Lewis Young Resigns as Coach of Southern Vance Football

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Lewis Young, the Head Varsity Football Coach at Southern Vance High School, announced his resignation on Monday, November 7, 2016. He has resigned only as the Head Varsity Football Coach and will continue teaching at Southern Vance High School.

Coach Young has served the Raider Football program for over 20 years in various roles, most recently as Head Varsity Football Coach from 2012-2016. He finished with a 14-43 record and made two appearances in the NCHSAA playoffs (2012, 2013) including a 12-6 upset victory over #2-seeded South Columbus in 2013. Prior to being Head Coach, Coach Young served as the Defensive Coordinator under Mark Perry and David Jennings and led the defense for the 2006 Southern Vance team that lost 27-24 to Shelby in the NCHSAA 2AA State Championship game.

Coach Young is a well-respected and important member of the Southern Vance family who has positively impacted the lives of a countless number of our student-athletes . We will miss his dedication and loyalty to Southern Vance football and thank him for his service to our school and community.

Southern Vance is currently accumulating candidates and working tirelessly to fill the Head Varsity Football Coach vacancy. Interested candidates should send a resume and letter of interest to Athletic Director Joe Sharrow (jsharrow@vcs.k12.nc.us) and Principal Stephanie Ayscue (sayscue@vcs.k12.nc.us).

 

VGCC Women’s Volleyball season ends with historic ‘firsts’

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For the Vance-Granville Community College Vanguards, the 2016 women’s volleyball season will long be remembered as historic. VGCC compiled a winning record (14-8) in the regular season, reached .500 in conference play (6-6), and won a match in the postseason — all for the first time in the history of the program.

In fact, those were all goals that Coach Christopher Young had set for the Vanguards at the beginning of the year. “We accomplished each of these goals and will build on those goals heading into next season,” Young said. “I am extremely happy with how our team performed throughout the season, leading up to our Region X Tournament. Our student-athletes practiced hard and gave everything they had while on the court competing, and as a coach, that’s all you can ask your athletes to do.”

In addition, the team’s two sophomores received All-Region X honors from coaches in the conference. Kiyanna Kearney of Henderson was named to the First Team, becoming just the second Vanguard ever to receive that honor, and was runner-up for Player of the Year. Jesse Edwards of Henderson, meanwhile, received an Honorable Mention for the All-Region team.

VGCC closed out the regular season by winning a doubleheader at home over Danville Community College on Oct. 18. In another “first,” the Vanguards played a home match somewhere other than Aycock Recreation Center in Henderson, because the contest had been rescheduled from an earlier date. Long Mill Elementary School in Youngsville served as the location. The first match was a 3-1 victory for VGCC, with the visitors eking out a 28-26 win in the first set but the Vanguards coming back to win 25-14, 25-15 and 25-10. Kearney led her team with 20 kills. Stormi Abernathy of Yanceyville posted a whopping 48 assists. Edwards had 4 digs along with 15 kills. VGCC won the second match over DCC in three sets (25-23, 25-16 and 25-16). Kearney posted 13 kills and 7 digs. Abernathy made 26 assists and 3 solo blocks.

In the NJCAA Division III Region X conference tournament, hosted by Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, VGCC was seeded fourth, another high-water mark for the program. In the opening round, on Oct. 22, the Vanguards faced fifth-seeded Rockingham Community College and swept the Eagles in three sets (25-19, 25-18 and 30-28). Hannah Arneth of Oxford led VGCC in kills, with 15. Kearney had the most digs (20) while also posting 12 kills. Abernathy made 30 assists and 16 digs. Edwards contributed 15 digs and 8 kills.

Advancing to the tournament semifinals for the first time, the VGCC squad played their second match of the day against top-seeded Patrick Henry Community College, which only had one loss in conference play this season. The result was a three-set victory (25-9, 25-15 and 25-13) for the Patriots, who then went on to capture the Region X title by defeating Sandhills in the championship match. Coach Young called PHCC “an extremely talented team.” In the loss, Arneth again had the most kills (10) while Abernathy led in digs (11) and in assists (17). Kearney, in her final match as a Vanguard, posted 3 solo blocks, 9 digs and 6 kills. Edwards, also closing out her VGCC career, contributed 5 kills and 8 digs.

