2019 Football Preview by The Farmville Herald

Walter Edwards

Buckingham Knights

2 0 1 9

T’zion Wilkerson

Central Lunenburg Chargers

Vincent Harris Jr. Cumberland Dukes

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Sean Bradley Jr. Fuqua Falcons

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Heralding quiet difference-makers BY TITUS MOHLER

here are some football players that you can count on hearing about almost every week as they pile up high-profile achievements in the effort to bring their teams victories, but there are other team members that also play key roles that may not occupy the limelight as much but deserve recognition nonetheless. As has been the case for the last couple of years, this space is dedicated to highlighting unsung heroes from each of the seven high school varsity football teams in our coverage areas, as selected by their head coaches.

BUCKINGHAM Buckingham County High School Head Coach Seth Wilkerson highlighted cornerback and wide receiver Xavian Gough as an unsung hero for the Knights. “Xavian Gough started for us at corner last year as a sophomore,” the coach said. “He’ll be a junior this year. Really, Xavian since January, Gough

I’ve had him in the weight room, and he worked hard this whole offseason.” In pinpointing the unique, individual contribution he is able to bring to Buckingham, Gough said he thinks he brings intensity out of his teammates. “I make everybody want to compete, just get better as a unit,” he said. He explained that he does this by establishing an example and a tone with his on-field play. “I wouldn’t consider myself a vocal leader,” he said. “It’s just what I do (that leads). I’ll go out there and make a big play, just get everybody hyped up.” In terms of his personal goals for this season, he said, “I want to make first team all-district and on defense.”

CENTRAL LUNENBURG Central Lunenburg High School Head Coach Will Thomas tabbed senior quarterback and safety Ben Anthony as the Chargers’ unsung hero this year. The coach described Anthony as “just a good kid, just a tough kid. He never whines and complains. Ben He does what Anthony

he’s supposed to do, and he’s a leader, but he’s not a ‘rah rah’ guy.” Thomas praised Anthony’s reliability come football season. “He worked all summer, didn’t make it to the weight room, so I wasn’t happy, and I hadn’t really talked to him, but he shows up on day one, and he’s ready to go, don’t miss a beat,” the coach said. “And he comes to practice every day.” Anthony, a varsity veteran, said his unique contribution to the team may be helping guide young players through the playbook. He noted his individual goals this season are to “maybe throw a couple more passes and get more touchdowns with passes and get a couple tackles.”

CUMBERLAND Cumberland County High School Head Coach Howard Paras also chose to highlight a quarterback on his team. He described senior quarterback, wideout and defensive back Jordan Newman as steady. Newman has been part of Cumberland’s footJordan ball program Newman

since seventh grade. “He’s like the glue,” the coach said. “He keeps things going well … He’s not a guy that’s going to put up a ton of stats, so he’s not that guy you’re going to be putting in the paper every week, but he’s an important part of the team, a very important part of the team.” Newman described himself as “somebody who has very little mistakes, somebody who may not be the most outspoken person who tells everybody to tighten up, but somebody who can get on somebody if they need to be better or if they need to correct their mistake. Somebody (who’s) just an allaround very well-behaved person.” He said his individual goals are to throw 10 or more touchdowns and run for two or three more.

FUQUA Fuqua School Head Coach Ben Manis put a spotlight on senior offensive and defensive lineman Colby Barton. “He brings an intelligence to the team,” the coach said. “(The) kid’s a smart kid. He plays very smart. He’s not big, he plays quick, but he’s always thinking about how to make things go better for everybody, Colby and he can Barton

4 kind of help guide the young guys on their responsibilities up front on the offensive line, and Colby can play all three positions. Last year, he started out at center for us, and he moved to guard. He’s played a little bit of tackle, and he plays well at defensive tackle. (He’s) really a smart, savvy player.” Barton pointed to his experience — in football, overall, and at Fuqua — as being what enables him to make key contributions. “I’ve just been here a while,” he said. “I know 99 percent of the plays. I can kind of teach the line.” He said his goals for 2019 are to “go back to states and win.”

KENSTON FOREST Kenston Forest School junior offensive guard, defensive end and linebacker Lucas Malay-Olano drew the nod from Head Coach Joseph Kaiser as an unsung hero for the Kavaliers, who enter their second year playing eight-man football. “I think he brings some intensity to

the field,” Kaiser said. “He’s very focused and very coachable, so it’s someone that represents the team well but also gets guys focused, keeps them in check Lucas during the Malay-Olano game, maybe when we get in a situation that’s not going our way.” Eight-man football brings with it both greater ease in some line situations but also more difficulty in others. Speaking to what he can bring to his team on the lines, Malay-Olano said, “On defense, I believe that I can contain well and at least get to the quarterback, and on offense, I would love to protect our players.” As for overall goals this season, “I would like for us to win more games

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than we did last year, hopefully a state championship, and to drive the team forward as a family,” he said.

He said that this season, he would like to record “two touchdowns a game, 2,000 yards for the season.”

PRINCE EDWARD

RANDOLPH-HENRY

Prince Edward County High School Head Coach Larry White highlighted junior running back and safety Saybien Peterson. “He’s more of a quiet guy, and what I said about him (is) he looks small but he runs with power,” White said. “... He does everything I ask. So, he’s that silent assassin. Don’t sleep on him, because if he pops one, I think he’s going to take it to the house.” White coached Peterson in middle school and noted that he is a hard worker, preparing himself for the Saybien 2019 season Peterson by applying himself in the weight room during the offseason. Identifying his unique contribution to his team, Peterson said, “I feel like I can help the Eagles bring ... better organization, be better as a team and just be a family.” While he is a quiet player, his personal goals for the year, if fulfilled, would launch him into the limelight in a big way.

Randolph-Henry High School Head Coach Zach Orlando took this opportunity to showcase junior Tyshaundre Walton. “He’ll start at safety and wing back for us this year again, but the reason I picked him is he has no quit in him,” Orlando said. “He will go against anybody in any drill, giving up a hundred pounds or more at times, and he just doesn’t care, and he’s going to go full speed. And at the same point, he plays two positions in high school football where as a wing back, he doesn’t get a ton of carries. ... Tyshaundre And on defense, Walton he’s a safety, and if teams aren’t passing the ball that much, he doesn’t have that much opportunities to get his name in the paper. He did lead us with interceptions last year — he had six.” Walton said, “I’m just here to help out, be a leader — that’s what I feel like I can be.” He said this year he would like to at least run for 1,000 yards, grab six more interceptions and record a number of tackles too.

