The 2026 season marks the fifth year for Vance County Vipers Head Football Coach Aaron Elliott. Local sports analyst Doc Ayscue joined WIZS’s Scout Hughes on TownTalk Tuesday to talk X’s and O’s for the Vipers, beginning Year 2 in the newly formed Northern Six 6A/7A athletic conference.
Noting Elliott’s 28-16 overall record as Vipers head coach, Ayscue said having a good coach who is consistent year to year has a stabilizing effect on players and coaching staff. “From year to year, kids know what to expect,” he said. “I’m glad he’s chosen to hang around here.”
Professor Campbell returns to the Vipers sidelines as defensive coordinator and Lloyd Watkins is an assistant coach and also is serving as interim AD.
Watkins, a Vance County native, played at Norfolk State and has worked in local law enforcement for years. “He’s done a tremendous job,” Hughes said
The Vipers head to Raleigh on Friday for a scrimmage with Sanderson High School before the season cranks up in earnest.
Elliott and his staff are working with nine seniors on this season’s roster as opposed to almost twice that many on last year’s team, which recorded a 2-9 season and lost in the first round of post-season play.
A definite bright spot on this year’s team is Harry Cheek, who earned praise from Elliott for a solid performance last Friday during the annual Jamboree event.
Ayscue recalled that Cheek had been a “tremendous defensive player” last year, and proved to be a force to be reckoned with when the coaches tried him as part of the Vipers’ rushing game.
This year’s quarterback slot is being filled by junior Ayden Trowbridge.
He saw some action at the varsity level last year, which Ayscue said was a confidence builder for this season.
“He seemed to be very in control, confident” in last week’s pre-season matchup, “where he was going when he was throwing the ball – very accurate.”
Trowbridge has multiple wideouts to catch those passes, including Jerimi Strong, Jahmir Johnson and Talik Perry.
Ayscue said the offensive line did “a great job protecting Trowbridge whenever it was a pass situation” in last week’s Jamboree performance. “He didn’t ever seem real hurried, too pressured,” Ayscue said. He had several deep throws that he had time to do,” he added.
On the defensive side of the ball, four-year starter Montrell Ragland returns, as does Jalen Maze, who was sidelined for a good part of the season with an injury.
“He’s back, he’s healthy,” Hughes said, noting that Mayes, despite his limited play because of that collarbone injury, managed a whopping 37 tackles.
Ayscue said he expects the defense to clear up some confusion about assignments and should be good to go once that happens.
Here’s a brief look at the Vipers’ opponents, beginning with the County Line Clash on Aug. 28:
- Aug. 21: At Warren County
The Eagles shut out the Vipers two years ago 18-0, but the Vipers struck last year, narrowly defeating the Eagles with a 13-12 final score. Expect a tough environment as the Vipers head to Warren County for the County Line Clash.
- Aug. 28: South Granville
The Vikings from Creedmoor come to Vance County on Military/First Responders Night and the team may be in a little bit of an adjustment period with new Coach Sterling Johnson on the sidelines. The Vipers lost last year’s game 33-6.
- Sept. 3 (Thursday): At Jordan, Durham
The game will be played a day early leading up to the long Labor Day holiday weekend. Jordan had a great team last year, but lost a bunch of seniors. Vance County has an overall 15-9-1 record against the Eagles, and hopefully this game will be more competitive than last year’s.
- Sept. 11: At Rocky Mount
The Vipers visit Rocky Mount to try to avenge a 42-14 loss to the Griffons, who went 9-4 for the season, but lost a couple of dozen seniors from last year’s squad. Vance County eked out a one-point victory two years ago, and they’re looking for another victory against Rocky Mount.
- Sept. 18: Northeastern
This year, it’s Northeastern making the long road trip from Elizabeth City to play the Vipers in a nonconference game that is part of the Communities in Schools program. The Vipers got beat 40-8 last year and will need to step up the defense to try to contain QB Zak Ishman, who threw his way into the record books with 3,233 passing yards and 36 touchdowns.
- Sept. 25: BYE week
- Oct. 2: Wake Forest
The Cougars come to Vance County on Breast Cancer Awareness Night. Then-junior rushing standout Micah Olu proved to be too much for the Vipers last year, so the defense will have to look for a way to shut him down to avoid another lopsided outcome.
- Oct. 9: Knightdale
The Knights come to town for Homecoming, and the Vipers are looking for a more evenly matched contest this year. The Knights went 3-7 last year, but 14 seniors aren’t returning from last year’s team. The Vipers couldn’t really get good stops in last year’s game – they held their own during the first half, but the second half got away from them, Ayscue said.
- Oct. 16: At Heritage
The Vipers head to Wake Forest to face Heritage High School. Last year’s matchup was a coming-out party for Harry Cheek, Hughes said. The Vipers came close to a win last year, and they’ll be looking for an opportunity to build on that in this year’s game.
- Oct. 23: East Wake
It’s Senior Night and the Vipers will have a chance to show their appreciation for the team’s nine seniors as they try to avenge last year’s 48-19 loss to East Wake.
- Oct. 30: At Franklinton
The final game of the regular season has the Vipers at conference rival Franklinton High School. The Red Rams went 8-4 last season, losing in the second round of the playoffs. They have 18 seniors on this year’s team, so there’s likely to be a lot of experience on the field.
“This is going to be a really tough game every single year,” Ayscue said. “In order to beat these guys, we’re going to have to be on top of the game.”
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