“Coming into the season, we knew we only had two returning players, Jesse and Kiyanna, and we were going to need to rely on freshmen to step up early and contribute, which they did in a big way,” Coach Young reflected. “Players like Hannah Arneth, Stormi Abernathy, Katelynn Ray, Hanna Williams and Allyson Cash were a large piece of the puzzle for our team, while Ashley Parker, Madison Waddle and Nicole Bowman contributed throughout the season when called upon. When the postseason rolled around, our team seemed to be playing some of the best volleyball we had been playing all season. Hannah, Kiyanna and Jesse really stepped up their games during our Region X Tournament.”

VGCC announces 2016-17 Vanguards Basketball schedule

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The Vance-Granville Community College Vanguards men’s basketball team is scheduled to play at least 28 games during the 2016-2017 season, including 11 home games. This is the program’s first season under the leadership of head coach DeMarcus Oliver.

 

DATE TIME OPPONENT LOCATION
Saturday, Nov. 5 4:30 pm Davidson County Comm. College Thomasville, NC
Monday, Nov. 7 6:00 pm Bryant & Stratton College HOME
Friday, Nov. 11 TBD Caldwell Comm. College & Tech Institute (Louisburg Invitational Tournament) Louisburg, NC
Saturday, Nov. 12 TBD Northern Virginia Comm. College (Louisburg Invitational Tournament) Louisburg, NC
Monday, Nov. 14 7:00 pm Wake Tech Comm. College (VGCC Vanguard Night) HOME
Wednesday, Nov. 16 6:00 pm Patrick Henry Comm. College Martinsville, VA
Monday, Nov. 21 7:00 pm Fayetteville Tech Comm. College Fayetteville, NC
Monday, Dec. 5 7:00 pm Pitt Comm. College Greenville, NC
Wednesday, Dec. 7 7:00 pm Lenoir Comm. College Kinston, NC
Saturday, Dec. 10 2:00 pm Thomas Nelson Comm. College HOME
Monday, Dec. 12 7:00 pm Louisburg College Louisburg, NC
Wednesday, Dec. 14 6:00 pm Richard Bland College HOME
Saturday, Dec. 17 1:00 pm Spartanburg Methodist College Spartanburg, SC
Thursday, Jan. 5 7:00 pm Louisburg College HOME
Monday, Jan. 9 8:00 pm Wake Tech Comm. College Raleigh, NC
Saturday, Jan. 14 3:00 pm Bryant & Stratton College Norfolk, VA
Wednesday, Jan. 18 7:30 pm UNC Chapel Hill JV  (Scrimmage) Chapel Hill, NC
Thursday, Jan. 19 7:00 pm Patrick Henry Comm. College HOME
Saturday, Jan. 21 3:00 pm Guilford Tech Comm. College HOME
Monday, Jan. 23 7:00 pm Pitt Comm. College HOME
Wednesday, Jan. 25 7:00 pm Catawba Valley Comm. College Hickory, NC
Saturday, Jan. 28 4:00 pm Thomas Nelson Comm. College Hampton, VA
Monday, Feb. 6 5:00 pm Lenoir Comm. College Louisburg, NC
Thursday, Feb. 9 7:00 pm Fayetteville Tech Comm. College HOME
Monday, Feb. 13 6:00 pm Sandhills Comm. College HOME
Wednesday, Feb. 15 7:00 pm Catawba Valley Comm. College (VGCC Sophomore Night) HOME
Wednesday, Feb. 22 7:00 pm Richard Bland College Petersburg, VA
Saturday, Feb. 25 3:00 pm Guilford Tech Comm. College Jamestown, NC
Saturday, Mar. 4 TBD Region X Conference Tournament 1st Round Petersburg, VA
Sunday, Mar. 5 TBD Region X Conference Tournament Quarter-Finals Petersburg, VA
Friday, Mar. 10 TBD Region X Conference Tournament Semi-Finals Pinehurst, NC
Saturday, Mar. 11 TBD Region X Conference Championship Pinehurst, NC
Tuesday, Mar. 21 – Saturday, Mar. 25 TBD NJCAA Division II National Tournament Danville, IL

 

Bold = Home Game, to be played at Aycock Recreation Center, 307 Carey Chapel Rd., Henderson, N.C.

Schedule is subject to change.

