Photo by Craig T. Grecnkc
Running back Tyree Massey (5) scored six touchdowns and averaged 5.4 yards
per carry last season.
Sept3-@UNCPfejnbroke
Sept. 12 - Valdosta Stale (@ Powder Springs, Ga.)
Sept. 19 - @ Hiskegee (Ala.)
Sept. 26 - Elizabeth City State (? Rocky Mount)
Oct. 3 - Chowan University
Oct. 10 - Johnson C. Smith
Oct. 17 - @ St. Augustine's
Oct. 24- @ Livingstone
Oct. 31 - Shaw University (Homecoming)
Nov. 7-Open date
Nov. 14-FayetteviBe State .
from page 01
The following week,
the Rams play Valdosta
State (Ga.), which has a
good number of returnees
from last year's squad that
lost in the quarterfinals of
the national playoffs. The
Blazers (10-3) were ranked
15th in the D2football.com
national rankings.
WSSU's early-^ea
son road sojourn continues
with a trip to Tuskegee
(Ala.), a team that's
expected to advance to the
Division n playoffs for the
third year in a row. The
Golden Tigers barely
missed making the Top 25
in last year's end-of-sea
son poll.
The month of
September closes out with
a CIAA opener against
Elizabeth City State in the
Down East Viking Football
Classic played at Rocky
Mount. In last year's game,
the Vikings stayed in a con
tention and trailed 14-7 at
intermission. The Rams
blew the game open with
three second-half touch
downs and cruised to a 35
7 victory.
"Those early games
will serve as a good meas
uring stick," said
Boulware, who will be
entering his second season
as the Rams head coach.
"We'll be going up against
some teams that made the
playoffs last year. I would
n't be surprised to see
Valdosta State and
Tuskegee in the pre-season
national rankings. We'll be
in good shape if we can
enter our first home game
with a 4-0 mark."
Over the past five
years, Winston-Salem
State has had eight or
more wins each season.
Although the team lost a
good share of top-flight
performers on both sides
of the ball, the Rams are
expected to win the CIAA
and reach the playoffs.
That didn't happen last
year. It was the first time
since 2010 that WSSU was
absent from postseason
play.
Unlike last
year when Rudy
Johnson and
Philip Sims
split time at .
quarterback,
there will be no
suspense as to
who gets the
starting call for I
2015. Boulware
makes it clear
that the job belongs to
Justin Johnson, who
missed spring practice as a
result of being ruled aca
demically ineligible.
Johnson, a redshirt
sophomore from High
Point, has overcome his
academic shortcomings
and is ready to step in and
produce. Boulware's
choice to go with Johnson
over spring QBs
Demetrius Lewis and Rod
Tinsley Jr. - both freshmen
- is based on Johnson's
familiarity with the multi
ple offense that the Rams
will once again embrace
after switching to the
Pistol formation last sea
son.
"Of the three quar
terbacks, Justin has the
most experience with the
system, so he's our
starter," said Boul ware.
"Justin puts pressure on
defenses with his ability to
run and throw."
On the offensive
front, the Rams have three
anchors in Jac'que Polite,
Isaiah Towns and Josh
Wormley. Polite and Towns
were starters on a line that
paved the way for 35.7
points and 442.9 total yards
per game a year ago.
Boulware expects the
Rams to show enough
offensive balance to keep
opponents from
stacking the line of
scrimmage to stop
bruising running
back Tyree Massey
l (5.4 yards per carry
| and 6 touchdowns).
I Johnson will look
J to connect often
I with a pair of
I receivers who have
the same last name
but are not related.
Eric Williams had 37
catches for 583 yards and 9
touchdowns a season ago.
Transfer Rashan Williams
gives Johnson another reli
able target to throw to.
Defensively, the
Rams figure to have their
share of new faces. When
pre-season practice begins
in August, Boulware hopes
,to establish sufficient
depth on the line which
will enable WSSU to go
two-deep at each line posi
tion. The key leaders up
front are Michael
Bloomfield (8 sacks,4 QB
hurries, 9 Vi tackles for
losses) and Michael
Douglas.
"Overall, we're
young, talented and athlet
ic," said Boulware in
assessing what he
observed during spring
practice. "Now it's all a
matter of building team
chemistry and getting bet
ter at what we do each
day."
Boulware
Rams
M . 111
Mustangs
from page Bl
the state and national lev
els.
The Mustangs served
notice at the nationals that
they aren't likely to disap
pear as genuine contenders.
In the process, they sur
prised themselves by deliv
ering a bronze-medal finish
in the .1/XX)-meter Sprint
Medley Relay. This event,
also known as the Swedish
Relay, is popular in Europe
and incorporates all the
metric sprint distances
(100,200, 300 and 400).
