SportsTalk: Friday Night Football Recap
Scout Hughes and Doc Ayscue recap Vance County High School’s one point win over Rocky Mount
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SportsTalk: Vipers Prepare For Terry Sanford In First Round Of Playoffs
The Vance County Vipers open the playoffs Friday night at home against Terry Sanford High School. The Bulldogs are 6-4 this season while the Vipers are a perfect 10-0 but Vipers Head Coach Aaron Elliott knows that the Bulldogs will be a challenge. “We don’t look at them as a 26 seed. They play in a strong conference,” Elliott said on Thursday’s SportsTalk. The Vipers will have to play strong on defense as the Bulldogs’ quarterback Jaylen Wright has thrown for over 1900 yard and 26 touchdowns this year. The Bulldogs have scored 387 points this year so they know how to get in the end zone.
The Vipers have relied on great running all season long as well as a potent passing attack of their own but Elliott knows where his team’s bread is buttered. “Defense will be the key. I always hear defense wins championships,” Elliot said. His defense has been stellar all season and the Vipers are coming off a 61-6 victory over rival J.F. Webb. Terry Sanford is on a three game winning streak and should prove to be the toughest opponent the Vipers have faced since Southern Durham.
Join WIZS for Vance County Friday Night Football starting with the pregame at 6:50, immediately following the Joy Christian Center broadcast with kickoff at 7pm.
The Local Skinny! Elliott Credits Community Support And Consistency To Vipers’ Success
The Vance County High School football team marched through the 2023-24 season, tackling opponents one after the other and coming out with wins each time. The Vipers hope to build on that 10-0 record later this week in the opening round of the state playoffs.
Head Coach Aaron Elliott said he and his staff have been preaching consistency to the team, and that is paying dividends.
The Vipers host the Terry Sanford Bulldogs Friday night at 7 p.m. and Elliott said he hopes the community will come out to support the local team.
“This year has been a little different than last year,” Elliott said on Monday’s The Local Skinny! Last year, he said, the coaching staff was working to build that culture of consistency to the football program that had been missing.
Elliott played football here and remembers how Northern Vance and Southern Vance fans got behind their teams. “There was a big deal for Friday night” games, he said.
And he’s looking to get that momentum going again.
“Having a 10-win season,” Elliott said, shows that the kids have bought in to what coaches have been saying. Those wins – one by a whopping 76 points – shows that the players are enjoying the process.
Elliott said he and the team appreciate all the community support that businesses, churches and others have shown, whether by providing meals or sending congratulatory emails, phone calls or text messages.
“That’s been real important,” he said.
He said he’s proud of the way the staff has worked to instill that sense of consistency to the players, and it’s what has contributed to their success this season.
“These kids really feed off the community’s energy,” Elliott said.
The 6th-seed Vipers face the Bulldogs in the first round, and Elliott said if they get the W Friday, they’ll stay at home for the next round – and possibly for a third game at home, depending on how the bracket shapes up.
He said the Bulldogs, like the Vipers, have a good quarterback who can run and throw the football. “We’re going to have to play good and not take them lightly,” he said. But they’ve got a good defense, too, and Elliott’s been watching a lot of film to be ready for Friday.
“I feel real confident on what we can do on offense,” he said. “We’ve gotten really good at executing plays on offense.”
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SportsTalk: Vipers Tangle With Warriors For Final Regular Season Game
With the Vance Co. Vipers assured of a playoff spot and at least a share of the conference championship, one could think that the Vipers would be taking it easy in the final regular season finale Friday night against the J.F. Webb Warriors. One could also be wrong. Coming off a dominant performance last week at a rain soaked Carrboro, the Vipers want to finish the regular season at 10-0 and not share the conference championship but win it outright. “We’ve had a good week of practice,” head coach Aaron Elliott said on Thursday’s SportsTalk. That may be a bit of “coach speak” that one expects but Coach Elliott isn’t letting the Vipers relax. “We needed to clean some things up on defense,” Elliott said referring to how Carrboro was able to use a short passing game to move the ball. Win or lose, the Vipers are in the playoffs. “We won’t know who we are playing until lunchtime on Saturday,” Elliott stated. The Vipers can’t look past an improved J.F. Webb team though. “They are disciplined, it’s Senior night and it’s a rivalry,” said Elliott.
J.F. Webb Head Coach Keionte Gainey echoes Elliott’s feelings about the rivalry. He knows, even in his first year at Webb, that the rivalry is important. Gainey only has a handful of seniors on his team and has, much like Coach Elliot has done at Vance County, turned the J.F. Webb program around. Webb is 5-4 this season. “It’s the most wins we’ve had since 2010,” Gainey said on Sports Talk Thursday. While that is impressive, what may be more impressive is that his players have increased their GPA from 1.9 to 3.0. He credits the team’s improvements both on and off the field to players, teachers, administration and community buying into his program.
Expect a packed house Friday night at J.F. Webb High School in Oxford. WIZS’ live coverage will begin around 6:50 p.m. immediately following the Joy Christian Center broadcast with Bill Harris and Doc Ayscue on Vance County Friday Night Football.
