3 minute read
West Johnston looks to make its move in Quad County 3A
from August 2023
by Johnston Now
By RANDY CAPPS
BENSON — When the prep football calendar flipped to October 2022, West Johnston was sitting pretty. The Wildcats were 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the Quad County 3A — well positioned for a run at the league crown and the postseason berth that would come with it.
A few days before Halloween, however, West had lost four straight games by a combined 30 points to close out a once-promising season.
Head coach Jermaine Harper is looking to turn the page this season. “We’re just trying to continue to build the program, make those strides and take the next step in being a good football program,” he said.
As you might expect from a guy that played linebacker at Fayetteville State, Harper gets excited when asked to talk about his defense.
“We have seven guys returning, so I expect our defense to be our strong point this season,” Harper said.
In addition to his experience, linebacker Patrick Schmidt (73 tackles, nine tackles for loss) has also filled another role for Harper’s squad.
“He’s really stepped into a leadership role this offseason and really demands a lot from his teammates. So I expect him to be a big part of what we have going,” Harper said.
All-conference selection Jack Gibson (80 tackles, five TFL), free safety Sean Ali (46 tackles), defensive end/linebacker Wyatt Singeltary (51 tackles, five TFL) and cornerback Kavon Manning (29 tackles) will also be among the headliners.
The Wildcats will dip into a junior varsity program that finished three points away from being undefeated last fall (9-1) for some offensive reinforcements.
Lucas Fountain was the starter at running back for the JV team, and may reprise that role for the varsity this fall. The quarterback from that team, Josiah Wells, will not only serve as the backup for Dane Trum, but may wind up in a few other spots on the offense as well.
“He’s an athlete. He might line up all over the place. We could put him in the backfield, we could put him at receiver. We’ve got to find a place to put the ball in his hands,” Harper said.
Trum threw only 12 passes last fall, but got valuable experience in a conference game against Hunt, throwing a touchdown pass in a comeback effort.
Raphael Hill (14 catches, 177 yards, two TD) provides experience for the receiving corps and will try to help the West offense improve on last year’s 23.3 point-per-game average.
“We won four games a year ago, and we won five games the year before that,” Harper said. “So, I’ve really been preaching to our kids about taking that next step to move us above .500. I’m looking for us to win more than half our games to take that next step as a program.”
