughout the summer, the defensive players never got to get in any good licks. That changed Friday night, and that left many of the players salivating.
“It felt good,” senior linebacker David Tyson said. “People were excited to be hitting. I definitely was excited to do some hitting.”
Junior linebacker Weasel Moore, a staring outside linebacker, had been looking forward to contact since June.
“I was ready,” Moore said. “I’ve been looking forward to it since the summer. I was ready to get the pads on.
“The first (unit) looked good today. I don’t think (the scout offense) got many positive yards on us.”
Defensive coordinator Jon Blank saw positives and negatives out of Friday’s session.
“In the beginning of practice we looked pretty good,” Blank said. “When we were fresh and had our first (team defense) in there, they were flying around and making some things happen. They knew how to line up and that’s the first part of the battle. We saw some good aggressiveness.
“As the day went on, you saw the second and third-groups and we had some question marks about their intensity.”
It wasn’t all about defense. The offense looked sharp, especially quarterback Austin Thompson. The third-year quarterback, a rising senior, delivered some nifty passes and even some bruising runs during Friday’s practice.
Thompson was pleased with how the Pack is progressing.
“I think we’re coming together as a team,” Thompson said. “I think we did pretty well. We’re separating the men from the boys.”
The Pack will get a better test when it scrimmages with Farmville Central on Wednesday evening. Action at Farmville Central High School will begin at 6 p.m. and admission will be $2.
“We’re going to see if we have players in the correct position, and how tough they are,” Sawyer said.
Blank will be studying his defensive players closely.
“I’m trying to test some heart right now,” Blank said. “I feel scheme-wise we’ll be okay. I feel that the people we’ll have on the field will be okay, but how are we going to react when things don’t go well? How are we going to react if we have an injury? How will our second team play?”
Moore is anxious to face off against an opponent that won’t be clad in blue and white.
“I think it will really show who the men are on the team,” Moore said. “We’ll be able to see how we can compete against another team.”
Thompson is looking for his team to take another big step in what he’s hoping will be a special year.
“If we can do well against Farmville, it will show that we can come together on the field Friday nights, not just in practice,” Thompson said. “I’m hoping we can win.”
Washington will get in another tune-up Friday with a five-team jamboree at Washington High School. The Pack will be joined by Southside, Plymouth, Mattamuskeet and First Flight.
Communication key for Panthers
By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
YEATESVILLE — All the usual noises filled the Northside High School football field as the Panthers underwent their first practice with full pads.
Linebackers collided with running backs to cause a clash, while the sound of plastic on plastic roamed through the trenches as linemen battled between whistles. However, it was the defining sound of silence before the snap that had Northside coach Keith Boyd’s attention.
On more than one occasion during an 11-on-11 defensive drill, Boyd had to take a pause in the action to stress the importance of communication amongst his defense. The Panthers took notice, and by the end of the drill they had some pre-snap chatter to accommodate the sounds of full-pads hitting.
“We started off not communicating, but I think we just didn’t understand what to talk about,” Boyd said. “It’s hard to talk and tell people where to go when you don’t know yourself. I think finally toward the end there we started talking and doing some things. It seemed like we started to understand what we are doing.”
Boyd said communication is the key to being competitive this season.
“Oh man, it’s very important, especially on defense,” Boyd said. “Offense is kind of a memory thing; you rehearse the plays. But on defense, when you have to start shifting, it’s important. With the offenses you see today with the spreads and motions, if you are not all on the same page, someone will bust one on you for 60 (yards).”
While the defense worked on communication, the offense was getting adjusted to hearing someone else besides William Rushton call the signals.
Rushton graduated, leaving his quarterback position up for grabs.
Boyd said right now he has two QB’s locked in a battle for the starting role, and is looking to play both throughout the season.
“Right now we are going to split it. We got Darius Murray, who is a sophomore, and we got Isaiah McCullough, who is a junior, and they will be splitting the time 50-50,” Boyd said. “Both of them do play defense, and that’s how we will give one of them a break.”
Boyd said that each quarterback brings different skills to the table.