The Knights are hungry for more BY TITUS MOHLER

BUCKINGHAM

uckingham County High School’s varsity football team earned a taste of success last year that trended in the direction of Knights achievements experienced under the late Head Coach Craig Gill from 2009-15 — and the 2019 squad is hungry for more of that success. Seth Wilkerson was Gill’s defensive coordinator during that streak of seven straight winning seasons that each ended with a playoff run. The Knights experienced non-playoff Seth seasons in Wilkerson

2016 and 2017 with records no better than .500. Wilkerson became the head coach in 2018 and helped Buckingham start a new streak as the Knights finished 6-5 overall, including a trip to the playoffs. Because of the success of last year’s team and the presence of many key returners on Buckingham’s roster, anticipation is high for the Knights’ 2019 campaign. Wilkerson said during the preseason that the 2019 varsity team featured about 25 players. “Our main thing right now is staying healthy and waiting for some of these other guys to step up, which I think they will, some of the younger group,” Wilkerson said. “Depth is a little bit of a concern, but I think we’ve got a good group coming back and just have high expectations right now.” He said the Buckingham junior

varsity (JV) team also included about 25 players, and some of them will pull double duty. “We will have some guys coming up helping us on (varsity) game nights from JV,” Wilkerson said. There are key seniors on the varsity Knights roster, but the coach also noted he has quite a few juniors this year. “We’ve got a lot of juniors coming that played last year,” he said. “The senior group has been playing for five years, and I think they’ll do a good job leading by example.” Wilkerson elaborated on the high expectations he and his players have for the team in 2019. “We’ve talked about it since January when we started getting ready for the season,” he said. “(We’re) just looking forward to doing better than what we did last year. Last year, we were working towards a winning record and making it into the playoffs, and we want

5 to get into the playoffs and go further this year.” Last year, seventh-seeded Buckingham fell in the first round of the Region 2C playoffs to No. 2 Glenvar High School. With the group he has this year, Wilkerson clearly said the high expectations are possible to meet. “Everything has got to fall right, and we’ve got to Cole keep everyEdmondston body healthy, but like I said, we have guys returning from last year,” he said. “Some of them, this is their third or fourth year on varsity, so we’re expecting good things from them.” Among those players Wilkerson expects to lead the team is senior offensive and defensive lineman Cole Edmondston, who made the 2018

6 All-James River District first team as both an offensive lineman and defensive end. Edmondston provided a player perspective on 2019 expectations. “Out of this season I expect nothing but the best out of all of us because I think that coming off of last year, we ended on 6-5, but I feel that this year we can do better, and we can capitalize on that,” he said. “So this year, we’re running for the district, we’re trying to get that, so that’s what I expect out of that.” He also offered insight into what it means to be fresh off such a good year, in general and as a senior. “Coming off of 6-5 totally amps us up,” he said. “It amps us all up, and with it being my senior year, it just brings it to another level for me. And especially with our senior class, we have a lot of talent on our senior class, and I feel that that energy from last year definitely rolls over to this year.” Wilkerson next highlighted senior

running back and linebacker Walter second team as an all-purpose offenEdwards, who made the 2018 all-dissive player. trict first team as both a running back Continuing his list of standouts, and all-purpose Wilkerson cited defensive player. junior quarterHe also made the back and line2018 All-Region backer Gerry 2C second team Toney, senior as a running strong safety 8/30 Appomattox (H) 7 p.m. back. and wide re9/6 bye The coach also ceiver Nathan 9/13 Goochland (H) 7 p.m. expressed confiBrickhill and 9/20 Central Lunenburg (H) 7 p.m. dence in Xavier senior offensive 9/27 Bluestone 7 p.m. Copeland. and defensive 10/4 Northumberland 7 p.m. “He had a good lineman Garrett year last year as Hafley. Brickhill 10/11 Cumberland 7 p.m. a sophomore,” and Hafley made 10/18 Randolph-Henry (H) 7 p.m. Wilkerson said. the 2018 all10/25 Amelia 7 p.m. Of the 35 playdistrict second 11/1 Prince Edward (H) 7 p.m. ers to make the team at defensive 11/8 Nottoway 7 p.m. all-district first back and center,

Varsity Knights 2019 Schedule

team, Copeland respectively. “H” denotes a Buckingham home game. was the only one Of Hafley, Wilkyounger than a erson said, “He’s junior to make the cut. He was named really improved and gotten stronger.” as a defensive back, and he made the Describing the 2019 Knights’ offensive style, the coach said, “Like most high school teams, (we’re) always running, but we would like to be more balanced this year. I think we’ve got several pretty good receivers.” He said those receivers include Copeland, Brickhill, junior Xavian Gough, senior Gabe Rumsey and freshman K.J. Williams. Switching his focus to defense, Wilkerson put a spotlight on several aforementioned players who will be vital on that side of the ball. “Walter Edwards is back at mike,

middle linebacker,” he said. “We’ve got Mekkha Carmon, he’s coming back. He started last year as a sophomore for us at linebacker. Cole Edmondston, defensive end. We’ve got Xavier Copeland back at corner. We’ve got a decent group back.” The key returners should help anchor a defense that will miss graduated first-team all-district linebacker Quantarius Stanton. The Knights will have the comfort of home-field advantage in their first three games of the season, but their opponents appear formidable. “First game off the bat is going to be Appomattox, and we have Goochland after them and Lunenburg after them, so it starts off with a bang there,” Wilkerson said. “We’ve got a tough schedule, but we do that for a reason. You’ve got to play the best to be the best.” A new opponent on the schedule appears Oct. 4 in the form of Northumberland High School, which will play host. “I believe they were 11-3 last year, a Single A school down there near the beach,” Wilkerson said, later noting he has not faced them before. “... We picked them up because they were a good team, and it fell right on the schedule, but I don’t know much about them yet.” The Knights open the season Friday, Aug. 30, at 7 p.m. against visiting Appomattox County High School in a game that has been nicknamed “The Battle of the Axe.”