 

The Vanguards compete in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II, which includes 11 two-year colleges in North Carolina and Virginia.

For VGCC, the regular season starts with an away game at Davidson County Community College on Saturday, Nov. 5. The Vanguards’ first opponent at home will be Bryant & Stratton College, on Monday, Nov. 7, at 6 p.m. All of VGCC’s home games are scheduled to be played at Aycock Recreation Center in Henderson. There is no charge for admission.

The second home game, on Monday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m., will be the annual “Vanguard Night” game. VGCC will host Wake Tech Community College in that contest, which features special activities and attracts a large crowd of current students, faculty and staff.

For the second year in a row, VGCC will travel to the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill to play the UNC Tar Heels JV squad. That scrimmage is scheduled to take place Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m.

The Vanguards are set to celebrate “Sophomore Night” at the final home game, on Feb. 15. The regular season is scheduled to conclude on Feb. 25, with VGCC’s final scheduled game on the road at Guilford Tech Community College. After the regular season ends, the Vanguards are scheduled to participate in the NJCAA Division II Region X tournament. The first two rounds of the tournament are to be played at Richard Bland College in Petersburg, Va., on March 4-5. The semifinals and finals will follow at Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, on March 10-11.

VGCC Women’s Volleyball team honors sophomores

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The Vance-Granville Community College Vanguards women’s volleyball program paid tribute to its sophomore leaders on Oct. 11, just before a match with conference rival Davidson County Community College at Aycock Recreation Center in Henderson.

The two second-year players rounding out their VGCC playing careers are Jesse Edwards and Kiyanna Kearney, both of Henderson. Edwards is a Northern Vance High School graduate, while Kearney is a product of Southern Vance High School, where she played not only volleyball but also softball and basketball. Edwards is a College Transfer student at VGCC, with plans to enter the Associate Degree Nursing program in 2017. Kearney, meanwhile, is studying Criminal Justice.

The “Sophomore Night” match turned out to be a thriller. A hard-fought first set ended with a 25-23 victory for the Storm from Davidson County, who then secured a more dominant 25-14 victory in the second set. But the Vanguards came back to win the third set, 25-22, and the fourth, 25-20, forcing a decisive fifth set. The Storm edged out the home team, 15-12, to win the match with a 3-2 victory.

VGCC’s two sophomores were, as usual, key players that evening. Kearney led her squad with 20 kills, with Edwards second at 16. Kearney also had the most digs (31) and solo blocks (4). Meanwhile, freshman Stormi Abernathy contributed all 50 of the team’s recorded assists, along with 19 digs. Katelynn Ray, also a freshman, made 19 digs as well, while Edwards posted 17 digs.

The loss brought VGCC’s record to 11-7, and followed a pair of conference wins (3-1, 3-0) over Rockingham Community College.

Carolina Panthers Announce $250,000 in Grant Funding

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High Schools in North and South Carolina eligible to apply for funding to replace essentials including athletic equipment and other athletics infrastructure.

Carolina Panthers Charities is providing $250,000 in grant funding to assist high school athletic programs in North and South Carolina that have been adversely impacted by Hurricane Matthew and the storm’s aftermath. The grants are designed to assist high school athletic programs in the replacement or repair of equipment, supplies or athletic infrastructure lost or damaged due to the recent catastrophic hurricane damage that has impacted large portions of North and South Carolina.

High school athletic programs have the opportunity to apply for grant funding from Carolina Panthers Charities to assist in their storm recovery efforts. Grant applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis with a deadline for consideration of November 11, 2016. The team will work in conjunction with the North Carolina High School Athletic Association and South Carolina High School League and other partnership agencies to distribute the grant application to member schools. In addition, schools may also download the application on panthers.com/ community.

“The recent hurricane and subsequent flooding events has been devastating for many communities across the region with many high schools sustaining loss or damage to athletic equipment or facilities,” said Riley Fields, Carolina Panthers director of community relations. “The Carolina Panthers hope this grant funding will enable schools, and the communities they serve, to return to a sense of normalcy by helping meet the important basic needs of high school athletic programs.”

In October 2015, Carolina Panthers Charities provided $250,000 in grant funding which aided 19 high schools in South Carolina following catastrophic flooding that impacted the region.