“Different people are better at certain things,” Boyd said. “Darius has a little more speed; Isaiah seems to read plays right now a little bit better. But, overall, both of them are moving right along. I could plug one of them in and play them the whole game just as I could the other. They are pretty even and equal.”
Boyd wrapped up his seventh team practice on Friday, but was hesitant to relay his opinion on how his team has looked so far.
“I made a prediction last year; I thought we would be pretty good and I let that be known.” Boyd said. “Then injuries and everything else that could go wrong did. So, right now, I am just going to say I don’t know.”
Boyd, one of the area’s more innovative coaches, also took the fifth when asked if he had any new wrinkles in his offense, saying, “You’re just going to have to come watch us play.”
Anyone can watch the Panthers play on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at South Central High School, as the Panthers will scrimmage against Perquimans, North Pitt and South Central.
Seahawks show enthusiasm as the contact begins
By STEVE FRANKLIN, Sports Writer
CHOCOWINITY — The trash-talking started early at Southside on Friday afternoon.
After five days of running through drills and plays donning only helmets, shoulder pads and shorts, the Seahawks' players were ready to strap on the full gear and get the first full contact practice of the season underway. And they weren't afraid to let each other know.
One-by-one Southside's players entered the locker room Friday afternoon, and with each new person that passed by the chatter grew louder.
"I'm going to smoke you fool," one would say. "You can't catch me," another would reply. "I can't wait to hit you in the mouth sucker," came from across the room.
After eight months of agonizing over a miserable 2007 season, Southside finally got to take its frustration out on one another Friday, as it held its first full contact practice of the season.
“You think (the wait) is bad for the kids, all us coaches have been talking all week about how we can’t wait to get the pads on and see what we got,” Seahawks’ coach David Hines said. “This is the time when you can start seperating the men from the boys. Everything you do all summer kind of builds up to today. After all the summer workouts and four or five days in pads, the guys were ready to get hitting.
"The trash-talking started at four o'clock and it hasn't stopped all day. I love it. That means they came here today ready to play football.”
The players were eager to get the first day of hitting out of the way.
"I've been looking forward to this day every since last season ended," senior Dash Spruill said. "This is the day you look forward to most. The day when you get to go out and hit people."
The banging of shoulder pads and dinging of helmets rang out all afternoon as the Seahawks spent the majority of practice doing contact drills.
"All the steam and frustration that built up through the summer finally got let loose today," senior Terence Whidley said. "We came out to hit today. This is one of the best days of the season."
The Seahawks wrapped up their first full week of training camp Friday, and there's a different feel to this year's camp. There's a sense of pride. A sense of leadership. A sense to succeed.
Southside's players and coaches feel that things are looking up for the program
Last year, Southside fell victim to what Hines, a second-year coach, calls the perfect storm.
An early season coaching change, lack of preparation time and injuries all took a toll on the Seahawks as they failed to get a win, going 0-10.
"If it could go wrong last season, it did," Hines said. "Everything was a mess. Last year at this time, the first day of contact was like my sixth day on the job. The kids didn't know what to expect from me and I didn't know what to expect from them. This year, things are a lot more organized, and the kids have bought into what we are trying to do here."
This year, the Seahawks are carrying a chip on their shoulder and they're out to prove that last year's winless season was a fluke.
"We have big chips on our shoulders," defensive lineman Coby Fulford said. "Last year was just a bad season. We're ready to move past that and get some wins this year. The same thing that happened last year won't happen again this year. I promise you that."
After one week of practice, Coach Hines can already see a tremendous improvement in this year's group.
"This team genuinely enjoys each others company, and we didn't have that last year," Hines said. "They're a tight group and they're ready to do battle together. You can already see the intensity level and excitement has picked up. Our guys are ready to get this program back to where it was a few years ago."
After one day in pads, quarterback Kevin Sparks already sees the program getting back to its winning ways.
"We are a much better team this year," Sparks said. "Last year, we came out on the first day of full contact and looked like a bunch of weenies. This year, we've got our heads screwed on straight. We're out here popping people and we're ready to play football."
It may have been the first official day of contact for prep teams across the state, but the Washington Pam Pack looked to be in mid-season form at times. Then again, at other times, it looked like the first day of contact.