LIFETOUCH

The 2019 Buckingham County High School varsity football team includes, from left, (front row) Xavier Copeland, Gabriel Rumsey, Xavian Gough, Cameron Taylor, Gerry Toney, Kenneth Williams, Brayden Edwards, Nathan Brickhill, Walter Edwards; (second row) Dameon Pillois, Demetruis Davis, Martrell Glover, Daniel Stanton, Wesley Snoddy, Dalante Woodson, Mekkha Carmon, Cole Edmondston, Alex Morris; (third row) Brandon Milliner, Dontrell Gough, Andrew Dragovich, Allen-Michael Branzelle, Davion Jackson, Jack Hafley, Demonte Glover, Garrett Hafley, Samir Caster; (back row) Assistant Coach Micah Haines, Assistant Coach Trey Lawson, Head Coach Seth Wilkerson, Assistant Coach Mike Edwards, Assistant Coach Taylor Boyers and Assistant Coach Richard Cropp.

‘A little bit further along’ BY TITUS MOHLER

CENTRAL LUNENBURG

entral Lunenburg High School’s varsity team is coming off a winning 2018 season that impressed Chargers coaches. The squad is similar this year with a bit more development, but coaches are excited by the overall growth of the program and what that means moving forward. “Our numbers are really good this year,” Central Varsity Football Head Coach Will Thomas said. “I think we’ve got over 60 kids, talking (junior Will varsity) JV and Thomas

varsity. Last year, we were bare bones. It was tough. JV I think had 16, 17 kids. (Varsity) probably had 20, 21, and of that 21, there were four or five of them that never played football before.” This year, the varsity team features 27 to 28 players, and they largely have previous football experience. Thomas noted he has a good group of seniors this year. The group includes Kawontaé Ragsdale, Khalil Wood and T’zion Wilkerson. “They’ve played three years for us, so we pulled them up as sophomores,” the coach said. “... They’re good kids. From their sophomore year to their junior year, we improved. They improved, individually, and then it would be nice if they could take another jump.” Last season, the Chargers started the year 0-3, “and two of those games, they

beat the crap out (of us),” Thomas said. “It was not good.” But then Central rebounded in a big way, finishing the regular season at 6-4 and ending the season at 7-5 after a brief run in the Region 1B playoffs. “This year, we’re kind of in the same place,” Thomas said. “I feel like T’zion we’re a little bit Wilkerson further along, but we’re kind of in the same place. We’ve just been really excited with the JV kids.” He estimated that there are 33 to 34 players on the JV team, which suggests the varsity team will have a lot to work with in the coming years. “We’ve not had those numbers since I’ve been here, and it’s 12 years,” Thomas said. “The only time I can ever remember us having that many JV players was probably 1991, because I was a sophomore. I found my roster, and we had 33 kids on that roster.” The coach gave some insight into how a program changes when talent manifests itself earlier than usual in players. “We’ve got some eighth-graders, which is kind of a new thing for us, but some of

those eighth-graders can play,” he said. “Usually, we just try to take the eighthgraders and get them used to what we’re doing, and then next year as ninth-graders, hey, they’ve been there, they’ve done that, they feel better. But we’ve actually got some eighth-graders that can play, which kind of changes the dynamic of how you run a program …” He noted that this is what enables varsity teams to actually regularly play freshmen. Thomas hopes to not have to pull up any JV players this year, though, rather wishing to let them develop at the lower level and pull them up next year. “As of now on our (varsity) roster, we only have two sophomores,” he said a day before the varsity team’s first preseason scrimmage. He affirmed that his varsity rosters are always dominated by upperclassmen. “This group of seniors that I told you they’ve been playing for three years, we pulled them as sophomores — that’s kind of an anomaly,” he said. “It’s good when we can do it. I remember a couple years ago when we had the good run, a couple 10-win seasons in a row, it was because the first 10-win season they were sophomores, the second 10-win season they were juniors and the third 10-win (season) — we had three 10-win seasons in a row, and that was a direct correlation because they could play.” With regard to his expectations for the Chargers’ 2019 season, Thomas said, “I would hope it’s better than last year, and we and Coach (Wallace) Owen, Coach (Derek) Burke will tell you too, we had a

9 good year last year.” Thomas indicated that fans can expect There are some key players that graduto see more of Central’s trademark ated this past spring that Central’s 2019 double-wing offense, featuring a signifisquad will miss, including all-region cant amount of run plays. first-team linebacker Jackson Dalton, who “We’re going to kind of stay to that, but also made the second team as a tight we’ve really got some good receivers this end and the all-district second team as a year, some speed on the outside, which linebacker. we hadn’t had before, but they’re new, so Also gone are Trey Patterson III, an allI don’t know how we’ll do that,” the coach region first-team kick returner and defensaid, adding that returning quarterback sive back, Earl Ginn, an all-region second- Ben Anthony, a senior, can throw the ball. team kicker and Wilkerson will standout safety, certainly see the Dawson Bishop, an ball frequently, all-region secondbut he said, “I feel team center, like it’s going to be 8/30 Altavista (H) 7 p.m. Garrett Williams, pretty (well) dis9/6 William Campbell 7 p.m. an all-district firsttributed, because 9/13 Bluestone (H) 7 p.m. team and all-reeverybody is 9/20 Buckingham 7 p.m. gion second-team seniors. We all can 9/27 Cumberland (H) 7 p.m. defensive lineman, handle it.” 10/4 Randolph-Henry 7 p.m. and Geontra Rags“The hard part is 10/11 Amelia 7 p.m. dale, an all-region going to be getting 10/18 Prince Edward (H) 7 p.m. second-team the line going belinebacker. cause they’re just 10/25 Nottoway 7 p.m. Thomas said raw,” Thomas said. 11/1 Goochland (H) 7 p.m. returning Char“I think we can get 11/8 bye gers who should them (going), but “H” denotes a Central Lunenburg home game. be good this year last year I think it based on last year took us six games include Wood, an all-region second-team to get them where they could at least … defensive all-purpose player; Wilkerson, (be) somewhat average, and then I think an all-region and all-district first-team we got a little bit better as time went on, running back; and senior fullback/defenbut we really struggled there. And we’ve sive end Daquan Lee. got a bunch of newbies on there this year, Of Lee, also known as “Lee Man Lee,” raw, just never played at a varsity level the coach said, “He got a lot of carries for before.” us last year. He was a force in there carThe coach said Central’s offense has rying the ball.” not had much speed for a while, be he Wilkerson, describing his expectations briefly highlighted sophomore wing back/ for the 2019 Chargers as a leader on the safety Hunter Lacks as someone who field, said, “District championship first. could help in that department. We’ve got to go step by step, game by “He’s probably the fastest kid we’ve game — win the district, win the region got,” Thomas said. “He’s an athlete, he’s and then hopefully get a chance to play in a good athlete, so we’d like to get him on the state (championship).” the field some way.”