Contact:

Riley Fields

Carolina Panthers Director of Community Relations

704 358-7469

Riley.fields@panthers.nfl.com

 

Peter Vacho

Carolina Panthers  Military & Football Outreach Manager

704 358-7436

Peter.vacho@panthers.nfl.com

 

WIZS Radio is a Carolina Panthers Radio Network Affiliate.

Orange County Speedway forced to cancel Tomorrow’s Race

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Due to the approach of a strong storm and storms forecast for our area, we have decided to cancel Saturday’s race. We feel that this is the best decision for the competitors and the fans with all the rain & wind that is expected. We will run the Smokey Dave’s BBQ Mod 4’s on October 22nd along with all other regular divisions and the Allison Legacy Series. It will be DOUBLE POINTS for ALL of our regular divisions and there will be TWIN 50-LAP Late Model races with 4-tire purchase required.

Start time will be at approximately 6:00 p.m. on October 22nd. An official Agenda will be put out next week. Again we apologize but with the forecast, we feel conditions will not be enjoyable for fans or competitors. Thank you and we look forward to seeing everyone for Championship Night and Track or Treat on October 22nd.

Terry and Mary Beth Deal

Vance County Friday Night Football is on the Air

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Tonight.  Double coverage of Southern Vance hosting Bartlett Yancey and Northern Vance at Southern Durham.  Pregame at 6:45 p.m. following the Joy Christian Center broadcast.  Kickoff at 7 p.m. for NV at SD and 7:30 p.m. for SV vs BY.  Join us for the live play by play on 1450 AM WIZS plus the live stream on wizs.com and via the Tunein Radio App on your computer, smartphone or tablet.

Scouting Reports by Jeff Jenkins:

For the past four years, the Spartans of Southern Durham have had good reason to consider themselves the best in the Big Eight 3A conference, and they were justified in believing they were the best 3A team in the state.  After being re-classified from 4A to 3A in 2013 and joining the Big 8, Southern swept the conference two consecutive years, won the State 3AA championship in 2013, got upset in the Playoffs in 2014, and went back to the championship game again last year.  They lost to Crest, the school they beat for the crown in 2013, to enter this season as the reigning state 3AA runners-up, but then last year’s Big 8 title – and last five wins – were forfeited due to fielding a player whose participation was based on an physical exam form that expired in late-season. The Big Eight title crown went to Orange County, which had finished second to Southern for three years running.  Whatever the record book says now,  everyone had to admit that the Spartans looked like a team that would contend with the state’s best again this year.  Head coach Darius Robinson admitted that his team had lost a few stand-outs from last year, but felt his 17 returning starters would make his team even more experienced and deeper.  Returning veterans include all-conference quarterback Jalen Greene and all-conference defenders Tackle Bobby Fuller, middle linebacker Andre Purvis, and end Ezekial Jennette.

But something went wrong.  As usual, the Spartans started their season against four tough 4A teams, all of which reached the playoffs last year. But, instead of beating 2 or 3 of the big schools and entering Conference play with their usual record of 4-1 or at least 3-2, Southern came out 2-3 against nonconference opponents.  Then, they lost to Orange County for the first time in recent memory, and by an eye-popping score of 49-7 – the Spartan’s worst defeat since 2012.  Orange was gunning for Southern, and with good reason – the Panthers had been conference runners-up to the Spartans for three straight years, AND fell to Southern in the playoffs in two of those three years as well.  Orange is undefeated this year and, with Southern Durham out of the way, they are likely to stay that way throughout the regular season.

Statistically, the Spartans do not look like an elite team; before the Orange game, they were scoring 23 points per game, compared to 34 last year, and they allowed 24 per game, compared to 19 last year.  The Orange blow-out does nothing to improve that picture.   The Offense averages a respectable but unspectacular 325 yards per game in total.  Sr. QB Jalen Green has passed for 143 yards per game and 6 TDs, and he is also the #2 rusher on the team with 53 yards per game and one TD.  Sr. WR Montrel Cooper, at 6’4,” averages 64 yards per game receiving for 2 of those TDs, followed  by Sr. Marcus McDonald at 6’3” with 53 yards per game and one score.  The rushing game is surprisingly mediocre, with only 130 yards total per game and Sr Joey Strong Jr leading the team with 83 yards per game. As predicted by Coach Robinson, Southern’s defense is indeed being led by Sr MLB Andre Purvis with nearly five tackles per game, and Sr. Tackle Ezekial Jennette with over four, but Sr. Tackle Bobby Fuller has missed three of the six games, and has not been a factor.  However, Soph DB Taron Beauford, Jr. utility player Ryan Bond and Sr. LB Dezmon Criss-Barnard have all stepped up with four or five Tackles each per game.

