South Johnston High School is hosting the Vance County Vipers in the first round of the state 6A football playoffs Friday.
Trojans Head Coach Lee Webb said his team is coming off a big rival win against West Johnston, but they’ll be ready for the Vipers. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Ronald Avery Stadium in Four Oaks.
Webb’s team is the #10 seed in the 6A playoffs, and the Vipers are the #23 seed, but the fifth-year head coach said he and his staff have been getting the team ready to face a very physical Vipers team.
“They’ve played a tough schedule,” Webb told WIZS’s Scout Hughes and George Hoyle on Wednesday’s SportsTalk.
“Every team that you play is going to be tough in the playoffs,” he said, adding that the Vipers are a well-coached team, “physical and fast up front,” and ready on offense, defense and special teams.
“We have to be ready for anything,” he said.
With 20 seniors on this year’s team, Webb said he’s proud of the way they’ve stuck together the past four years.
“The relationship that these guys have with each other and the underclassmen and the things that they’re showing them with their leadership – the way they do things…As a community, as a staff, we’re very proud of how they’re representing South Johnston,” Webb said.
In preparation for Friday’s matchup, Webb said he and his coaching staff continue what they’ve said all season long – not focusing on the next W, but focusing on the team’s identity and players’ character.
“If we stay true to who we are, I don’t think we can lose,” Webb said, no matter what the scoreboard says.
He said he wants his players to focus on one play at the time, making sure they’re doing things the right way to prepare, so they’ll respond in a positive way when things go awry.
The Trojans use three words to keep them focused, motivated and ready: humility, love and determination.
Keeping those words in mind, on and off the field, is what Webb said he wants his players to do. “You’re going to make mistakes on the football field, just like in life,” he said, adding that it’s what you do after you make those mistakes that show a person’s true identity and character.
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