Tag Archive for: #vancecountyfridaynightfootball

SportsTalk: 2024 Season Recap For Vance County Football

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The Vance County High School Vipers didn’t go as deep into the playoffs as they had hoped, but a third year with nine wins or more is evidence that Coach Aaron Elliott is not just putting together a team – he’s building a program.

The 17-seed Vipers traveled to 16-seed Western Alamance Friday night for the first round of 3A state playoffs, but came up short and lost 36-31.

Doc Ayscue and WIZS’s Scout Hughes agreed that it was one of those back-and-forth games and whichever team had the ball last would come away with the W. “They were right there ‘til the end,” Ayscue said. “It was one of the best high school games I’ve seen.” When the winning score is made with 12 seconds left, you know it’s a tight game, he said on Monday’s SportsTalk.

Vipers Senior Javion Vines-holder made the highlight reel when he took a kickoff return 95 yards for a TD.

Western Alamance staff apparently had done their homework and were trying to keep the ball out of Vines-holder’s hands. But after the kicker had put the ball on the tee and turned his back to get ready for the kickoff, Vines-holder and teammate Tyler Wheeler switched places, so the ball went to Vines-holder and he took off for the end zone.

Ayscue said Western Alamance’s #5, James Newton, was the best player the Vipers faced all season. Newton rushed for 151 yards and scored five touchdowns Friday night.

“It’s hard to tell on film how quick he is, how fast he is – he had that quick acceleration,” Ayscue said.

For the season, three Vipers rushed for more than 500 yards. Senior Jontavious Nile ran for 1,237 yards and had 69 rushing yards against Western Alamance.

Then there’s Antoine Doyle, Jr, who racked up more than 500 yards in receptions.

“He’s a terrific athlete – offense and defense,” Ayscue said. When the play was “jet down the field and we’re going to throw it as far as we can,” it was Doyle’s number that was usually called.

But it was Vines-holder who, going into the game Friday, was tied for first place among all public high schools in the state for most interceptions. He had eight interceptions – but not in his role as quarterback – these interceptions are the kind that coaches like to see their defense make.

Ayscue said last season Coach Elliott regarded Vines-holder as possibly the best defensive back on the team. Then he took over as quarterback this season, Ayscue said, and became a great contributor on offense, too.

“He did it on both sides of the ball,” Ayscue said. Staff would “sneak him in (on defense) on obvious pass situations,” he added. “He did a great job – not just intercepting balls…he would chase (opponents) down and tackle them before they got too much” yardage.

Viper Senior Taeshawn Alston, who committed to play football at the University of South Carolina back in June, is the lone Viper whose season is extended by one game – Alston will represent Vance County and North Carolina in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas. That game takes place in Spartanburg, SC on Dec. 21. Kickoff is 1 p.m.

SportsTalk on WIZS 12:30 p.m. M-Th 

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Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Recap of Senior Night; Playoff Brackets Come Out!

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Playoffs loom for Vance County after defeating Enloe Friday night.

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SportsTalk: Vipers Wrap Up Regular Season Against Enloe

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UPDATE – FINAL SCORE 

Vance County 50 

Enloe 21 

RECAP MONDAY ON SPORTSTALK 

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SportsTalk on WIZS 12:30 p.m. M-Th 

With one game left in the regular season, Vance County High School celebrates the culmination of a wonderful season. Tallied with eight wins and only one loss so far. Eight wins that at times have put us on the edge of our seats. From Vance County winning in their first game of the season against Warren County 18-0 to the very next game beating Rocky Mount by just one point, 23-22. There’s the comeback against Louisburg in the rain after the Warriors scored 21 unanswered points. We have had plenty of things to celebrate this season, from Homecoming to Breast Cancer Awareness in our Pink Game, Military Appreciation Night, and on Friday, Senior Night. 

On Friday we Celebrate our 14 Seniors who have given their heart and soul to this Vance County Squad. During their time at the Varsity Level, these Seniors have accumulated a record of 18-2. Last year in 2023 they achieved the first 10-win season for a team from Vance County since Southern Vance met that mark in 2007. An outstanding record for these players:

  • #1 Javion Vines-Holder
  • #7/#0 Antoine Doyle Jr.
  • #8 Barry Henderson Jr.
  • #9 Taeshawn Alston 
  • #10 Jontavious Nile
  • #11 Elijah Holden 
  • #12 Corbett Southerland Jr.
  • #21 Tyrek Robinson
  • #40 Lee Kinney
  • #50 Maurice Jackson
  • #63 Camarion Ragland
  • #64 Kemari Branch
  • #71 Jose Rivera
  • #77 Antonio Bullock

 

The Vipers opponent for Senior Night is Enloe High School out of Raleigh. This will be an interesting matchup as a team from Henderson hasn’t played a team from Raleigh since 2016 when Southern Vance opened the year against Ravenscroft. Head Coach of Enloe, Ryan Clark joined SportsTalk with Bill Harris and George Hoyle on Thursday to talk about the upcoming game vs. Vance County. He says it’s a win-win for both teams to play each other, “This game improves both of our RPI Rankings and our strength of schedules. Vance County has only one loss on the year, and with us playing in a competitive 4A conference, it’s beneficial to both of us.” Vance County is 8-1 on the season, finishing runner-up in the Northern Lakes Conference to Southern Durham, while Enloe is 6-3 on the season and finished third in the CAP-6 4A Conference. Both teams are expected to make the state playoffs for their respective classifications. Besides Southern Durham, this may be the toughest team yet for the Vipers and certainly a great test.

