Tag Archive for: #VanceCountyHighSchool

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

Vance County Vipers Football Jamboree Moved to Wednesday, Aug. 14

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The Vance County High School football Jamboree has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 14 at 6 p.m., but Head Coach Aaron Elliott is trying to look on the bright side and make the best of the situation, brought on by the approaching Tropical Storm Debby and forecasts of heavy rains.

In the “plus” category, Elliott said it will allow players to get in a few extra days of practice before that first scrimmage. The team has had just one day of contact practice, so a few additional days will be good.

Another positive is that the game field is in good shape. With recent rains, Elliott said “It’s all been Mother Nature – we’ve got the game field looking real good.” The field drains really well, he said, although Tropical Storm Debby’s contribution may result in some sideline ponding situations. A few extra days after the storm moves past should be enough time for sufficient drying.

In the “minus” category, however, is the number of teams available to attend the Jamboree. Franklinton and Wakefield had been on the list, but once the event was rescheduled, they had to drop out because they have other scrimmages going on that day.

Bunn is still in the mix, however, and Elliott said he’s in talks with a couple of other schools to see if they can participate to bring the total field to between 4 and 5 teams.

As far as a scouting report of the Vipers thus far, Elliott said his guys are doing a good job with the X’s and O’s but need to button down a bit with regard to being more disciplined on the field. Not the type of discipline that goes along with bad behavior, but the discipline that comes with knowing your job, remembering routes and not jumping offsides.

Cleaning up those little things will mean a lot as the Aug. 23 season opener approaches.

Be sure to listen to WIZS all season long for Vance County Friday Night Football and for coach interviews on Thursday SportsTalk programs at 12:30 p.m.

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Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Elliott Readies Vipers For Practice

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Where will you be at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, July 31? If you want to play JV or varsity football in a Vance County High School Vipers uniform, the correct answer is: at football practice.

Head Coach Aaron Elliott said high schools can officially start practice on July 31 and the players are looking forward to the late-night tradition that Elliott began his first year as coach.

“This is the third year,” Elliott said on Thursday’s SportsTalk with Bill Harris and George Hoyle. The players “absolutely love it and look forward to it – we’re gonna keep it going.”

The workouts and practices they’ve had over the summer have been well attended, , but they’re not mandatory, so Elliott said the Tuesday night/Wednesday morning session will get things started in earnest. He figures he’s talked with 85 or so young people who want to play this season.

He’s especially pleased about the number of younger players – “that’s going tohelp the JV team out,” he said.

There’s one incoming freshman, however, who has probably already got a spot on the varsity squad, Elliott noted. He said he got the chance to catch a Vance County Middle School game and witnessed a particular player score touchdowns three different ways – on a kickoff return playing special teams, intercepting a pass on defense and scampering across the goal line for six on offense.

Making a mental note to keep an eye on this young man, Elliott said he had the chance to speak with him and about being a part of the program. “He’s been with us all summer – hasn’t missed a practice,” Elliott said. Chances are, he’ll be starting on defense when the season opens.

Elliott said he’s talked with other coaches and they’re experiencing an uptick in interest in high sports, which is encouraging.
“As much as we want to put COVID in the past, it’s still affecting high school sports,” he said. The football team graduated 10 players last year; that number is set to rise to 14 this year and if the trend continues, next year’s team will have 29 graduate. For Elliott, those numbers have a direct correlation to decreased numbers during the COVID pandemic.

The Wednesday practice will last about an hour and 45 minutes, Elliott said and then they’ll have a more normal practice time on Thursday at 5 p.m.

There’s a Jamboree on Aug. 9, and another exhibition-style game on Aug. 17 before the season opener away again Warren County High School on Aug. 23.

 

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Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Alston Signs With South Carolina

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Taeshawn Alston has one more season to suit up in the green and white uniform as a Vance County Viper before he trades those colors for the garnet and black of the University of South Carolina.

As of Tuesday, Alston has committed to play football for the SEC school located in Columbia, SC.

Alston and Vipers Coach Aaron Elliott were on Sports Talk Wednesday to talk about the recruiting process and what led to Alston’s decision to become a Gamecock.

“Coach Beamer is amazing,” Alston said, referring to Head Coach Shane Beamer, son of legendary Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer, adding that it “felt like home, then and there,” when he paid a visit to the school. “It just clicked with me.”

He’d been on their radar since April 2023, and Alston said he liked everything about the coaching staff – how they treat the players and how, in turn, the players treated recruits like him who were visiting.

And then there’s the “Game Day atmosphere,” he said, surrounding the famed Williams-Brice Stadium, home of the Gamecocks.

Being the focus of coaches’ attention during the recruiting process was fun, Alston said. “It was good, (but) sometimes it was stressful.” He named UNC-CH, Virginia Tech and Rutgers as other schools that were interested in what he could bring to their programs.

As a coach, Elliott said he encouraged Alston to “find a place that best fits him – a place that’s going to show him love, that wants him to be there…and wants him to grow as a player.”

When schools contact Elliott about his players, it’s always “measurables” that they want to know about: How fast can he run? How tall is he? How does he move? What are his grades like?

“Taeshawn checks all those boxes,” Elliott said. “It was easy for me to talk to coaches about Taeshawn,” he explained, which shows “he’s doing what he needs to be doing on the field and in the classroom.”