Varsity Chargers 2019 Schedule

Overall, Thomas said he expects his backs to be fine this year. “But you’ve got to have somebody block for you,” he added, alluding again to the importance of developing the line. Helping in that effort will be senior Shamond Sellers, an all-region first-team offensive lineman last year, and junior offensive lineman Jordan Daniel, who started as a sophomore. Wilkerson said he expects improvement compared to last year’s team on defense “because we’ve got more chemistry. It’s basically the same group, we’re just a year older. Really, all around. We’ve got the same backfield, we grew up with each

other, so I feel like we’re at our apex …” Standout players that Thomas highlighted on the Chargers’ defense include Kawonté Ragsdale and Sellers. “Our corners are raw, man,” Thomas said. “They’re new, so we’re really working, and hats off to them, they put in some work. They’re good kids.” “They look good,” Central Defensive Coordinator Wallace Owen said. Thomas later added, “We need to get them as many reps as we can get them. They need to play.” The Chargers open their season Friday, Aug. 30, at 7 p.m. against visiting Altavista Combined School.

HANNAH WATSON

The 2019 Central Lunenburg High School varsity football team includes, from left, (front row) Ben Anthony, Tyler McGrath, Hunter Lacks, Tyquan Roberts, Hunter Meade, T’zion Wilkerson, Jonathan Hatchett; (second row) Khalil Wood, Willie Owens, Nyjae Carter, Dylan Coleman, William Carter, Hampton Blake, Kawonté Ragsdale, Daquan Lee; (third row) Calvin Cheatham, Hunter Hinkle, Jordan Daniel, RaShaun Richardson, Riley Tanner, Daniel Pegram, Shamond Sellers; (back row) Caleb Raymond, Tija Walton, Colby Crowder, Marguise Bell and Mark Strigel.

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Dukes aim to grow with the basics BY TITUS MOHLER

CUMBERLAND

umberland County High School’s varsity football team is looking for a fresh start while relying upon familiar, proven leaders to help make it happen. The Dukes are coming off of two 0-11 seasons, each of which included a playoff game because the nature of the small Region 1B, as it has been structured, means some teams receive an automatic berth. This year, the Dukes feature their third head coach in as many years, but nevertheless, there will be some key continuity. New Head Coach Howard Paras was an established part of the Dukes coaching staff before leaving and later serving as offensive coordinator at Prince Edward County High School. Paras’ history with Cumberland means he is familiar with the Dukes’ seniors this year. “I was offensive coordinator for Coach (Edgar) Knapp, so I coached those guys

when they were freshmen,” Paras said. Those seniors will be key in leading a Cumberland varsity squad that is fairly young this year. “I think we have four seniors, and the rest of the varsity guys are sophomores and juniors,” the coach said. Describing turnout for the varsity team this year in an interview given Aug. 16 just prior to the team’s first scrimmage, Paras said, “It can always be better, but I think it’s pretty good.” He said the team’s numbers are in the mid-to-high 20s, “and we’re still working on it.” The coach noted that the No. 1 priority for the program presently is getting a junior varsity (JV) team on the field, which will help feed the varsity squad moving forward. He said there were 16 to 17 JV players at the time, “but we’re still working on it.” Asked if some JV players could pull

double duty and help out the varsity team on Friday nights, Paras said, “It’s a possibility.” He shared his overall expectations for the 2019 varsity team. “I just expect us to show growth from the beginning of the season to the end,” he said. “Of Howard course, everyParas body wants to win — that goes without saying. But I feel like if we grow from beginning to end, the wins will take care of themselves.” And does he see clear potential for improving on the 0-11 campaigns of 2017 and 2018? “Absolutely,” he said. “It’s like I said, as long as we continue to build on our

11 fundamentals and grow consistently as the season goes on, ... I believe that stuff will take care of itself, I really do.” When it comes to the playoffs, Paras said that as far as he knows, the Dukes still have an automatic berth, but he is not focused on that. “If we get in this year, it’d be nice if it’s because we actually earned a spot, so that’s what we’re going to try to do,” he said. He explained what Dukes fans can expect in terms of the 2019 squad’s style on offense or defense. “We’re going to get back to basics, I can just tell you that,” he said. “We’re going to get back to basics and fundamentals. So, I can’t comment on what was done here before, but we’re going to make sure our fundamentals and our basics are right before we try to get flashy.” It was a bit early in the preseason for him to know precisely what the focus of the offense would be, but he provided some general insights. “I believe the fundamentals of football is run and stop the run, so of course, we’re going to try to establish the run, but at the end of the day, we’ll do what-

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12 ever fits our kids,” he said. Passing was not going to be a big part of Cumberland’s scrimmage that day in August, but “going forward, it’s hard to say,” he said. When highlighting standouts, Paras did not first mention quarterbacks or running backs but rather the players who will block for them. “Our entire offensive line are the guys we’re going to lean on,” he said. “A lot of those guys have been starting since they were freshmen. They’re really hard workers. They’ve been here all summer. So those are the guys we’re going to rely on.” Those players include seniors Blake Barker, Thomas Trowbridge and Malachi McLean and juniors Kyle Fant, Muzzammil Fulani, Jaydon Pompey and Justin Jones. Speaking on behalf of the team, Barker shared his expectations for the 2019 Dukes. “I want the Dukes to win some games this year, have all the fun they can while it lasts …,” he said. “I want the team to