Northern Vance will still need to play their best game of the season to come out on top tonight, but there is a real possibility that the Vikings can go toe-to-toe with the 2016 Spartans, something they could not even hope for in previous seasons, when they were thrashed by Southern by scores of 62-6, 69-0, and, last year, 42-13.

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The Buccaneers of Bartlett Yancey, the only high school in Caswell County, invade Raider Stadium tonight under the leadership of second-year head coach David Weathersby, who is being credited with changing a culture of losing that gripped the school’s football program around the turn of the 21st century.   In Weathersby’s first game as coach, the Bucs won their 2015 season opener against Raleigh’s 4A Enloe, ended a 19-game losing streak, and laid the groundwork for a 5-6 record and their first playoff appearance since 1996.  Graduation robbed Weathersby of his starting quarterback and some other key players, but the winning season brought out a good crop of new players, and “the new BY” is continuing to rebuild.  Enloe got their revenge with a 58-35 win over the Buccaneers in this season’s opener, and 4A Person County beat them in week two, but Bartlett-Yancey has now won three in a row to bring a 3-2 record against the Raiders, who lost last year’s meeting 42-8 in Yanceyville.

This season, B.Y. features 14 seniors, including starting QB Tre Dildy, and several experienced receivers, including Sr. Jaylon Jeffries and Jr. Brandon Budd.  Among the talented newcomers are 6’2” Fr WR and kick returner Dequondre Newman, the team leader with 316 yards receiving for 4 TDs.  In the five games this season, Dildy has a 61 % completion rate, passing for 549 yards and five TDs, and rushing for three more scores.  Sr RB Shay Jeffers rushed for over 1200 yards last season on his way to an all-conference selection.  So far this season, Jeffers is on schedule to exceed his 2015 production, rushing for 1120 yards and 9 TDs so far.   In a 19-14 win over Granville Central two weeks ago, the Bucs had 477 total yards, with Dildy passing for 117 yards, and Jeffers rushing for a whopping 261 yards.

The defense is led by the linebacking group of Sr. MLB Tyree Foster who was a leader in the first five games last year, before an injury ended his season;   Jr. Joe Durden, this year’s leading tackler with 8 tackles per game; and  Jr. Hart Modlin.  As a RB,  Durden has also rushed for 2 short-yardage TDs

The Bucs offense is averaging 27 points per game, an improvement over last year’s 21 per game.  As a result of their high-scoring losses to begin this season, the defense has allowed 34 points per game, but only 19 per game in their 3 wins.  Overall the Buccaneers tend to lose big and win close, suggesting that their defense needs more improvement.  Their 42-8 win over Southern Vance last year was their highest scoring and most lopsided win of that season.

Friday Night Football 9-23-16 on WIZS

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Vance County Friday Night Football 9-23-16:

Northern Vance is on the road to Webb in Oxford.  That’s our play by play game of the week on 1450 AM WIZS as well as live streamed on wizs.com and WIZS on Tunein Radio.  We will have live score updates of Southern Vance at Louisburg as well.  Join Bill Harris and Doc Ayscue for the kickoff at 7:00 p.m. following the Joy Christian Center broadcast.

Scouting Reports from Jeff Jenkins of WIZS:

NV @ Webb — Webb Warriors head Coach Tony Midgette was only partially joking when he described his team’s lack of depth during the first week of practice this summer. J. F. Webb is one of the smallest 3A schools in the state, and Coach Midgette told his players that many of them would have to be prepared to play three or four positions.  The Warriors have been working with line-up changes during their five nonconference games and some combinations have, of course, worked better than others.  Last year, with similar challenges, Webb started strong, going into conference play with a 3-2 record, averaging scoring 29 points per game, and holding their nonconference opponents to 22 points per game.  This year, they have started 1-4, losing to both of their county rivals, Granville Central and South Granville, and by a large margin to Franklinton last week.  And their stats reflect this start – a scoring average of 20 points per game and 36 points allowed per game.