Parkland's runners
viewed themselves as
unknowns in this event.
Two of its runners are rela
tive newcomers who had
little or no prior experience
running on the Mustangs
"A" level relays. Jahnae
Bowman and Zjinaiya
Francis joined veterans
Erin Morrison and
McKinley McNeill to
cover the distance in 2 min
utes, 10.93 seconds. By
placing among the top six,
the quartet earned All
America honors. Union
Catholic Track Club (NJ.)
won in a meet-record time
of 2:08.88.
McNeil], a rising senior
and Class 4-A state champ
in the 400, put Parkland in
position to challenge,
thanks to her blistering
quarter on the anchor leg.
For most the race, the
Mustangs appeared to be
destined for fifth place.
McNeill, however, had
other ideas. Coming down
the stretch, she went into
overdrive to assure of her
team of a third-place finish.
"I think we did amaz
ing," said McNeill, who
ran a personal-best split of
53 seconds. "I was kind of
nervous because we didn't
have all of our main com
petitors like we've had
these last few years. Words
can't explain how proud I
am of the team I have
now".
"They proved to me
and everybody on a nation
al stage that they can do
just as well as the girls who
came before them.
Parkland still has it. We'll
keep working hard and
you'll see us at nationals
every year. While it's true
that I've become a team
leader, this is not my team.
It's our team because all of
us put in the effort to make
the best of it."
McNeill turned in
Parkland's best individual
performance of the week
end. In the open 400 last
Sund.ay, she won handily in
a relatively slow heat. In
the process, she produced
her fastest clocking of the
season at 53.40 seconds - a
time that surpassed her pre
vious best by nearly a full
second. As a result,
McNeill closed out the
high school outdoor season
as No. 5 in the nation.
"McKinley has
worked hard all year long,
so she's very deserving,"
said Coach Antwan
Hughes of Parkland. "And
she'll only continue to get
better and better. Next sea
son, I'm looking for her to
run 52."
Had Morrison's season
gone as planned, it's very
likely that she would've
ended her high school
career after the state cham
pionships. Morrison, one
"I think we
did amazing,"
-McKinley McNeill
of Parkland's six graduat
ing seniors, opted to make
the best of a less-than-ideal
situation by choosing to
nm in the New Balance
meet. ,
At the start of this
year, Morrison had an
Achilles injury, which put
her on the sidelines for two
months. The missed time in
training proved to be a set
back that she never fully
recovered from. So, she
decided to continue train
ing and compete on
Parkland's relay teams
(Swedish, 4x200 , 4x400)
for the nationals.
"Because of all the time
I missed during the winter,
things didn't go so well
outdoors," said Morrison,
who will run track at
Hampton University. "I
knew I could do better, so I
never stopped training and
I decided to help out the
team in any way I could. I
was very surprised that we
did as well as we did (in the
sprint medley)."
"Some times, younger
runners get a bad case of
nerves, so you never know
what might happen. As for
me, I can't complain - I'm
able to run and I'm not
hurt. So, I'm satisfied and
feel like I'll be ready for
college."
Bowman is confident
that the Mustangs will con
tinue to build on their win
ning legacy: "We have
some people who have run
times that are close to what
the older girls ran." said
Bowman, a rising seniw.
"We're not that far off.
Plus, everybody continues
to get better. . ,
Francis, a rising junior
who has trained with.
Sherman and Williams/
will never forget her debut
on Parkland's "A" team.
She admits feeling the
pressure of competing
against some of the
nation's premier high
school sprinters. "I was ter
rified and shaking from the
start," she said. "When I
got it (baton), I kept think
ing that 1 needed to make a
name for myself."
"I got out, but then I
got blocked in, but was still .
able to run well. 1 picked
up my speed by training
with Katlin and Eb, but I
also learned about courage
and motivation. Everything
went great in the sprint
medley, but it could've
been better."
tiughes and his assis
tants never doubted that
Parkland would more than
hold its own in the Swedish
Relay. In the weeks of
training leading up to the
nationals, Hughes was
more convinced than ever
that the Mustangs would
meet the challenge.
"The girls were sur
prised," he said. They
weren't sure what they
were capable of. But as
coaches, we evaluated
everybody and realized
that finishing in the top
three was an achievable
goal with this group."
Although Parkland's
runners exceeded their own
expectations in the sprint
medley, the same did not
happen the next day in the
4x200. Newness among
members of relay teams
breeds unfamiliarity, which
in turn, produces growing
pains.
Parkland won this
event a year ago (outdoor
nationals) and again last
March at the indoor nation
als. A botched exchange
between McNeill (second
leg) and Bowman (third
leg), resulted in a dropped
baton and precious seconds
of lost time. The Mustangs
finished 24th with a sub
par clocking of 1:44.11
"It all came down to
lack of experience in work
ing with one another (in the
4x200)," said Hughes.
