Photo by Craig T Greenlee
Packers defensive back Tazhae Woods (in gray) closes in on a Mint Hill runner near the goal line during the AYF state championship game.
AYF
from page BT
Warren realizes that
iven though his team has
been dominant up to this
point, they are sure to be
thoroughly tested in their
pursuit of winning a
Division I national title. "A
big key for us is to stay
poised, and do the best we
:an to keep our rotations
;oing so we'll have fresh
players in the game at all
imes.
"During our time off,
we've emphasized to the
players that our trip to
Florida is about business.
It's not a trip that we're tak
ing for fun."
Raiders: Since finish
ing the regular season at
break-even (3-3),
Kernersville's Junior
Midgets have been on a roll
in Division II post-season
play. There's nothing fancy
about this group. It's old
school football and from all
indications, the players
have totally embraced no
frills football.
"It's old-fashioned fun
damentals," said coach
Scott Phelps, whose team
is 6-3. "There's not a lot of
speed on the roster, but
what we have is a hard
nosed group. We'll throw
the ball only when it's nec
essary. Our game plan is to
control the clock and get
three yards at a time. As
long as we do that, we keep
the ball and we keep mov
? _ ??
ing.
Offensively, Darius
Williams is the workhorse
at tailback. On defense,
Brendan Conway serves as
one of the anchors.
"We just want to stay
grounded and stay true to
our roots," said Phelps.
" There's no need to
change. We're going to
stick with what we do,
which is ground and
pound."
Bobcats: The regular
season ended in defeat, but
since that time, the results
since have been very
rewarding. Union Cross
won three straight post-sea
son games to advance to
the Division II nationals in
the Pee Wee Division (11
12 age group).
"We can do well if we
can stay hungry and not let
our recent success go to our
head," said coach Ralph
Turner, whose team is 10
2. "We feel like we're able
to create match-ups that
give us an edge on
offense."
The Bobcats get the job
done with a highly produc
tive passing game. They
run a variation of the
spread and will use as
many as ten different for
mations during the course
of a game.
Quarterback TV Lyles
benefits from having a
skilled group of play-mak
ers to work with. Javon
Meyers, Jarron Sellers,
Joseph Ritchens, Kenyon
Mosquera, Christopher
Joines, Jalen Thorns and
Jalen Douglas all get their
tums to contribute to an
offense that averaged 35
points a game in the AYF
Atlantic Regionals three
weeks ago.
On defense, George
Brown, Elijah Thomas and
Justice Wiggins set the
tempo. Union Cross plays a
4-4 base defense, but will
also employ different looks
with a 3-4 and some 3-5-1.
"We're having a great
run," said Turner. "We're
confident that we can finish
this run and bring home a
Signings
rom page El
"Dominique is tremen
dous for us night in and
night out," said coach
Eugene Love of Prep.
"Jada has grown so much
as a floor leader. On the
court, she truly is an exten
sion of the head coach."
Claytor's versatility
makes her a prized com
modity. At 5-feet-10, she's
physical enough to play
power forward and even
center, if needed. Yet, she
has the skill, agility and
savvy to run the point and
play on the perimeter as a
transferring from
Matthews Weddington last
year. For the season, she
averaged 10.7 points, 3.6
assists and 3 2 steals per
game. The addition of
Craig to the roster further
bolstered the Phoenix's
already stout defense.
"Jada is excellent at
applying on-the-ball pres
sure and she's the spear
head of our defense," said
Love. "Once she joined
Christina (Caesar) in our
backcourt, it took us to
another level defensively.
44With her size and athleticism,
Dominique gives us a lot of
flexibility at both ends of the floor."
-Eugene Love, Coach
shooting guard or small
forward. A year ago,
Claytor averaged 9 points,
6.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists
and 3.4 steals per game.
"With her size and ath
leticism, Dominique gives
us a lot of flexibility at both
ends of the floor," said
Love. "She doesn't need to
be a dominant scorer for
Dur team to play to its full
capability. The stat sheet
doesn't reveal everything
she can do on a basketball
court."
Claytor, who has a 3.8
grade-point average,
picked ECU over
Nebraska, Memphis,
Georgetown and Virginia
Commonwealth. The
major selling points that
won her over were the
team's camaraderie, along
with the school's Air Force
ROTC program. "The team
is like a family and I'm
very interested in ROTC,"
she said. "I'll probably
major in engineering, math
3r science."
Craig blossomed in her
First season at Prep after
Not only that, but she's
becoming a knock-down
shooter."
East Tennessee State's
campus environment com
bined with the strong bond
between players and
coaches caused Craig to
take a more intense interest
in the school. When she
learned that the school has
a well-respected program
in physical therapy, she
knew there would be no
need foir her to make any
more recruiting visits.
"I felt like the time was
right and it (East Tennessee
State) is the perfect fit,"
said Craig, whose grade
point average is 3.75.
"Because of that, there was
no reason for me to wait
any longer to make my
final decision."
In addition to ETSU,
Craig was recruited by
UNC Greensboro, UNC
Wilmington, Jacksonville
University (Fla.),Virginia
Commonwealth, Elon,
UNC Asheville and High
Point University.
wwwjwschroniclexonj
Pboto by Craig T. Greenlee
Dominique Claytor of Winston-Salem Prep was the MVP of the Class 1-A state championship game last
season.