Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Aug. 4, 1994, edition 1 / Page 31
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5TAW -MOTOJ ?Y DOUG *UTTW WEST BRUNSWICK ASSISTANT COACH JOE NOBLE works with offensive linemen (from left) Brian McDowell, Jonathan Faulk and James Cook during the football team's first practice Saturday. FOOTBALL PRACTICE UNDER WAY State Champion Trojans Return To Gridiron BY DOUG R UTTER West Brunswick's Trojans, win ners of two consecutive state high school football championships, made a quietly confident return to the gridiron Saturday morning. TTiere were no peppy cheerleaders or rowdy fans cheering them on as they huffed and puffed their way through a series of conditioning drills. It was just the kids and coach es on a soggy field. All were spared from the typical heat associated with the first day of football practice. Gray slues kept the temperature relatively low, and oc casional raindrops also helped. Nearly eight months after West Brunswick captured its second straight state title, a new group of players and a revamped coaamig staff began the painstaking task of preparing for the 1994 season. It starts in just over three weeks (Aug. 26) when the Trojans travel to Boiling Spring Lakes for a non -con ference battle with their arch rivals, the South Brunswick Cougars. A lot has changed since West Brunswick defeated High Point Andrews 19-14 to win the state 3A crown last December. Stars Steve Holmes, William Stanley, Michael Lance, Phillip Johnson, Charlie Peek and Steve Brooks graduated. But some things haven't changed. Eric Johnson is still running the show at quarterback. Kwabena Green and Kelley Wooten are still doing their thing in the trenches. As of Monday, West had 38 play ers out for the varsity and junior var sity squads. First-year head coach Yogi Hickman &aid he hopes more players will trickle in this week. IKUJAJS QUARTERBACK ERIC JOHNSON gets instruction from offensive coordinator Heath Hewett, who was a standout quarterback himself at WhitrviUe High School and Eton College. "The numbers are down. I'm a lit- *Tm gonna coach who shows up. tie disturbed about that There are a Everybody knows when we're prac couple kids who played last year tiring." who haven't shown up yet," he said. Hickman said he's pleased with the kids who have been showing up for morning practice. . "The ones who are here have done well. They're very eager to pick up what we're trying to teach them," he said. Hickman and his staff are trying to teach the kids an offense that is vastly different from the deceptive attack West Brunswick ran the last two years under coach Jim Brett. "Overall I don't know I have any complaints about what I've seen on the field," Hickman said. "Obviously there's some big-time talent here. I knew there were some good players out here, but some of them are even better than I thought." - -Hickman said he's pleased with the turnout of junior vanity players. "I hat is very encouraging. We have a number of young kids who are go ing to be good athletes down the line." TWo-a-day workouts will start next Monday. Morning practices will be held from 9:00 until 10:4S and 11:15 until noon. West Brunswick's first scrimmage game is Saturday, Aug. 13, at 7 p.m. against the Golden Falcons of CB. Aycock. The school is located in Pikeville. about seven miles north of Goldsboro. The Trojans will be one of eight teams competing in the eighth annu al UCB Football Jamboree, a series of four scrimmage games slated Aug. 19 at Wilmington's Legion Stadium. West Brunswick will face Wallace -Rose Hill in its scrimmage. Other matchups are New Hanover versus Whiteville, Hoggard versus South Brunswick and Laney versus South Columbus. FORMER TROJAN STANDOUT Russ Expects Playing Time On E CU Defense BY DOUG RUTTER Former West Brunswick High School football star Daniel Run is expected to get substantial playing time this season on East Carolina University's defensive line. Russ enters his sophomore season as a second-string defensive end and should play 20 to 30 downs per game this foil, said ECU defensive ends coach David Blackwell. "He was probably the biggest sur prise on the team coming out of spring practice," Blackwell said last week. "It probably won't be a start ing job, but he'll play a lot this foil." Rust, who started at middle line backer and tight end on West Brunswick's eastern 2A champi onship team in 1991, started work ing out at the "rush end" position at EAST CAROLINA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE DATE _ OPPONENT Sept 10 .at Duke Sept 17 .at Temple Sept. 24 Syracuse Oct. 1 Southern Miss Oct 8 ...at South Carolina Oct 15 Virginia Ttech Oct. 22 .