"When the baton hit the
ground, we knew the race
was over. Before that bad
handoff, we were in the
race all the way. As coach
es, we felt like we gave
away the silver medal.
Based on relay splits, we
probably run around 1:37,
which would've put us in
the No. 2 spot.
Dash
from page El
intriguing prospect,
though, might be lefty
reliever Andre Wheeler (2
2,3.86 ERA), an outfielder
who became a full-time
pitcher during his sopho
more season at Texas Tech.
"Andre has been
thrown into a lot of differ
ent mixes this season," said
Esmay. "We've used him
as a spot starter. And at one
point, he was a one-inning
reliever and now he's a
two-inning reliever. I'm
excited to see how he's
developing. Andre has that
really good arm, but he's
also starting to develop
those other pitches he
needs to have as he pro
gresses in his career."
As for the rest of the
starting staff, Dykstra and
Heidenreich are the estab
lished anchors, but those
two can't be expected to
shoulder the entire pitching
load. They'll need help
from Jake Cose, Brandon
Brennan (recently returned
from disabled list), Brian
Clark and newly-acquired
Jordan Guerrero from
Kannapolis.
"It hurt us that we lost
(left-hander) Jace Fry to
Tommy John surgery," he
said. "Our starters are
going to get their innings.
What will really help is"
i
having (reliever) Brad
Goldberg evolve, along
with the continued devel
opment of Wheeler,
Michael Ynoa and
Jefferson Olacio."
The month of May
wasn't very kind for the
Dash, who lost seven
straight series over a 25
day period. Since then, the
offense has shown some
spark. During a three-week
stretch leading up to the
All-Star break, Winston
Salem won four of the
seven series it played. It
remains to be seen if this
team can establish offen
sive continuity during the
second half ontfie season. ,,
"With only eight teams
(in our league), everybody
is going to know each other
by the time the season is
over," he said. "So, as a
player, you have to figure
out what changes to make
in order to make sure that
you're still successful. I
think our guys are begin
ning to do that a little bit
fl
now."
With the three-day
All-Star break officially
over today (Thursday),
Esmay turns his attention
to the second half of the
season. In the Carolina
League, the season is divid
ed into halves. The Dash
finished last in the CL's
Southern Division in the
first half, but that doesn't
mean the team is doomed
to remain at the bottom of
the league standings.
The slate is wiped clean
for the second half and all
teams have a new begin
ning. So, if the Dash wins
the division in the second
half, it will earn a spot in
the league playoffs.
"We're exoited about
the second half," said
Esmay. "It's nice to be
able to get a fresh start
again. What I like most
about this club is that no
matter who we have, they
all like to work. They like
to come out early. They
love being in the club
house."
c* "For us to have a really
great second half, our non
starting pitchers) havfe to
have a much better under
standing of what their
roles are. If we can stay
with that as far as keeping
this group together, I feel
like we'll be in a better sit
uation because they'll have
a better idea of how we're
going to use them."
Esmay
Photo by Cnuf T Greenlee
Erin Morrison
Mustangs' notebook
Here's a summary of how Parkland
athletes (in bold type) fared in other
events at the New Balance nationals held
last weekend at the Irwin Belk Track on
the campus of N.C. A&T:
The qualifying heats of the champi
onship girls' 100-meter dash held last
Saturday proved to be disastrous for the
top Class 4-A sprinters in North Carolina.
The top three finishers at the state meet in
May all failed to advapce. The eight
fastest times qualified, so it really didn't
matter who won the individual heats.
Two-time state 100 champ Katlin
Sherman (12.04 seconds) came up
empty with the 12th-fastest time in pre
lims. State runner-up Tamara Clark of
High Point Central ran 12.0 for 11th, and
bronze medalist Sydnei Murphy of Apex
was 10th at 11.95. Sherman has signed to
run track at UNC Chapel Hill.
I.
in me gins fcmerging Elites 400,
Parkland graduate Erin Morrison placed
15th with time of 57.29. At last month's
state championships, Morrison was third
in the open 400. She was the state out
door runner-up as a junior in 2014.
The Mustangs 4x400 (champi
onship division) came up short in its
quest to finish among the nation's top six
for All-America honors. Morrison,
Shanone Cannon, Kimani Davis and
McKinley McNeill clocked 3:5302 to
post a 15th place finish.
Nateja Hale had trouble generating
consistency in the Emerging Elites triple
jump. As things turned out, her first
attempt (35-feet, 8 M. inches) proved to be
her only legal jump. She fouled on her
second and third tries and ended up 25th
overall. Hale will attend UNC Asheville
on a track scholarship.
* 1
Br