When Alston takes the field this fall for his final season as a Viper, he’ll be playing linebacker and EDGE. He likes both positions, so he’s happy to go in any direction his coaches decide.

The coaching staff at USC has said they’d like for him to get a little bigger, something that Alston has taken to heart. For the record, he’s listed now at 6-foot-4 and about 230 pounds.

Alston has a good idea about what USC will give him – a chance to play against top-level opponents in the SEC and a quality education. But what are the Gamecocks getting from him?

“They’re getting a great athlete, a great academic student,” Alston said. “I feel like they’re getting a monster, on the field and in the classroom.”

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Vance County High School

SportsTalk: It’s Football Season

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It might be a strange think to say a week before June but it’s football season!  At least at Vance County High School.  Head football coach Aaron Elliott was a guest on Thursday’s SportsTalk to explain why football is happening.

“Our spring game was last Friday,” Elliott said.  After practicing for ten straight days the Vipers took the field in an offense versus defense match up that saw the game end with the very baseball like score of 5-0.  “What I took away from the game was competitiveness,”  Elliott said.

The team now prepares for summer workouts and a trip to the FCA football camp at NC Wesleyan in Rocky Mount.  At $185 per player, it was expensive but Coach Elliott had help.  “Clearview Church helped out tremendously by paying for the entire camp,” Elliott said.

While the boys are preparing for next fall, the girls are taking the field tonight against Southern Durham for the first ever girl’s flag football team.  “We have lots of female athletes who can get it done,” Elliott said of the lady Vipers.  Next week the Vipers will take on Louisburg.   Elliott thinks by next season the sport will be fully sanctioned and they will have a full season.

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Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Building A Culture Of Winning At Vance Co. High School

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Vance County High School Athletic Director Philip Weil has been on the job for less than a year but he is working to change the culture at the high school.  Weil and Head Football Coach Aaron Elliott were guests on Tuesday’s SportsTalk. Weil, who came from Las Vegas, Nevada, said he had goals for his first year.  “I wanted to bring new ideas and new projects to the school.  We still have more to accomplish,” Weil said.  Part of what he is attempting to do is build a culture of winning. “It takes a commitment to excellence to build a winning program,” Weil said.

Where does that start?  “It all starts with Coach Aaron Elliott,” Weil added.  Coach Elliot’s Viper squad won the conference championship last season and has the program on solid footing.  That winning culture has already filtered down form Elliott to the women’s basketball and softball teams as they have found success on the court and the field this season.

Weil also said that women’s flag football, coached by Elliott, will begin this May. “It’s probably going to be the next sanctioned sport,” Coach Elliott added.  Sixty-five young women are ready to hit the field for tryouts with the first game scheduled for May 23rd against Southern Durham.  The flag football program is a collaboration between Durham County Schools and the Carolina Panthers.  Durham County reached out to Vance County to become involved in the league.  The 7 on 7 league will likely play four to five games this year with a full season expected in January of 2025.

Elliott is also busy with his usual duties as he prepares the Vipers for the spring football game on Friday, May 3rd at 8pm at Viper Stadium.

When Weil was asked where he sees Vance County High School athletics in five years, he had two word answer: “State titles.”

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Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Vipers Prepare For Spring Football

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It may be the season for baseball, softball and other spring sports but Vance Co. High School Head Football Coach Aaron Elliott is ready to hit the field.  Coach Elliott was a guest on Thursday’s SportsTalk to discuss this year’s Spring football game. “It will be at 8pm on Friday, May 3rd at the high school,” Elliott said.  “The state allows us to practice for ten days during the Spring and we will finish with our offense playing our defense during the game,”  Elliott added. Coach Elliott expects between 50 and 60 kids to participate.

The Vipers lost all of last year’s receivers to graduation and will be looking at replacements during the game.  Additionally, defensive backs will also be evaluated during the Spring practices and game Elliott said.

The Vipers won their conference championship last season and that success has resulted in an invitation to the High School OT Kickoff Scrimmage in Wake Forest on Saturday, August 17th at 6pm where they will play Jordan High School.  The week before, on August 8th, the Vipers host their annual Jamboree at Vance Co. High School.

The season kicks off August 23rd with a visit to rival Warren County.

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Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Elliott Reflects On Vipers Season

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Vance County Vipers Head Football Coach Aaron Elliot summed up the school’s loss to Terry Sanford in the first round of the state high school playoffs with three words “Too many mistakes,” he said on Thursday’s SportsTalk.  The 34-27 loss followed an undefeated regular season for Vance County.  “We knew they were a good team.  Certainly not a 26th ranked team,” Elliott commented.  After the loss Elliott gave his team one week off but now they are back to work preparing for next season.  The Vipers have already headed back to the weight room.

The Vipers will lose 10 seniors from this year’s team when the hit the gridiron late next August but Elliott sees a bright future for the Vipers.  “Our team will work personnel.  We will put kids in the right place to be successful,” Elliott said.  He says he expects the conference to improve next year.  Louisburg went to the second round of the playoff, J.F. Webb had their best season in years and there’s always Southern Durham to contend with.

While naturally disappointed that the Vipers lost he continues to look favorably on this past season and should have another great year in 2024.

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Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Vipers Prepare For Terry Sanford In First Round Of Playoffs

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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.