be more together and act like a family, more so, this year.” This season will make Barker a fouryear letterman in the sport. He shared how his time on the team has shaped his perspective of himself and how the team has changed over that time. “Individually, I’ve gotten Blake stronger Barker throughout all these three years,” he said. “When I was in ninth grade, I wasn’t able to really push that many people back when I needed to, but 10th grade and 11th grade and 12th grade showed me that I had gotten stronger and I had gotten bigger so I could do it. “Team-wise, my first year, it was a lot of joking around, playing some, and over

the past couple years, it’s been more so Paras said. “We’re trying to see where bonding and being able to work together, everybody fits into the puzzle.” so I’m happy that we’re doing that,” he A key player likely to carry the ball continued. “This year I think our team’s with some frequency is junior running going to do great doing that.” back Vincent Harris Jr. Barker will also be playing on the Other starters set for the Aug. 16 scrimdefensive line, largely at tackle but also mage included sophomore running backs on the end. Kyler Gilliam and Nasir McDonald. Paras was not sure yet who would Receiving targets for Newman included be the starting sophomore wide requarterback when ceiver Mario Carter the regular season and freshman tight began, but he knew end Kyle Bond. who it would be Paras expects his 8/30 Chatham (H) 7 p.m. for the team’s first defensive standouts 9/6 Middlesex (H) 7 p.m. scrimmage. to include Harris, at 9/13 Nottoway (H) 7 p.m. “We’re still in the linebacker posi9/20 Goochland 7 p.m. summer camp, so tion, and Fant, as a 9/27 Central Lunenburg 7 p.m. everybody’s still defensive lineman. 10/4 Bluestone (H) 7 p.m. fighting for starting “We’re going to 10/11 Buckingham (H) 7 p.m. spots, so Jordan move him around,” 10/18 bye Newman will be the coach said of 10/25 Randolph-Henry 7 p.m. starting at quarFant. 11/1 Amelia (H) 7 p.m. terback today,” he Paras also indi11/8 Prince Edward 7 p.m. said. cated that Fulani “H” denotes a Cumberland home game. Newman has and Pompey could deep roots in the also prove to be Cumberland County Public Schools footkey, defensively. ball program, similar to Barker. Pondering the Dukes’ 2019 schedule, “Of the seniors, those two have been every game stood out equally to Paras as playing since we started our middle a test for his squad. school program … when they were in “I think every game is going to be a seventh grade,” Paras said. challenge,” he said. “We’re trying to get The experience has helped them stand this program up and going from where out. it’s been, so every game is a litmus test. Ramir Parker, who spent plenty of time We can’t differentiate one team from the at quarterback last year, is back for his next. They’re all tough.” junior year and could still be a candidate Cumberland opens its season at home for the spot. against Chatham High School on Friday, “We’re exploring all possibilities,” Aug. 30, at 7 p.m.

Varsity Dukes 2019 Schedule

The 2019 Cumberland County High School varsity football team includes, from left, (front row) DaJuan Brown, Nasir McDonald, Vincent Harris Jr., Ramir Parker, Jordan Newman, Cole Dalton, Kyle Bond, Brandon Diming, Lamard Jackson, Mario Carter; (second row) Thomas Randolph, Keyshawn Fourcand, Antoine Johnson, Damouray Davis, Trenton Thomas, Anthony Price, Sabian Luchynsky, Korey Bailey, Patrick Compton; (third row) Howard St. Clair, Dyancy Armistead, Muzzammil Fulani, Justin Jones, Malachi McLean, Kyle Fant, Trevor Dayton; (fourth row) Jaheim Maye, DeAven Bland, Phillip Cross, Thomas Trowbridge, Jaydon Pompey, Blake Barker, Justin Parran; (back row) Cameron Ingram and Tyler Smith. Not pictured is Kyler Gilliam.

Falcons poised to build on ’18 run BY TITUS MOHLER

FUQUA

uqua School’s varsity football team enters the 2019 season with confidence, even more seasoned than the Falcons team that turned a rebuilding year in 2018 into a state runner-up finish. Estimating the number of players making up his squad this year, Fuqua Head Coach Ben Manis said, “It’ll be somewhere around 20-24, I would say, Ben maybe 26 on a good day, Manis but we should have a few more numbers than we had last year.” The Falcons started the 2018 campaign at 1-3 but turned things around in the latter half of the season, aided by quarterback Elijah Warner’s return from injury. The Falcons qualified for the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division III state playoffs,

routed host Blessed Sacrament Huguenot Catholic School in the semifinals but then fell to dominant two-time defending state champion Roanoke Catholic School in the state final. Fuqua finished at 5-6 overall for the year. Fuqua players graduating since that run include fullback Christian Adams, running back Frankie Denaro and linemen Isaac Drummond and D.J. Williams. Elijah “We’re going to miss all four Warner of them a lot, but we kind of jelled and meshed kind of late in the season last year, which really does help,” Manis said, “and the kids really kind of brought it through throughout the summer, through camp and starting through two-a-days. … That is a great opportunity for them to kind of continue what they had going at the end of the year last year.”

Manis said he expects his team to “He’s a junior this year,” the coach build on what it has, and what it has said. “Last year he was a sophomore, this year is plenty of seniors. kind of a little bit undersized, maybe “We’ve actually got nine or 10 seniors, a step slower than he is now. Now he’s I think,” he said, put on about 30 noting that a coupounds and probple players came ably a step or two out to play who faster.” have not played in Warner, shar8/31 Fredericksburg Christian 2 p.m. a while and others ing his expecta9/6 BSH Catholic 7 p.m. came out who have tions for the 2019 experience. Falcons, said, “We 9/13 Atlantic Shores Chr. (H) 7 p.m. Leading the should definitely 9/20 St. Michael the Archangel (H) 7 p.m. 2019 Falcons are make it to the state 9/27 Portsmouth Christian 7 p.m. three captains championship. 10/5 Massanutten Military (H) 2 p.m. that Manis said We’ll definitely 10/11 Quantico (H) 7 p.m. “really have pulled have a winning 10/19 Randolph-Macon Acad. 2 p.m. together well.” record this year. I They are senior think, overall, our 10/25 Isle of Wight (H) 7 p.m. wide receiver/deteam’s better this 11/2 Broadwater 2 p.m. fensive back Matt year than last year. “H” denotes a Fuqua home game. Osborn, senior Our line isn’t quite quarterback/lineas good, but all of backer/safety Elijah Warner and senior our skill returned except for Christian offensive/defensive lineman Colby and Frankie, but our skill is so much Barton. faster and quicker this year, I don’t think “They’re kind of our vocal leaders they’ll be able to stop our pass game. and kind of also some lead-by-example And if we break one loose on the run, I guys,” Manis said. don’t think they’ll be able to stop us.” He also said to expect some big things Fuqua opens its season 2 p.m. Saturout of Jackson Allen, who will play at day, Aug. 31, at Fredericksburg Chriswing back, linebacker and safety. tian School.

