SportsWeek
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Also Religion, Classifieds and More News September 24, 2015
JV FOOTBALL
Up-and-coming
Parkland could
be this year's
dark horse
BY CRAIG T. GREENLEE
FOR THE CHRONICLE .
Don't be surprised if Parkland turns out to be the sur
prise team in junior varsity football this season. Prior to
today's match-up against West Forsyth, the Mustangs are
3-1 and showing clear signs that they will no longer be
pushovers for anyone.
Recent seasons haven't produced much excitement for
Parkland, which has compiled a 2-23-2 JV record over the
last three seasons. First-year coach Lamont Atwater isn't
interested in dwelling on what has or hasn't happened in
the past. He has no doubts that his team will continue to
raise eyebrows and lift the expectations of Parkland's fol
owing.
So far, the Mustangs have victories over Northeast
juilford, Winston-Salem Prep and Walkertown. The lone
oss came to Carver.
It's Atwater's view that this year's junior varsity team
s a good representation of what the future holds of
'arkland's football future. "I see great things for this
jroup," he said. "They're disciplined, aggressive and intel
igent. They have the work ethic and the football IQ to do
veil, not only in
he years to come,
nit right now."
Offensively,
he Mustangs
iperate from the
spread formation
with strong
armed quarter
back TV Barber
orchestrating mat
ters.
Parkland is
well equipped
with a mini
squadron of receivers, led by Saveon Hayes, who has
developed as a big-play threat anytime he touches the ball.
'Ty really doesn't have a go-to receiver because he
spreads it around to everyone," said Atwater. "As a group,
they get the job done. Up to this point, Saveon has been
our most consistent pass-catcher."
The ground game is in capable hands with the tandem
of Devon Rucker and Joe Roseboro. They have different
running styles, but complement each other well.
Rucker is at his best when running between the tack
les, especially in short-yardage situations. Roseboro, on
the other hand, is diminutive (5-feet-3, 160 pounds), but
fcxceptionally difficult to handle because of his foot speed
and ability to accelerate and change directions quickly.
A prime factor in Parkland's resurgence is the defense.
The Mustangs employ a 5-3 set, which has played well
with lots of help from linebackers Brian Holman, Myric
White, Jalen McClean, Lee Kpbga and Regan Wilkins.
Holman, a returnee from last year's JV team, has estab
lished himself as the undisputed leader. "Brian is the quar
terback of the defense," said Atwater. "He knows our
scheme and knows everything that needs to be done.
Because of his knowledge, we're able to move him around
a lot.
"Even though he's not very big for his position (5-feet
8, 160 pounds), he's strong, physical and fast. Those are
the type of players you have to have to be excellent on
defense."
Photo by Craig T. Greenlee
Tacarris Wilson (7) and Lyndon Harmon of East Forsyth team up to sack Reagan quarterback Aaron Dorer.
Eagles close with
a flurry to knock
off Raiders
East Forsyth tops Reagan 38-15
BY CRAIG T. GREENLEE
FOR THE CHRONICLE __
Monday night football - junior varsity style - saved its
best for last when East Forsyth went on the road to play
Reagan 10 days ago. Even though the Eagles were on
cruise control most of the time, they had to go into scram
ble mode in the closing minutes to claim a 38-25 victory.
With much help from big-play specialists Jaelon
Maxie, Nick Childs and Jordan Barrett, the Eagles had the
game well in hand with a 32-12 lead midway through the
third quarter. At that point. Coach Ronnie Horton sat his
starters and allowed East Forsyth's back-ups to see some
game action.
"Regardless of who's in the game, we have to maintain
focus for all four quarters," said Horton. "That's an area
we're constantly working on. We'll get better at it as the
season moves along. We had some low moments there.
But we finished well and did what we had to do."
The Raiders closed the gap late in the third when they
recovered a fumbled punt return near midfield. Five plays
later, Ryan Ayers hit Dwayne Sawyers on a 33-yard touch
down pass.
But that was only for starters. With less than five min
utes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Raiders defense
sent all three of their linebackers on an all-out blitz. Grant
Carter got there first and slammed quarterback Brandon
Bullins to the turf. The ball popped loose and Carter
snatched the ball off the bounce and darted to the end zone
for a 62-yard touchdown.
After that sequence of events, the mood turned tense
on the Eagles sideline. Their 20-point lead was long gone.
And now, Reagan was only seven points away (32-25)
See Flurry on A2
I
Explosive West Forsyth whips High Point Central
BY CRAIG T. GREENLEE
FOR THE CHRONICLE
West Forsyth is the real
deal in junior varsity foot
ball.
The Titans are still
unbeaten and they're still
growing. It's still too early
in the season to tell if this
team has a reasonable
chance to achieve perfec
tion.
There is one certainty,
however.
Now that the non-con
ference part of the schedule
is finished, West Forsyth
will get every team's best
shot as play begins in the
Central Piedmont 4-A
Conference this week.
The Titans improved to
4-0 after beating High
Point Central 43-30 last
Thursday. There's no doubt
that West Forsyth can score
with anyone. What's not so
clear is how sturdy the
defense is. The Titans had
their bright moments on
defense, but Coach Jared
Eure is far from satisfied
with what he saw in last
week's outing.
"I'm pleased with the
win, but not happy about
our performance," he said.
"We gave up too many
points. However, we did
get stops when we really
needed to."
The first half of this
game was a shoot-out, with
neither team being able to
stop the other. The lead
changed hands six times
before the Titans took con
trol for good with 1:01
remaining in the second
quarter.
? Kallai Buyna made a
leaping catch of a pass
from Drew Latham for a
28-yard touchdown to put
West Forsyth back in front
at 22-18. High Point
Central attempted to
See Whips on B2
43-30
Photo by Craig T. Greenlee
Clifton Mack of West Forsyth puts pressure on High Point Central quarterback
John Saunders (7).
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