There are plenty of things on the line for Friday’s game between Vance County and Enloe. Both teams are looking to improve their playoff seeding. Vance County is looking for a win as their seniors play one last regular season game at Viper Stadium. Coach Aaron Elliott said at the beginning of the season that Triangle football is more than just Raleigh and Durham, he said it’s Henderson too. Vance County has that opportunity to prove why the Vipers should be included with the best of the best from the Triangle.

 

Vance County will host Enloe High School out of Raleigh on Senior Night for Week 12 of the 2024 season on Friday, November 8th and you can hear all the action on WIZS 1450AM, 100.1FM, and online at wizs.com with pregame starting at 6:50 p.m. and kickoff thereafter at 7:00 p.m. 

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SportsTalk: Vipers Take On Rival J.F. Webb Friday Night

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UPDATE – FINAL SCORE 

Vance County 49 

J.F. Webb 0  

RECAP MONDAY ON SPORTSTALK 

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SportsTalk on WIZS 12:30 p.m. M-Th 

What determines a rivalry? Is it the intensity? Is it the fierce battles between one another? What about the traditions that both teams bring to the table? It very well could be. In this case, however two factors that determine this great rivalry between teams from Henderson and teams from Oxford: Proximity and Longevity. In addition to both teams being in counties that border each other, Vance County and J.F Webb are two high schools that reside in the same conference that just so happen to be about 20 minutes from each other. In terms of longevity, you can call it a tradition for Vance County and J.F. Webb to play each other every year. High schools from Henderson and Oxford have played each other nearly consistently at least since 1923. Regardless of how rivalries are formed, one thing is for sure. No matter what conference these two teams are in, no matter the record or classification of each school, Vance County and J.F. Webb always play each other. Always have. Always will.

Two different high schools. Two different ball clubs. Both going in different directions. Vance County is sitting at 7-1 on the year and is in second place in the Northern Lakes Conference. Head Coach Aaron Elliott said at the beginning of the year that, “The goals have changed for Vance County. Our goal is to not just make the playoffs, but to make deep runs in the playoffs.” J.F. Webb on the other hand, is 1-8 on the year and is in second to last place in the conference. Keionte Gainey, Head Coach of J.F. Webb, who assumed the Athletic Director duties as well this year, is keeping high hopes up for the program. Despite J.F. Webb’s record, Coach Gainey calls this year’s team, “A very special group”, that consists of 17 Seniors that hold a special place in Gainey’s heart.

When you look at the matchup between Vance County and J.F. Webb, what are the keys to the game? For Vance County, consistency is key, according the Head Coach Aaron Elliott. “We gotta be consistent on offense, defense, and be better if special teams.” For J.F. Webb, Coach Gainey outlines what needs to happen in order for the Warriors to win on Friday, “We’ve got to play with grit and heart, I believe that we have the talent to beat Vance County. We are gonna give it our best shot. We wanna beat them before the conference changes next year.”

Whether it’s Henderson High, Henderson Institute, Vance Senior High, Northern and Southern Vance, or Vance County High, and whether it’s Oxford High, Oxford Orphanage, Mary Potter, or J.F. Webb, this matchup on Friday will be one for the ages.

Vance County will host J.F. Webb on Military Appreciation Night for Week 11 of the 2024 season on Friday, November 1st and you can hear all the action on WIZS 1450AM, 100.1FM, and online at wizs.com with pregame starting at 6:50 p.m. and kickoff thereafter at 7:00 p.m. 

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Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Vance County vs. Louisburg Recap

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SportsTalk on WIZS 12:30 p.m. M-Th 

Scout Hughes and Doc Ayscue discuss the Vance County Vipers Thursday night win over Louisburg.

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Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Friday Night Football Recap

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SportsTalk on WIZS 12:30 p.m. M-Th 

Scout Hughes and Doc Ayscue review Vance County’s loss to Southern Durham as well as some other action going on in High School Football.

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Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Vance County Vs. Northern Durham Recap

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A look back at Friday night’s game between Vance County and Northern Durham.

(Our coverage for this story is available by clicking play.)

 

Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Vipers Ready For Homecoming Against Northern Durham

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SportsTalk on WIZS 12:30 p.m. M-Th

The Vance County Vipers Football Team will come home for the first time in this 2024 season and it just so happens that it’s homecoming weekend for Vance County. Head Coach Aaron Elliott came on SportsTalk to talk about his team’s performance last Friday against Orange and to preview Northern Durham this Friday.

The Vipers have now won three straight games thanks to the 14-6 win last Friday over Orange. Head Coach Aaron Elliott believes his squad did a good job. “It feels pretty good, You know what we did see against Orange, was some things that we’ve been working on the past couple of weeks. I think we play better as a team as a whole…we need to find our identity on the offensive side of the ball. We’ve been working all week at really finishing drives. We kind of leave the game open at times, especially last week we had two more opportunities to score against Orange and we really left it out there…we are definitely getting better.”