Varsity Falcons 2019 Schedule

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TITUS MOHLER

The 2019 Fuqua School varsity football team includes, from left, (front row) Jaylen Hempfield, Elijah Warner, Drew Osborn, Matt Osborn, Sean Bradley Jr., Tyler Harris, Jackson Allen, Luke Gee; (second row) Aaron Orange, Noah Cole, Matthew Pembelton, Hayes Barton, Trey Stimpson, Ace Gearheart, Colby Barton; (third row) Josh Tharpe, Jarrod Cooper, Hunter Gibson, Ryan Ledger, Alex Woods, Zach Eason, Aiden Schwerdtfeger; (fourth row) Jordan Johns, George Magnotti, David Hunt, Roman Davis; (back row) Assistant Coach Tyler Jenkins, Assistant Coach Nathaniel Gue, Head Coach Ben Manis, Assistant Coach Tommy Manis and Assistant Coach Rick Davis.

The Kavaliers are inspiring optimism BY TITUS MOHLER

enston Forest School’s varsity football team enters its second year of eight-man football with a new head coach that sees significant potential on the roster. “These boys are working really hard,” Kavaliers Head Coach Joseph Kaiser said in an interview conducted early during the preseason. “They’re listening to everything we’re teaching them.

They’re intense, and they’re running the drills with intensity, which is what we teach them to do. I’m excited. I’m realistically optimistic about this team.” He estimated the total number of players on the 2019 varsity squad would be 14 to 17. The Kavs are looking to qualify again for the state playoffs, and Kaiser said they show potential to do so with a record better than .500. “I think we have the capability to be a

winning team,” he said, “and I think we to try to do great things. We’ve got new have the capability to get into the playpeople in. Old people are going to work offs this year, harder. We’re but we’re going just going to to have to take try to go to the it one day at a state.” time, and we’re Focusing going to have on offensive to work really standouts, hard and stay Kaiser said, “I focused every would think day in the that our star classroom and offensive on the field in player would order for us Joseph be Jah’Tavious Thomas to be successKaiser Houston, … a Inge ful and have a guy who just winning season. So that’s where I’m at.” has a lot of speed and a lot of athletiHe noted that the qualifications for cism and leadership during practice as getting into the playoffs vary. Two wins well.” may do it, someHouston, a senior times more are tailback this seanecessary. son, was sidelined “I feel like if we by injury last year. take it one week at “He missed half 8/24 Lawrence Academy 11:30 a.m. a time, the results of the season,” will be positive,” he Kaiser said. “That 8/30 Brunswick Academy (H) 7 p.m. said. really did hurt this 9/6 Hampton Roads Acad. (H) 7 p.m. Pointing to leadteam from what 9/13 Covenant (H) 7 p.m. ers on the team I saw on film, be9/20 Brunswick Academy 7 p.m. who will help make cause he is some9/28 Virginia Episcopal 2 p.m. those positive one they feed the 10/4 Hampton Roads Academy 7 p.m. results a reality, ball quite a bit here Kaiser highlighted and (who) we’re 10/11 Southampton Academy (H) 7 p.m. lineman/fullback going to feed the 10/18 Greenbrier Christian (H) 7 p.m. Thomas Inge, who ball quite a bit.” 10/25 St. Anne’s-Belfield (H) 7 p.m. returns as a junior Junior “H” denotes a Kenston Forest home game. after making the Moe’Wuante “Moe all-state first team Moe” Morrison last year. returns at quarterback. Stating his expectations for the 2019 “He missed part of (last) season as Kavs, Inge said, “I think we’re just going well, so getting those two guys out here

Varsity Kavaliers 2019 Schedule

The 2019 Kenston Forest School varsity football team includes, from left, (front row) Quinton Hawkins, Jah’Tavious Houston, Moe’Wuante “Moe Moe” Morrison, Billy Conti, Alden Schott; (middle row) Ryan Whitehead, Ronique Capers, Joshua Trinh, George Clark, Trey Lewis; (back row) Triston Long, Richard Gwizdale, Jackson Nevins, Thomas Inge, Colton Carter and Lucas Malay-Olano. Not pictured is Dasan Shell.

on the field is going to be big for us,” Kaiser said. Shifting his focus to the trenches, the coach said the “starting offensive line

is probably going to be Jackson Nevins, Colton Carter and Thomas Inge.” Kaiser also highlighted junior tight end Triston Long.

“He’s going to be a key player for us,” the coach said. “He transferred in here from Nottoway High School.” The Kavaliers opened their season

Saturday, Aug. 24, at Lawrence Academy. Their home opener is Friday, Aug. 30, at 7 p.m. against archrival Brunswick Academy.

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Eagles offering up a new look BY TITUS MOHLER

his will be a key season of change for Prince Edward County High School’s (PECHS) varsity football team, and while the new-look Eagles and their new coach did not have a complete offseason together, they appear poised to compete this year. Well-established Eagles Head Coach James Ford was hired to the same position at Culpeper County High School, a Virginia High School League Class 3 school, in late spring. Prince Edward Athletics Director Rodney Kane was able to act quickly and hire Larry White, an alum of PECHS. White Larry served as White

PRINCE EDWARD the Buckingham County High School junior varsity football head coach last year, leading the Knights to the district title, but prior to that he was the football head coach at Prince Edward County Middle School from 2008-18. “We were very lucky, I feel like, to get Larry back at Prince Edward, especially with losing Coach Ford so late in the year,” Kane said. White noted that being the varsity football head coach at PECHS was his dream job, and part of the reason was that he loved the idea of being able to continue coaching the players he worked with at the lower level. Amid preseason practices, White offered details on how the 2019 Eagles were coming into focus. He said the varsity team looked like it will end up with 25 to 26 players. The junior varsity (JV) squad appeared it will have at least 21 to 22 players, adding up to a participation level that he noted was not particularly high. White said he may call on about

10 JV players to play both JV and a limited role on varsity, which would bring the size of the varsity squad to about 35. In stating his expectations for the 2019 varsity Eagles, White was quietly optimistic. “We’re going to do a little bit this year,” he said with a smile. “They’ve been working hard, and we’re installing a new offense, so they’re getting it. So, like I said, I expect us, once again, to compete.” Asked if the playoffs could be in reach this season, White smiled again and said, “Taking it one step at a time. … My goal is to win more than three.” The Eagles went 3-7 in 2018, falling short of the playoffs. This preseason, “I’ve been pleased with what we’ve been doing, as far as offense and defense,” he said. “The kids, they’ve done bought into the system, and so they’re really working hard. I’m really impressed.” Addressing the changes Eagles fans can expect on offense, White said he runs multiple offenses.

