Vance Co. High School returns to the field after two weeks this Friday night against 2 – 0 Southern Durham. Vance Co. was originally scheduled to play last week but East Chapel Hill cancelled their football season giving the 0-1 Vipers an unexpected extra week off. Coach Hunter Jenks said “I would always like to play a game,” but believes that the missed game will be good for the Vipers in the long run as it has given the team more time to practice and Jenks has been pleased with those additional practices heading into Friday’s game.
After a 42-6 loss at the hands of Chapel Hill, Jenks said, “It was a rip the rearview mirror off game” where the Vipers are not looking back. “I expect to have a better performance,” Jenks said of the Vipers and he’ll need it going against Southern Durham which has not allowed a single point this season. Jenks said the key to beating Southern Durham is for the Vipers not to beat themselves. Turnovers plagued Vance Co. in the opening game of the season, committing four against Chapel Hill giving the Tigers plenty of opportunities. In addition to eliminating turnovers Jenks said the Vipers need to have offensive success early against Southern Durham and not put themselves in bad situations.
Jenks says that with every team in the conference improved every matchup is a test. He also expects to pick up a few more players to add to the roster once 9th graders return to school.
You can hear live play by play of the Vance Co. Vs. Southern Durham game tomorrow night on WIZS. Kickoff is at 6:30 from Southern Durham High School. No visiting fans will be allowed at the stadium.
At Warren County High School, Coach Victor Hunt has his Eagles at 1-1 after demolishing J.F. Webb in the first game of the season 40-7 and losing a comeback bid against South Granville 29-20. This week the Eagles head to Franklin County to take on the 0-2 Bunn Wildcats, a team Warren County hasn’t beaten since 1996. “They are not to be taken lightly,” Hunt said of the Wildcats despite the winless record.
During this shortened season Hunt says that, “Every game is a big game and we treat them like it’s a championship.” Hunt says “Our goal is to be 1-0 every week.” In order for Hunt to get the Eagles to 2-1 he says the team will need to limit mistakes, tackle well and play good defense. In last weeks loss to South Granville Hunt sad the Eagles had a bad first half allowing 29 points but was impressed with halftime adjustments as Warren Co. shut out the Viking offense in the second half and credits the defense with giving the Eagles a chance for a come from behind victory. While they didn’t quite make up the deficit, Hunt says the Eagles “are better because of the loss.”
When asked to name some outstanding players for the Eagles this year, Hunt was quick to mention starting freshman quarterback Nigel Williams who has ran for three touchdowns and thrown for two more this season, Cameron Hogan who has four touchdowns on the year and Reginald Douglass, a former lineman who now is a linebacker and full back.
The Eagles and the Wildcats kickoff at Bunn tomorrow night at 6:30pm.