“The first day of hitting went okay,” fifth-year coach Sport Sawyer said. “It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible. There were some good things we saw from some guys who are going to be big-time players for us, and then there were some players that will really have to step up if we’re going to make some noise this year.”
While the Pack competed in a passing league throughout the summer, the defensive players never got to get in any good licks. That changed Friday night, and that left many of the players salivating.
“It felt good,” senior linebacker David Tyson said. “People were excited to be hitting. I definitely was excited to do some hitting.”
Junior linebacker Weasel Moore, a staring outside linebacker, had been looking forward to contact since June.
“I was ready,” Moore said. “I’ve been looking forward to it since the summer. I was ready to get the pads on.
“The first (unit) looked good today. I don’t think (the scout offense) got many positive yards on us.”
Defensive coordinator Jon Blank saw positives and negatives out of Friday’s session.
“In the beginning of practice we looked pretty good,” Blank said. “When we were fresh and had our first (team defense) in there, they were flying around and making some things happen. They knew how to line up and that’s the first part of the battle. We saw some good aggressiveness.
“As the day went on, you saw the second and third-groups and we had some question marks about their intensity.”
It wasn’t all about defense. The offense looked sharp, especially quarterback Austin Thompson. The third-year quarterback, a rising senior, delivered some nifty passes and even some bruising runs during Friday’s practice.
Thompson was pleased with how the Pack is progressing.
“I think we’re coming together as a team,” Thompson said. “I think we did pretty well. We’re separating the men from the boys.”
The Pack will get a better test when it scrimmages with Farmville Central on Wednesday evening. Action at Farmville Central High School will begin at 6 p.m. and admission will be $2.
“We’re going to see if we have players in the correct position, and how tough they are,” Sawyer said.
Blank will be studying his defensive players closely.
“I’m trying to test some heart right now,” Blank said. “I feel scheme-wise we’ll be okay. I feel that the people we’ll have on the field will be okay, but how are we going to react when things don’t go well? How are we going to react if we have an injury? How will our second team play?”
Moore is anxious to face off against an opponent that won’t be clad in blue and white.
“I think it will really show who the men are on the team,” Moore said. “We’ll be able to see how we can compete against another team.”
Thompson is looking for his team to take another big step in what he’s hoping will be a special year.
“If we can do well against Farmville, it will show that we can come together on the field Friday nights, not just in practice,” Thompson said. “I’m hoping we can win.”
Washington will get in another tune-up Friday with a five-team jamboree at Washington High School. The Pack will be joined by Southside, Plymouth, Mattamuskeet and First Flight.
Communication key for Panthers
By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
YEATESVILLE — All the usual noises filled the Northside High School football field as the Panthers underwent their first practice with full pads.
Linebackers collided with running backs to cause a clash, while the sound of plastic on plastic roamed through the trenches as linemen battled between whistles. However, it was the defining sound of silence before the snap that had Northside coach Keith Boyd’s attention.
On more than one occasion during an 11-on-11 defensive drill, Boyd had to take a pause in the action to stress the importance of communication amongst his defense. The Panthers took notice, and by the end of the drill they had some pre-snap chatter to accommodate the sounds of full-pads hitting.
“We started off not communicating, but I think we just didn’t understand what to talk about,” Boyd said. “It’s hard to talk and tell people where to go when you don’t know yourself. I think finally toward the end there we started talking and doing some things. It seemed like we started to understand what we are doing.”
Boyd said communication is the key to being competitive this season.
“Oh man, it’s very important, especially on defense,” Boyd said. “Offense is kind of a memory thing; you rehearse the plays. But on defense, when you have to start shifting, it’s important. With the offenses you see today with the spreads and motions, if you are not all on the same page, someone will bust one on you for 60 (yards).”
While the defense worked on communication, the offense was getting adjusted to hearing someone else besides William Rushton call the signals.
Rushton graduated, leaving his quarterback position up for grabs.
Boyd said right now he has two QB’s locked in a battle for the starting role, and is looking to play both throughout the season.
“Right now we are going to split it. We got Darius Murray, who is a sophomore, and we got Isaiah McCullough, who is a junior, and they will be splitting the time 50-50,” Boyd said. “Both of them do play defense, and that’s how we will give one of them a break.”