“We are under center, and then we’re still in the spread, but mostly we’re going to mix it up,” he said. “Basically, we’re going to be playing chess with the defense.” He noted that Ford would stick with a little bit more of the spread offense. “I’m going to mix it up,” White said. “It’s going to be the same plays, it’s just going to be in different formations.” As for the mix of run and pass plays, “it’s going to be 50-50,” he said, “but I’m a run man. I’m going to run to open up the pass.” There will be a familiar face at quarterback as Nate Reed returns for a second year at the position. He’s now a sophomore. “He’s leading the way,” White said, confirming Reed has put on more muscle in the offseason. “He’s been working hard.” The coach said he expects a trio of players to be the key ball handlers this season: senior halfback T.J. Williams, junior tailback Saybien Peterson and Reed.

19 Multiple players are being considered and developed for the receiving corps. “We’re still trying to find that one that’s going to replace (Rah’Quan) Payne,” White said. “So, we’re still working on that.” Payne was T.J. an all-district, Williams all-region first-team standout for Prince Edward over the past two seasons and will now be playing at the next level for Ferrum College. Turning his attention to the defense, White began his comments by mentioning Williams, who will be playing at linebacker. “He’s been the standout,” White said. Williams, who said he has also

logged time at safety, outlined what White describe junior linebacker he expects out of himself this year Tya Johnson as a workhorse, helpas a team leader: ing make up “To push my a linebacking team, make sure corps that also they aren’t slackincludes senior ing, make sure R.J. McCargo. they’re of one For White, 8/30 King William (H) 7 p.m. accord, make there will be 9/6 Altavista 7 p.m. sure they push it time to further to their limits.” develop many 9/13 Randolph-Henry 7 p.m. A member of the players 9/20 Amelia (H) 7 p.m. of the varsity on the varsity 9/27 bye team since his roster beyond freshman year, this season. 10/4 Nottoway 7 p.m. Williams indi“I don’t think I 10/11 Goochland (H) 7 p.m. cated that fans have that many can expect the seniors,” he said. 10/18 Central Lunenburg 7 p.m. 2019 Eagles to be “I’m heavy in 10/25 Bluestone (H) 7 p.m. more disciplined. juniors.” 11/1 Buckingham 7 p.m. The coach The coach also highlighted expects the first 11/8 Cumberland (H) 7 p.m. Peterson on degame of the regu“H” denotes a Prince Edward home game. fense, at safety. lar season to “We’ve got be particularly Nate as far as key for learnplaying safety too,” White said. “We ing about his team. The Eagles open run a 3-4 defense.” the season 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30,

Varsity Eagles 2019 Schedule

at home against King William High School. Referring to preseason scrimmages, White said, “I’m just using these two scrimmages to find our identity, see what we need to work on, but the first game’s going to tell where we’re going to be at. King William put something tough on us last year, so I’ve got that posted all in the locker room where they did an article and the kids, I want them to read it. Every time they walk in the door, they see it.” The Cavaliers defeated Prince Edward 72-6 last year and did some talking afterward. “They said some not-so-good things when they put it in the paper,” White said, adding that he told his team to play like it was angry “... because no one believed in us. So, that’s just to motivate, to try to get them ready.” He has also instructed the Eagles to work hard in practice. ”They’ve been doing that,” he said. “The numbers are low, but I think we’re going to be OK.”

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TITUS MOHLER

The 2019 Prince Edward County High School varsity football team includes, from left, (front row) Steven Hurt, Delcarlos Payne, Raheem Monroe, Saybien Peterson, Deontray Woodson, Justin Sprague, Demurie Banks, T.J. Walker, Davon Manson; (second row) Xavier Lee, Hassan Delaney, Savyon Battle, Abdul Johnson, R.J. McCargo, Jarvin Perkins, Tyvonte Robinson, Rodney Morgan, Nathan Adams; (third row) Terio Brooks, Devonte Harrison, Uriah Gordon, Omarion Allen, Kiyou Jones, Kemahn Rux, Trevon Hardnan and Kaleb Hensley. Not pictured are Monte Redd, Nate Reed and T.J. Williams. Find us on Facebook

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Statesmen are coming of varsity age BY TITUS MOHLER

RANDOLPH HENRY

he pieces seem to be coming together to make for an ideal competitive situation for the Randolph-Henry High School varsity football team. Entering his third season as head coach of the Statesmen, Zach Orlando expressed plenty of excitement about what he has to work with on the roster this year. Though the team is still relatively young, it is now dominated by players who are more seasoned at the varsity level and many who are upperclassmen now. “I think a lot of people don’t realize we really have been playing with a team that, in large part, has looked like a (junior varsity) JV team the last two years, so we’re excited because we’re playing with varsity-age guys now,” Orlando said. “We have very few kids that we’ve had to pull up (to) try to fill out a team.

