SportsTalk: Vance County High School Kicks Off Season Friday Night
LISTEN TO THE RADIO ON YOUR COMPUTER, PHONE OR CONNECTED DEVICE/SPEAKER – https://player.listenlive.co/53101 OR BY CLICKING ON LISTEN LIVE AT WIZS.COM OR TELL ALEXA TO “LISTEN TO WIZS.COM ON TUNE IN.”
Coach Aaron Elliott is excited. And why shouldn’t he be? The Vance County Vipers kick off their season Friday night against a solid Warren County Eagles team, and it should be an exciting start to the season for both schools. “Practice has been great,” Elliott said on Thursday’s SportsTalk.
Tuesday’s weather kept them for practicing, but Elliott kept his team focused with plenty of board work, and as the rain moved out, the Vipers moved back on the field to prepare for Warren County’s triple option. “Our guys will do a good job against it. We have practiced against it,” Elliott added. He expects Warren County to be more run focused Friday night than in years past, with about a 50/50 split between run and pass.
This season the Vipers have put a big emphasis on winning the mental aspect of the game which he thought was a bit of a problem last year. He knows it will be tough to keep the kids focused Friday night. “It’s a rivalry game and the first game of the season,” Elliott said.
Join Bill Harris and Doc Ayscue for live play by play of the game beginning around 6:50 p.m. immediately following the Joy Christian Center broadcast here on WIZS.
SportsTalk: Elam Goes To The Dogs
Jim Elam has been fortunate to have two long careers. The Warren County native spent over 20 years as an educator and coach. He started in Johnston County at Princeton High School, and after getting married, decided he wanted to be closer to home. His desire to return to Warren County would land Elam the head football coaching position at Halifax Academy and then in Roanoke Rapids where he coached the middle school football team. It was while he was there that he became interested in training dogs.
“I learned from my father,” Elam said on Thursday’s SportsTalk. He read books to add to his knowledge not knowing he would be able to turn his interest into a new, second career. He sees a lot of similarities between coaching young people and training dogs. “Some are more difficult and some are easier,” Elam says.
Elam says training for puppies begins at six weeks of age and at seven weeks he explains it is important to socialize them. “The sit command is the place to start,” says Elam. At seven months the formal training begins.
If you are interested in learning more about training retrievers, contact Jim at Lake Country Retrievers at 252-432-2245, on Facebook or at www.lakecountryretrievers.com.
CLICK PLAY!
SportsTalk: Hunt Prepares Eagles For Football
The Warren County High School Eagles’ progress as a football team can be easily traced by looking at the number of wins over the last three years. Two, four and, last season, seven. Those seven wins last year put the Eagles in the state high school playoffs. Victor Hunt, Head Football Coach and Athletic Director at Warren County, points out that those seven wins came with a struggle: overcoming an injury bug. “We were down to a fourth string running back,” Hunt said on Thursday’s SportsTalk. The injuries caused Warren County to get off to a slow start last year and put players who were not ready to play on the field. Hunt hopes that experience along with many returning players from last year will mean that the Eagles can improve on last year’s playoff team.
Warren County kicks off their season on Friday, August 18th against Vance County in Henderson. “It’s a rivalry game. The loss last year haunts us. It really hurt and it really stung, ” Hunt said of the last minute Vance County win.
He has 47 players on the roster this season and is pleased with the number of kids who have turned out. “Winning helps but it has a lot to do with what is going on culturally at the school,” Hunt said about athletic participation.
As athletic director, Hunt has also kept things moving along for volleyball and cross country. The Eagles’ volleyball team has back to back conference championships and Hunt is looking for a threepeat in that sport. Last year also saw the cross country team bring their first conference championship back to Warren County High School as well.
You can hear the matchup between Warren County and Vance County here on WIZS beginning at 6:50pm Friday, August 18th.
CLICK PLAY!
SportsTalk: Volleyball And Soccer Gets Underway At Crossroads Christian
The beginning of the school year is a busy time not only for students and teachers but for athletic departments as well. Just ask Crossroads Christian Athletic Director Scottie Richardson. “We are wide open. We have open house on Monday and school starts on Wednesday,” said Richardson.
Teams are already practicing and preparing for season openers. The school’s three volleyball teams open at home on Thursday, August 17th against Thales-Apex and soccer will start on Friday, August 18th with a home game against Franklinton.
Holden Coghill, soccer coach at Crossroads, took the team to the final four last year and were ranked #1 all season. “The team got caught up in the hype,” Richardson said but he sees a different mentality this year and with most of the team returning he thinks they will be better prepared to handle the success. He said the numbers of students that have turned out this year for athletics has been great.
SportsTalk: Lassiter Preps Louisburg High For Football
A quick look at the Vance County Vipers football schedule will reveal a new conference opponent this year. The Louisburg High School Warriors have been added to the 2A/3A Northern Lakes Conference. “We had no place to go,” Louisburg Head Coach Dante Lassiter said on SportsTalk Wednesday.