The Vikings’ nonconference statistics have compared favorably to the Warriors both last year and this season.  Last year the two teams were almost neck and neck and their 2015 match-up showed it.  Both teams started conference play with 3-2 records; both teams averaged scoring 29 points per game prior to their meeting; and the Vikings were allowing just under 20 points per game while the Warriors allowed 22.  Their contest last year went down to the wire with Northern Vance squeezing out a 35-34 victory.  Webb did not win another game last year and finished 3-8; but the Vikings won their last game against Cedar Ridge to finish 5-6.  This season, Northern Vance, like Webb, is scoring right at 20 points per game, but the Vikings have allowed only 11 points per game compared to Webb’s 36; so Defense will be the biggest difference tonight and the Vikings have the edge on that side of the ball.

And the Vikings will need to play Webb tough, regardless of the score, because the Warriors do not quit.  Three of their five games have been close, and two were high-scoring affairs that show the Warriors’ ability to take full advantage of teams with struggling defenses.  Webb took their only victory this season off Southern Vance in Week two by hanging around in spite of a 42-26 4th quarter deficit and taking full advantages of Raider errors to score 16 points in the last 3 minutes of regulation.  Then, two weeks ago at home against Louisburg, the Warriors came up just one score short in a 48-40 shoot-out.

Northern Vance will need to think shut-out tonight – because the Vikings’ best games have been shut-outs, and Webb has a leaky defense that should allow enough scoring with the Viking defense shutting down the passing game that has kept Webb alive to the very end of its two best games this season.

SV @ Louisburg —

After two consecutive playoff appearances as a small 2A team, and another as a newly reclassified 1A team, Louisburg crashed an burned last season with a new coach, a short roster, and injuries to some key starters.  The 2015 Warriors finished 1-10, averaged scoring 18 points per game, and allowed 45 per game.  They started last season 0-4, and then lost to Southern Vance 56-7, by far the raiders’ best game of 2015.  So far this season, Louisburg looks improved, beginning 1-3 with a close 48-40 win over Webb, and a respectable scoring average of 23 points, much better than last year’s 10 points for the first 4 games.

Second-year coach Dontae Lassiter has more to work with this year; he only lost 2 seniors to graduation and has 14 seniors to lead this year’s 39-man roster. And he is keeping things simple be counting on a run offense.  Senior Max Jones started last year wearing No. 81 as a tight end, played quarterback for part of last season, and returns this year as starting quarterback wearing No. 16.  Soph. back-up Cale Bolton has already seen action in 2 games. The rushing leaders so far are Sr. Quamon Person, with over 100 yards per game and 4 TDs, and Jr. Tyre Davis, with just under 100 rushing yards per game and 3 scores. Davis has also returned kicks for 330 yards, giving him a team high 724 all purpose yards, or 180 per game.

The Warrior defense is still weak, however, allowing 48 points per game so far, although to be fair, 54 of those points came last week in their 54-7 blow out by Bunn – a fate most of Bunn’s opponents will have to the accept this year.

Southern Vance, after one week off following their own big loss – 62-8 from Hertford County – also had a rough 2015, finishing 2-9, scoring 14 per game, and allowing 37 per game.  The Raiders, at 0-4 this season, have been hurt this year by injuries but, like Louisburg, have still managed to score in every game, even scoring 48 points in their 2-point overtime loss to Webb, the only opponents they have in common with Louisburg.  Those two games with Webb were similar in that both Southern and Louisburg scored 48 against the scrappy but undermanned 3A Oxford Warriors; although Louisburg came out on top, and the Raiders let the game slip away in the final 4 minutes.  Both of these teams are rebuilding, and tonight’s contest in Louisburg should be won by the team that commits the fewest turnovers and draws the fewest penalties.

Friday Night Football Scouting Reports

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WIZS 1450 AM provides double coverage tonight of Northern Vance hosting Bunn and Southern Vance hosting Hertford County.  All the radio coverage begins at 6:45 and continues until the final play is done.  Everything is On Air and streamed live at wizs.com or via WIZS on Tunein.