So we’re excited about that.” The prevalence of juniors, sophomores and athleticism on the roster fuels hope for an improved RandolphHenry run after the team has gone 1-9 in each of the past two seasons, falling short of the playoffs in Region 2A Speaking in an interview prior to his team’s first preseason scrimmage and before school started, Orlando estimated the size of the 2019 varsity squad would be around 22 to 23. In terms of pull-ups from the JV team, he said there would be only one at that point. “We need one lineman,” he said. “Right now we’re playing with six linemen, so we’d like to add one more body to that, and it’s going to be a kid that can play for us. It’s not going to be a kid that’s sitting on the bench.” Of a 2019 team that Orlando described as “big in the junior class,” he

shared his expectations. “I think we’re more athletic than we’ve ever been, I think we’re older than we’ve ever been,” he said. “We’ve got some guys that are new to football this year, but they’re good athletes, so the real question is, once we start playing other opponents, how are we going to react? I think this is the kind of team that you look at and you say, on paper, you could be towards Zach the top end of Orlando the district, or you could be middle of the pack or you could be low end. It’s all going to be on how we react.” He was excited for his squad to scrim-

21 mage Halifax County High School, a Virginia High School League Class 5 school, on Aug. 17 to get the first hint of how his team would react. He said Halifax is “going to be very similar to teams like Buckingham and Goochland, and they’ll probably even be a notch up from those two teams.” The scrimmage was set to be an important milestone in a process of offseason preparation that has been ongoing for most of the past eight months. “We’ve seen everybody that’s with us right now at some point during the summer — some of them all summer long, some of them have maybe been here a week, gone a week, that kind of deal, but we’ve been rolling since January in the weight room and then since June on the field,” Orlando said. This preparation process is one part of a larger plan that he initiated two years ago that is helping move more pieces into place this year. “I’m really excited about where we’re at because we’ve got some guys that can run, we’ve got some big bodies, we’ve got some older guys — now we just have to start figuring out a way to

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22 win games,” he said. He noted some factors on offense and defense that could help in that effort. “We always want to throw the ball more,” he said. “It’s been something that’s been very hard for us to do in the past. With those more athletic guys, we would like Camden to throw the Locey ball in the air a little bit more, offensively. We’re always going to be a running team, but we want to get more passes out there. “Defensively, the real thing is we’ve just got to tackle better,” he continued. “The last two years, we’ve had guys in position to make plays, and we’ve missed tackles, and then our defense has Peter just not been Jones able to chase them down after that. So we just want to tackle better, rally to the ball, and with better athletes on the back end, it

LIFETOUCH

The 2019 Randolph-Henry High School varsity football team includes, from left, (front row) Justen Staten, Ryetwan Callaham, Peter Jones, Izaia Foster, Tyshaundre Walton, Carl Anderson, Antwan Boyd; (second row) Amyas Holcomb, Logan Lewis, Caleb Tucker, Eli Jah Currin, Antonio McPleasant, Maurice Hurt; (third row) Christopher Redd, Camden Locey, Isaiah Brown, Trenton Dodd, Charlie Taylor, Jaylan Allen; (back row) Assistant Coach Joshua Haskins, Head Coach Zach Orlando and Assistant Coach Donald Jack. Not pictured is Reginald “R.J.” Bullock.

should help us out.” Orlando said he thinks the strength of his team’s defense is in its line. “We’ve got three returning starters on the defensive line,” he said, referring to junior Camden Locey, junior Trenton Dodd and sophomore Isaiah Brown. Elsewhere on the field, “I think Chris Redd and Maurice Hurt are going to be guys that we look to in the linebacking corps to help us out, and (defensive

backs) DBs, we’ve got some guys that are returning like Izaia Foster and Tyshaundre Walton on the back end,” the coach said. On offense, junior Peter Jones will be back at the quarterback position. “Chris Redd, right now, is the guy we’re looking at as the feature back,” Orlando said. “And we’ve got a couple guys that we’re excited about in the receiving corps that are new with us. Ryetwan Callaham is a basketball guy here that’s decided to play this year, and he looks good at receiver.” Redd is a sophomore, and Callaham is a junior. “We do have a couple seniors that

we’ll look to,” Orlando said. “R.J. Bullock, another basketball guy, a big guy, decided to come out for us this year. He’ll be on the offensive line/defensive line, so we’re excited about him. Izaia Foster is a returning senior.” The coach described Jones and Locey, both third-year varsity players, as joint team leaders. Jones, who may also see some time at defensive back, said he expects progress from the 2019 Statesmen. “Just be better this year, work together,” he said, and as for what he wants to see from Randolph-Henry’s offense this year, he added, “a whole lot more passing.”

Locey, a left guard, defenCommenting on part of his sive end and defensive tackle, team’s 2019 schedule, Orlando focused his expectations on the said, “We’re really excited line. about starting off in our out“Our linemen, we had a lot of of-district play with Nelson young lineand with men, but Chatham. our lineThey’re men are two new now older, teams for 8/30 Nelson (H) 7 p.m. so we us. They’re 9/6 Chatham 7 p.m. probably kind of 9/13 Prince Edward (H) 7 p.m. have one two teams 9/20 Nottoway 7 p.m. of the best that have 9/27 Goochland (H) 7 p.m. lines in the been in a 10/4 Central Lunenburg (H) 7 p.m. district similar sit10/11 Bluestone 7 p.m. this year, uation as 10/18 Buckingham 7 p.m. so our us. They 10/25 Cumberland (H) 7 p.m. run game haven’t 11/1 bye should had a ton 11/8 Amelia 7 p.m. be better, of success, “H” denotes a Randolph-Henry home game. hopefully, so we’re blocking,” excited he said. “Our defensive line, about having them out of the we should make a lot of plays gate.” this year in the backfield. We The Statesmen host their should control the line of scrim- season opener Friday, Aug. mage basically every game we 30, facing Nelson County High play.” School at 7 p.m.

Varsity Statesman 2019 Schedule

Back for more Hampden-Sydney College running back Kaleb Smith, pictured at right, returns for his sophomore year after being named the 2018 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year, as well as the Virginia Sports Information Directors College Division Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Tigers’ 10-game 2019 schedule is below.

H-SC Tigers 2019 Schedule 9/7 Averett (H) 1 p.m. 9/14 Christopher Newport 7 p.m. 9/21 Southern Virginia 1 p.m. 9/28 Washington and Lee (H) 1 p.m. 10/5 Emory & Henry 1 p.m. 10/12 Bridgewater (H) 1 p.m. 10/19 Shenandoah (H) 1 p.m. 10/26 Guilford 1 p.m. 11/9 Ferrum (H) 1 p.m. 11/16 Randolph-Macon 1 p.m. “H” denotes a Hampden-Sydney home game.

24 32

HOW TO GUIDE 2019