The Warriors were 7-3 last year but failed to make the playoffs due to a technicality. The team did not play a full conference schedule last year and found that they did not have a conference this season so they were placed in the Northern Lakes Conference this season.
Lassiter, in his ninth year as head coach at Louisburg, says the Warriors will be young this year but looks at that as a good thing. The team will get some experience with scrimmages before the kick off of their season on August 25th against Southeast Halifax. “We will scrimmage against Warren County this weekend,” Lassiter said. Warren County is coming off a playoff year last season and will take on Vance County in the opening game of the season for both teams on August 18th.
Lassiter says his coaching experience is an advantage to his young team. “They know what to expect,” Lassister said. “I may have coached or played with an older brother or a parent,” Lassiter continued.
The Warriors will play the Vipers in Henderson on Sept. 22nd.
SportsTalk: Vipers Introduce New Defensive Coordinator
The Vance County Vipers first football game is against Warren County in two weeks, and Coach Aaron Elliott is busy getting the team ready to take the field. Camp was this past weekend, and Elliott called it a success. “Camp went well, but we were tired on Monday,” Elliott said on Thursday’s SportsTalk. He expects to have about 75 kids on the team, meaning that fewer players will have to play both offense and defense. Some will still see action on both sides of the ball. “We have to put our best athletes on the field,” Elliott said.
Elliott also took the opportunity to introduce the Viper’s new defensive coordinator, Thomas Oothoudt. He played for Elliott at Louisburg High School and was defensive coordinator at Corinth Holders in Johnston County. So far, Oothoudt has liked what he has seen of the Vipers. “I have been impressed by the athleticism,” he said of the Vipers. “We have to play with full effort and play with fundamentals,” he continued.
The first game will be at 7 p.m. on Friday, August 18th at Viper Stadium. You can hear the game live over WIZS Radio if you cannot attend or if you take your radio to the game. Fans who are not in range of the terrestrial radio station can click on Listen Live at WIZS.com.
CLICK PLAY!
SportsTalk: Oxford Prep Prepares For Fall Sports
Fall sports are beginning to ramp up at schools around the area, and Oxford Prep is no exception. The school’s athletic director, John Hammett, has a full plate as the school’s varsity volleyball team will be scrimmaging twice next week ahead of opening the season. Also, Coach Kevin Grant’s soccer team kicks off the season on August 14th against Granville Central. The volleyball team will have no seniors meaning that the team will have, ideally, no changes over the next two seasons. The soccer team will only have two seniors out of 21 players.
In addition, other fall sports are also gearing up. “Cross Country, women’s golf and middle school teams all start next week,” Hammett said on Thursday’s SportsTalk.
While academics come first at Oxford Prep, Hammett hopes sports can play a role in the lives of students. He added that when it comes to expectations, his biggest goal is for the students at Oxford Prep enjoy the experience.
CLICK PLAY!
SportsTalk: Stallings Prepares Vance Charter For Fall Sports
After taking off the month of June to unwind and enjoy a bit of family time, Vance Charter Athletic Director Lance Stallings is back at work getting the Knights’ athletic programs ready for fall activities. Stallings was a guest on Thursday’s SportsTalk with Bill Harris and George Hoyle.
Stallings says that tryouts for volleyball and men’s soccer will get underway on Monday. “We have about 20 to 22 kids expected for soccer and enough girls for volleyball that we will have a JV program,” Stallings said. Volleyball and soccer are just the beginning for Stallings and the Knights. Vance Charter’s cross country program starts on August 2nd, women’s golf and tennis gets going on August 9th and middle school tryouts will be August 14th. This will be the first year Vance Charter will field boy’s and girl’s tennis at the middle school level.
It won’t be long before the first games are here with volleyball opening the season on August 15th, and men’s soccer will start the day before with a game against Falls Lake.
The secret for Stallings when juggling this busy time of year? “Get ahead in July and stay there,” Stallings said.
CLICK PLAY!
SportsTalk: Elliott Expects Big Things From Vipers On The Football Field
With the first game less than a month away, Vance Co. Vipers head coach Aaron Elliott is looking to have a very successful season. In Elliott’s first season as head coach, he took the Vipers to the playoffs and fully expects to be back this year. “I think we have a great shot at a 10-win season,” Elliott said on Thursday’s SportsTalk.
The Vipers have been participating is numerous 7 on 7 camps over the last several weeks, and Elliott has been happy with what he has seen. “We have a team full of athletes,” Elliott said. He has been impressed with Javion Vines-Holder, the team’s quarterback. “I started working with him in December and he has been terrific,” Elliott stated.
While the team will be a bit on the young side this year, Elliott said his offensive backfield will return intact and his receivers will be a strength for the Vipers. The offensive line lost only one starter from last year’s team.
The Viper’s open the season at home on August 18th against Warren County. Follow the Vipers all season long with play by play live on WIZS.