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SportsTalk: Elliott Prepares Vipers For Homecoming Game Against Louisburg
The Vance County Vipers got the proverbial monkey off their backs with a thrilling 14-12 victory of Southern Durham last week at Viper Stadium. “Our kids, they were focused all week. They came in and did what they were supposed to do,” Coach Aaron Elliott said on Thursday’s SportsTalk.
Southern Durham beat the Vipers twice last year but with last week’s win the Vipers are now 5-0 and ranked 29th in the state. The Vipers will put that unblemished record on the line this Friday night as they take on the Louisburg Warriors in another important conference game. Coach Elliott was with the Warriors for many years before coming to Vance County but doesn’t see the familiarity between him and Louisburg coach Dante Lassister having much impact on the game. “It will cancel each other out. They run the same offense as we do and the same defense as we do. There might be a few wrinkles,” Elliott said.
The weather could be a factor tomorrow night but Elliott said that they are prepared to go ahead with the game and festivities of Homecoming. “The game starts at 7pm and fireworks will happen after the game. A lot has gone into this to get it ready,” Elliott said.
Join Bill Harris and Doc Ayscue for live coverage of the game between Vance County and Louisburg starting immediately following the Joy Christian Center broadcast around 6:50pm here on WIZS on Vance County Friday Night Football.
Vance County Friday Night Football
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SportsTalk: Elliott Focuses On Eliminating Viper Mistakes
It’s hot. The temperatures have forced the Vance Co. Vipers to practice in the gym most of this week as they prepare to face Northern Durham Friday night at Durham County Stadium. “It changes practice a lot,” said Vipers Head Coach Aaron Elliott on Thursday’s SportsTalk.
The Vipers are coming off a 28-19 win over Orange in a game that could be best described as ugly. The Vipers gave up 205 yards on 20 penalties in the win, something they can’t afford to do against Northern Durham. “It’s undisciplined for our team. We weren’t real proud of it. We need minimal mistakes and I know we can do it,” Elliott commented.
Northern Durham comes into this week’s game with an 0-3 record, but Elliott has cautioned his players about taking them lightly. Northern Durham has had a very strong schedule which included Charlotte Christian. “They have athletes on both sides of the ball and on film, they are a pretty good football team,” Elliott said. The Vipers are pretty good too. They are currently undefeated but are now getting into the heart of the season as they face perineal conference champions Southern Durham in two weeks, and Elliott says it’s hard not to look over Northern Durham when Southern Durham is on the horizon.
Despite the win against Orange, the Vipers dropped ten places in this week’s MaxPreps poll. “Good teams beat bad teams badly,” Elliott said. The Vipers were favored to win by forty but the close victory caused the Vipers to fall in the poll this week. A solid win against Northern Durham will help reverse that trend.
Join Bill Harris and Doc Ayscue around 6:50pm just after the Joy Christian Center broadcast for live coverage of the Vipers/Northern Durham game here on WIZS Radio on Vance Co. Friday Night Football.
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SportsTalk: Vipers Look For Third Win Of The Season Against Orange
Last Friday night the Vance County Vipers dismantled Roanoke Rapids 52-14. “I was surprised that Roanoke Rapids was not as competitive,” Vipers Head Coach Aaron Elliott said on Thursday’s SportsTalk. The Vipers eliminated many of the penalties that plagued the team in a win over Warren County in week one. That, along with a six touchdown performance from quarterback Javion Vines-Holder helped shut down Roanoke Rapids. “He is slowly getting better. He only lacks confidence,” Elliott said of his young quarterback.
With five touchdown passes and another on the ground Vines-Holder is a threat to run or pass. “We built our offense around a true running quarterback,” Coach Elliott added. “It opens up opportunities,” stated Elliott.
The Vipers will be looking for those opportunities as they take on Orange this Friday night at Viper Stadium. Orange is 1-1 on the year and is a team full of athletes Elliott said of this week’s opponent. Orange will throw a 3-3 Stack defense against the potent Viper offense and that is a style of defense the Vipers have not faced. “We’ve worked all week on how to block it and how to read it,” Elliott said.
The Vipers can move to 3-0 on the season with a win Friday night. Join Bill Harris and Doc Ayscue for the live play by play beginning immediately following the Joy Christian Center broadcast at 6:50pm here on WIZS for Vance County Friday Night Football.
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SportsTalk: Vance County High School Kicks Off Season Friday Night
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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.
Vance Co. Vipers Kick off Season August 18th
It’s not far off. August 18th will see the return of high school football as the Vance County Vipers open their season at home against long time rival Warren County. Head Coach Aaron Elliott made impressive strides last season in his first year at the helm of the Viper’s program taking Vance Co. into the playoffs and he’s preparing for an even bigger year this season. The team has emphasized weight training in the off season and brought in a new defensive coordinator. All is looking good on paper for the Vipers but the real test is when they hit the field against some strong competition this season.
After facing Warren County, the Vipers have several games against some very strong opponents including Louisburg, Northern Durham and perennial conference favorite Southern Durham.
You can follow the Vipers all season long here on WIZS on Vance County Friday Night Football as John Rose, David “Doc” Ayscue and Bill Harris bring you all of the action of every game all season long live. Join us on Friday, August 18th at 6:50 for the season opener from Vance Co. Stadium as the Vipers take on those Eagles from Warren County.