— by Jeff Jenkins
Southern Vance begins conference play at home tonight (Friday) against Bunn, a team that has been in the running for Northern Carolina conference champions every year since at least 2004, and is on a 12-game Northern Carolina 2-A win streak stretching back to Halloween, 2014. In 2015 the Wildcats were Eastern 2A champions and lost the state 2A Championship to unbeaten Monroe, ending the year with a 13-3 record, and a 48-point per game scoring average. Last year they were nearly as good, especially on defense, allowing only 17 points per game, including the playoffs, where they were upset in the 2nd round to end former Coach David Howle’s 34-year career at Bunn.
Everyone should expect some changes and challenges for the Wildcats this year under new head coach David Weathersby, a former assistant under Howle who is known for bringing Bartlett-Yancey from a can’t-win program to respectability and the playoffs in 2 short seasons. But the Bunn faithful were probably not prepared for the 1-2 start the Wildcats have had this season. While it is not uncommon for Bunn to lose a nonconference game – coach Howle always gave his team some tough tests to start each season – two unusual things have already happened. First, Bunn won its season opener to North Lenoir by only one point 31-30, and historically, Bunn rarely loses a close game. next, the Wildcats lost to Franklinton, their cross-county former conference rival 32-22, the first loss for Bunn in that rivalry since 2011. And finally, Bunn suffered a 55-7 pasting from 3A Southern Nash last Friday night. The Wildcats have always had trouble with Southern Nash, with almost no wins over the 3A program in the past decade, but the last time the Wildcats were beaten that badly was a 66-6 playoff defeat by Reidsville. in 2009.
Southern Vance and Bunn traded 1st and 2nd place finishes in the Northern Carolina 2A every year from 2004 to 2007, but the Raiders have not won a match-up with the Wildcats since 2007. But with Bunn’s struggles in nonconference match-ups this season, history could change tonight: Going into the conference opener against Southern Vance, the mighty Bunn Wildcats are 1-2, the same as the Raiders; they have averaged scoring just under 20 points per game (against the Raiders’ 26 per game), and have allowed over 38 points per game (to 28 allowed by SV). For the first time in recent memory, then, Southern Vance has an advantage over Bunn on paper going into tonight’s game. Furthermore, the two teams faced similar quality opponents in the past 3 weeks, and the Raiders can claim more momentum than the ‘Cats, since Southern scored 36 points in 14-point loss last week while Bunn score one TD in a 48-point thrashing.
Bunn is continuing its tradition as a run-oriented offices, but the team was decimated by graduation, Coach Weathersby does not have last year’s top three runners, two of whom scored 18 TDs apiece, or last year’s starting QB. Bunn is averaging 175 yards per game rushing so far, and only 43 yards passing, as Soph QB C. Collier settles into his role. The leading runner so far is Sr. D Moses, who only ran for 217 total yards last season, and has 54 yards per game this year. Moses is followed by fellow Sr. T Davis with 36 yards and Soph J Rogers with 37 per outing. Rogers, who rushed for 100 yards in his only varsity game last year, has scored 2 of the Cat’s 5 rushing TDs.