Boyd said that each quarterback brings different skills to the table.
“Different people are better at certain things,” Boyd said. “Darius has a little more speed; Isaiah seems to read plays right now a little bit better. But, overall, both of them are moving right along. I could plug one of them in and play them the whole game just as I could the other. They are pretty even and equal.”
Boyd wrapped up his seventh team practice on Friday, but was hesitant to relay his opinion on how his team has looked so far.
“I made a prediction last year; I thought we would be pretty good and I let that be known.” Boyd said. “Then injuries and everything else that could go wrong did. So, right now, I am just going to say I don’t know.”
Boyd, one of the area’s more innovative coaches, also took the fifth when asked if he had any new wrinkles in his offense, saying, “You’re just going to have to come watch us play.”
Anyone can watch the Panthers play on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at South Central High School, as the Panthers will scrimmage against Perquimans, North Pitt and South Central.
Seahawks show enthusiasm as the contact begins
By STEVE FRANKLIN, Sports Writer
CHOCOWINITY — The trash-talking started early at Southside on Friday afternoon.
After five days of running through drills and plays donning only helmets, shoulder pads and shorts, the Seahawks' players were ready to strap on the full gear and get the first full contact practice of the season underway. And they weren't afraid to let each other know.
One-by-one Southside's players entered the locker room Friday afternoon, and with each new person that passed by the chatter grew louder.
"I'm going to smoke you fool," one would say. "You can't catch me," another would reply. "I can't wait to hit you in the mouth sucker," came from across the room.
After eight months of agonizing over a miserable 2007 season, Southside finally got to take its frustration out on one another Friday, as it held its first full contact practice of the season.
“You think (the wait) is bad for the kids, all us coaches have been talking all week about how we can’t wait to get the pads on and see what we got,” Seahawks’ coach David Hines said. “This is the time when you can start seperating the men from the boys. Everything you do all summer kind of builds up to today. After all the summer workouts and four or five days in pads, the guys were ready to get hitting.
"The trash-talking started at four o'clock and it hasn't stopped all day. I love it. That means they came here today ready to play football.”
The players were eager to get the first day of hitting out of the way.
"I've been looking forward to this day every since last season ended," senior Dash Spruill said. "This is the day you look forward to most. The day when you get to go out and hit people."
The banging of shoulder pads and dinging of helmets rang out all afternoon as the Seahawks spent the majority of practice doing contact drills.
"All the steam and frustration that built up through the summer finally got let loose today," senior Terence Whidley said. "We came out to hit today. This is one of the best days of the season."
The Seahawks wrapped up their first full week of training camp Friday, and there's a different feel to this year's camp. There's a sense of pride. A sense of leadership. A sense to succeed.
Southside's players and coaches feel that things are looking up for the program
Last year, Southside fell victim to what Hines, a second-year coach, calls the perfect storm.
An early season coaching change, lack of preparation time and injuries all took a toll on the Seahawks as they failed to get a win, going 0-10.
"If it could go wrong last season, it did," Hines said. "Everything was a mess. Last year at this time, the first day of contact was like my sixth day on the job. The kids didn't know what to expect from me and I didn't know what to expect from them. This year, things are a lot more organized, and the kids have bought into what we are trying to do here."
This year, the Seahawks are carrying a chip on their shoulder and they're out to prove that last year's winless season was a fluke.
"We have big chips on our shoulders," defensive lineman Coby Fulford said. "Last year was just a bad season. We're ready to move past that and get some wins this year. The same thing that happened last year won't happen again this year. I promise you that."
After one week of practice, Coach Hines can already see a tremendous improvement in this year's group.
"This team genuinely enjoys each others company, and we didn't have that last year," Hines said. "They're a tight group and they're ready to do battle together. You can already see the intensity level and excitement has picked up. Our guys are ready to get this program back to where it was a few years ago."
After one day in pads, quarterback Kevin Sparks already sees the program getting back to its winning ways.
"We are a much better team this year," Sparks said. "Last year, we came out on the first day of full contact and looked like a bunch of weenies. This year, we've got our heads screwed on straight. We're out here popping people and we're ready to play football."
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| Wilson looking to improve |