Coach Elliott gave some differences between playing Orange from last year and playing them last Friday night. “This year they had a lot of returners so obviously they were better on both sides of the ball. They got two really good linebackers that put us in situations that we didn’t want to be in so they played well. you know just watching them be able to move and their offensive line you know their lines were good and they all returned. You know they were bigger and stronger.”

According to the research done by those at WIZS, teams from Vance County and Northern Durham High School have played each other 43 times since Northern Durham opened in 1955. The history between the two schools is there. Coach gives us his insight on what he expects from Northern Durham, “I expect them to wanna come out and spoil our homecoming you know things come and play they get a little momentum coming. Especially them right now they are sitting at 0-3. Right now they want to win a football game so they’re going to come in here with nothing to lose you know trying to play good football and that’s what we’ve been telling our kids this week.” In preparation for Northern Durham, Coach Elliott says that this week has been the “four best practices every day that we’ve had so far this year. I’ve been really been impressed with the kids.”

Vance County has been on the road for the first three games of the season, and regardless of this game being homecoming, Coach Elliott is excited for his team to play in front of the home crowd. “Oh man, we’re excited! We got a lot of good things going on. The field is going to look amazing because of some of the things we did with upgrades. In the facilities, we’ve been working for the last few weeks. When you think about that side of it, it’s great and then you think about the kids you know just having family and friends and it being homecoming and just a lot of things going on we’re pretty excited.

With Granville Central canceling their football season for the 2024 campaign, Vance County needed to find a replacement. Well, they have found one. On Saturday, October 5th, Vance County will host the Cavaliers of East Rutherford from Bostic, NC at 2:00pm. Coach expressed how excited he is that the Vipers found a game to complete their schedule. “Oh man, we were super excited! Especially for them to agree to play because they are a really, really, good, respectable 2A team.”

Coach’s message to the fans for Friday night’s homecoming game against Northern Durham: “Just show out. Show up and support and have a good time. Hopefully, we can put on a pretty good show for them.”

Sounds good to us Coach! Go Vipers!

Vance County hosts Northern Durham on Homecoming for Week 4 of the 2024 season on Friday, September 13th and you can hear all the action on WIZS 1450AM, 100.1FM, and online at wizs.com with pregame starting at 6:50 p.m. and kickoff thereafter at 7:00 p.m.

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Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Vipers Prepare For Orange

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Vance County High School Football Coach Aaron Elliott discusses preparations for this week’s game against Orange.

The Coaches Corner continues with Vance County Football Head Coach Aaron Elliott on SportsTalk with Scout Hughes and George Hoyle on WIZS.

The Vipers pulled out a close one against Rocky Mount last Friday night defeating Rocky Mount on the road, 23-22. Vance County Head Man Aaron Elliott believes that his team did alright. “We were able to squeak out with a win. Wins are hard to come by. You know it’s easy to lose, hard to win. Being able to win and finishing the game was a plus, but overall we still made some mistakes that we have been working on all week as far as basic fundamentals. We are getting those things cleaned up, hopefully, it’ll show on Friday.”

Even early on in the season, Vance County and Coach Elliott knew that Rocky Mount would give Vance County a tougher matchup but that didn’t change the team’s mindset. Coach said that they knew Rocky Mount being a 3A school would make it a tougher game than Warren County was and that Rocky Mount took advantage of Vance and their mistakes early on last Friday night but he’s glad Vance County pulled out the win.

Looking ahead to Orange, Coach says, “We have cleaned some things up.” And even though Vance County beat Orange last year, Coach Elliott says that they are still treating this game just like it’s any other game. Coach also gives an insight as to what Orange might do as far as their offensive scheme, “Going into this game we are expecting them to throw the ball. But based on film, what we’ve been able to see the past two weeks is that they have been really successful running the ball. They have a running back that rushed for almost 140 yards against Chapel Hill last week so we’ve got to be able to have an answer for him…we’ve got to have an answer for whatever they give us.” 

Scout and George also asked for an update about if Vance County had rescheduled a game to take the place of Granville Central, who last month had announced that they were canceling their Varsity and Junior Varsity football seasons for 2024. “We had a conference meeting about it and if we can’t find a team to play then we can use that game as a win by forfeit. But we are still trying to find a team. We are still looking. We’ve reached out to Virginia a little bit. It’s gonna be hard to find another game.” 

As the Vipers move to Friday’s game against Orange, Coach’s message to the fans is clear. “Just make that drive to Hillsborough and support us if they can. I know we’ve been on the road, but we had a good showing at Rocky Mount last Friday, hopefully we can do it again this Friday.” 

Sounds good to us Coach! Go Vipers!

Vance County travels to Orange for Week 3 of the 2024 season Friday, September 6th and you can hear all the action on WIZS 1450AM, 100.1FM, and online at wizs.com with pregame starting at 6:50 p.m. and kickoff thereafter at 7:00 p.m.

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