— Scouting Reports by Jeff Jenkins

Northern Vance finishes up a 3-game home stand with its most difficult test so far this season against regular 2A powerhouse Bunn.  The Wildcats form a team that seems to have everything a championship team needs every year.  Their coach, David Howle, has been in charge for 25 of the past 29 years (the last 4 years in a row), and they have not had a losing season since 1988, Howle’s first year.  Over the past decade, the Wildcats have been to the state playoffs every year.  Last year was the Wildcats’ best ever: They lost 2 regular season games to larger schools, but swept their Northern Carolina Conference, including a 51-18 win over Southern Vance, and went to the state finals for the first time, losing the championship game to finish 13-3 overall.  For the entire 2015 season, including playoffs, they averaged an almost unbelievable 48 points per game scoring, breaking a school record for total points scored, while allowing 23 per game.  Along the way to these impressive numbers, Bunn defeated Northern Vance handily last year 49-18.

How does this year’s Wildcats team compare to last year’s?  This time last year they were 1-2, with losses to Wilson Fike and Southern Nash, but still averaging 42 points per game scoring, and allowing 32.  This year, they are 2-1, losing to Southern Nash last week, but winning a 24-20 squeaker over Fike in their season opener.  Last year will be a hard act to follow, especially considering that so many key performers were lost to graduation, including school single-season rushing leader Tevin Perry, who gained over 2,000 rushing yards behind a huge, talented offensive line, all 5 of whom also graduated.  Even Coach Howle has admitted that an entire unit is hard to replace in one year.  However, Sr quarterback Quenten Wright is entering his fourth year as a starter, and backup Christian Murray has a strong arm, and he may see action with Wright lining up as a wide receiver.  Bunn has plenty of depth in one area – fullbacks.  Chris Bumpers, who gained 900 yards on the ground last year as a short yardage RB, returns for his senior season, and he is sharing the running duties with sophomore Raequan Dunston, who scored 2 TD’s last week on runs of 2 and 6 yards.  Also, starting defensive lineman Omar Rosa is again available as Bunn’s “human bowling ball,” lining up at fullback in short-yardage and goal-line situations.   One lucky addition for the ‘Cats is the addition of speedy running back D. J. Jones, a senior transfer from conference rival Roanoke Rapids, where he accumulated more than 1,800 yards on the ground as a sophomore.  Bunn continues its tradition of effective kickers with Thomas O’Campo, who hit a 25 yard FG last week at the close of the first half.

Even with a 2-1 start, a consistently excellent defense and a respectable 25 point scoring average, it would be overly optimistic to say that Northern Vance is in the same league as Bunn; but starting in 2017, they will in fact be in the same 2A conference, so it’s time for the Vikings to start figuring out how to play toe-to-toe against the Wildcats.

———–

Last year, Southern Vance traveled to Ahoskie to play the Hertford County Bears for the first time in recent memory – or maybe ever – and got their helmets handed to them in a 47-0 shut-out.  The 2015 Bears went on to finish 9-4, and second in their conference, the very competitive Northeastern Coastal 2A.  Hertford scored 38 points per game last year and allowed 24, and went to the playoffs for the 10th year in a row.  Their starting quarterback passed for over 3000 yards and 33 TD’s and scored 8 more times on the ground.  Then he graduated without leaving an experienced back-up.

In the Bears’ first three games this season, however, quarterbacking has not seemed to be a problem.  Jr. Lance Hunter has passed for 199 yards per game and 6 touchdowns, scattering his passes among eight different receivers.  Apparently the Bears coaching staff does not plan for Hunter to run the ball – he has only gained 11 yards on 7 runs – but he is flanked by Jr. RB Kyeem Perry, who averaged 115 yards rushing per game last year for 19 touchdowns, and who ran for 145 yards and 1 score in one game this year.  We are not sure why Perry did not play in the other 2 games, but the other Jr. RB,  Zion Riddick,  gained just under 100 all-purpose yards per game for all 3 games this season.  Only Perry and Riddick have gained significant yardage on the ground so far this season, which may explain the 1-2 start for the Bears.  The passing offense is alive and well, however, with 4 senior receivers available for Hunter as targets:  Jaquarii Roberson led the team last year with 113 yards receiving per game for 19 touchdowns, and he has started this season with 81 yards per game and 2 scores.  Roberson is followed by Justin Sessums, who has averaged 41 yards for 2 games. Rawshaun Beamon caught two touchdown passes in one game, but has apparently not played again;  and Perry caught a pass for a score in his one game.

Sr. Da’andre Beverly has also caught passes this season, but he is primarily an asset at defensive back.  Last season he averaged 4 solo tackles per game, led the team with 4 interceptions, running one back for a TD, and he blocked a FG and a punt.   The rest of the Bears defense is small-to-medium sized – their leading tacklers so far this year are Sr. OLB Alex Maxbaur, at 5’11 and 208 lbs with 11 tackles per game, and  Sr. DE Demetress Freeman at 6’1” and 200 lbs. with 10 per game.  The defense appears to work as a unit, however, with 4 more players averaging 5 or more tackles per game, and another 10 players with at least one tackle per game.

Offensively, Hertford County may be in for one of its weaker seasons, which seems to happen about once every 3 seasons, with very little running game, unless Kyeem Perry returns to the line-up. So the Raiders should be able to defend the pass and keep the score lower than last year.  But with no established starting quarterback until Corey Twitty Jr. returns from injury, with Malik Boyd missing playing time due to injuries, and with their tendency to stop themselves from scoring with turnovers and penalties, Southern Vance may be hard-pressed to avoid another shutout from this down-east traditional powerhouse.

The Raiders’ best bet will be to have one of the their 4 “quarterback committee” members throw the ball in the general direction of Zamari Ellis and let him out jump however many defenders he has on him at the time – a play which has produced at least one TD in every game so far this year.  Those 4 quarterbacks are also capable of gaining yards and keeping drives going – they rolled up well over 200 yards on the ground against Northern Vance last week – but the holding penalties will have to be minimized by the blockers – only 142 rushing yards went into the books last week because of the 6 or 8 penalties accrued on running plays.

Optimist Bowl Preview (THURSDAY GAME)

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The annual Optimist Bowl is tonight with Southern Vance High School visiting Northern Vance High School for a 7 p.m. kickoff.  Live analysis and play by play coverage begins on WIZS 1450 AM at 6:45.  You can also listen by going to WIZS.com or with the free Tunein Radio App on your smartphone or tablet.

Jeff Jenkins announces the Grid Iron Report on Tuesdays and Fridays on WIZS.  It’s part of “Sports Mayhem” with Kemp Collins at 1 p.m., Monday-Friday.

Scouting Report on Southern Vance from Jeff Jenkins:

Although their record stands at 0-2, The Raiders Offense has been effective from the beginning, scoring 22 against a strong Ravenscroft squad in their opener, and 48 against Webb last week, but without yet chalking up a win.  Scoring on the ground and through the air has been pretty even.  Against Ravenscroft, Southern quarterback Corey Twitty, Jr. passed for 2 TDs, both to Zamari Ellis; and Malik Boyd ran for the third score.  Tyrese Henderson and Shammond Lyons both ran for 2 pt conversions.  Twitty led all rushing with 105 yards (although 15 yards were called back on penalties) and Shammond Lyons ran for 94 yards (but had a 39 yard run called back).

Against Webb last week, Malik Boyd led the Raiders rushing  with 159 yards on 13 carries and scored twice; Tyrese Henderson gained 100 yards and scored a TD and a 2 pt. conversion;  and Lyons ran for a TD and a conversion.  Twitty passed for 89 yards, including 2 touchdowns, both to Shammond Lyons.  Then when Twitty was knocked out of the game early in the second half, Lyons took over at quarterback and threw a TD pass to Ellis in overtime.  Lyons also attempted the essential 2 pt conversion run in overtime and was stopped short.

And so, the Raiders have scored a very respectable 35 points per game; but their defense has not been nearly as effective, allowing 46 per game.

Scouting Report on Northern Vance from Jeff Jenkins:

Thanks to the last altogether unfortunate contest with Warren County, The Vikings’ numbers are not as impressive as the Raiders.  Northern Vance stands at 1-1, after Northern scoring 42 points against East Chapel Hill, and then 5 against Warren, giving them a modest 23 ½  point average – about the same as they had at the end of last season.  On the other hand, the Viking defense was consistently excellent, chalking up shut-outs in both games. (Keep in mind that Warren County scored it’s 7 points against the Viking offense – on a fumble recovery and run-back).