-at Tulsa Oct 29 Cincinnati Nov. 5 .at Auburn Nov. 12 Central Florida Nov. 19 ?at Memphis the end of the 1993 season. He will open the 1994 campaign as a backup to senior end Willie Brookins, who led the Pirates in sacks last season with TA as well as tackles behind the line of scrim mage. Recruited as a linebacker, Russ was red-shirted his first year at East Carolina and worked out at Ae nose guard position much of last year be fore switching to rush end. "During the off-season last year he absolutely killed himself in the weight room," Blackwell said. "We're real excited about him. You like to sec a guy find a spot and real ly start to contribute to the team." The 6-foot -4-inch Russ, who played at 225 pounds in high school, has bulked up to 240 pounds "I worked hard in the weight room in the spring and summer," Russ said last week. "I'm going into the fall behind a senior, second team, so I should be getting about 30 snaps a game on defense." When Brookins graduates next spring. Run said he hopes to move into the starting lineup. **l feel a lot more comfortable at end than nose guard. My weight wasn't exactly right for nose guard. Two hundred forty isn't enough when the other guy's 280." Bast Carolina is coming off a tough season. The Pirates went 2-9 in 1993 after losing one quarterback to academics and two others to in jury. In all, 10 starters missed games due to injury. "1 think we'll do a lot better than last year because everybody's healthy and everyone's gotten a lot stronger in the weight room,'' Russ said. "I also think we're more to gether as a team." Russ, the son of James and Connie Russ of Ocean Isle, is major ing in construction management at ECU. He said he's preparing to eventually take over his father's business. East Carolina, an independent NCAA Division 1-A school, is scheduled to open the season Sept. 10 at Duke. The Pirates will battle Big East power Syracuse in their home opener Sept. 24. The ECU schedule also includes two games against nationally-ranked teams. Virginia Tech visits Oct. IS, and the Pirates travel to Auburn on Nov. 5. SUNSHINE BUILDERS CUSTOM BUILT HOMES Decks. Gazebos, Utility Buildings, Remodeling & More ALL WORK GUARANTEED FREE ESTIMATES REFERENCES LICENSED BUL0CIWU.Y STREET {910)754-8746^ SOUTH HIRES MCKINMO^J Emmett Lay Named New West Basketball Coach BY DOUG RUTTER "It's a real good opportunity. It was really a career move. Brunswick County offers a fine opportunity to people in the education profession and the coaching profession as well.'* So says Emmett Lay, a former athletic director at West Columbus High School who was hired last week as the new boys' basketball coach at West Brunswick. Ed McKinnon of Laurinburg has taken over the boys' basketball pro gram at South Brunswick. Both hir ings were approved last Wednesday by the Brunswick County Board of Education. Lay fills the vacancy left by Charlie Stevens, who resigned as West Brunswick's basketball coach on July 5 after only one year to take over the basketball program at Goldsboro High School. Although he was hired primarily to coach basketball. Lay's first order of business will be coaching West Brunswick's junior varsity football team. His basketball duties won't begin until November. Lay, a single 34-year-old, is start ing his 13th year as a high school football and basketball coach. His career has included stops at Smithville Selma, McMichael, Wal lace-Rose Hill, West Columbus and South Columbus. Lay, who was athletic director at West Columbus for three years be fore transferring to South Columbus last year, also has experience coach ing baseball and track and field. The Tabor City High School grad uate received a sociology degree in 1982 from N.C State University, who he was a member of the basket ball team. He is currently doing graduate work at Pembroke State University, working toward an edu cation administration certificate. Lay, who will teach social studies at West Brunswick, has roots in the county. His mother's family is from Ash, and his grandmother still lives there. "My home is just across the river in Pireway," he said. "I'm going to hunt a residence in Brunswick County but it might take a while. 1 don't want to move too far from Pembroke until I finish my graduate work." West Brunswick's boys placed fourth in the Waccamaw Conference last year with a 5-7 record. The Trojans were 10-16 overall and ad vanced to the second round of the state 3A playoffs. Four starters ? Eric Johnson, Timothy Daniels, Jonathan Williams and Derek Frink ? and several key reserves are expected to return to the lineup this winter. "I saw them play several times last year and have seen them many times over the last few years," Lay said of the Trojans. "But I'm not re ally familiar enough with their talent to comment on it." New Man At South South Brunswick's new boys' basketball boss, McKinnon, has coached the junior varsity boys at Scotland County High School for the last four seasons and has 17 years of coaching experience. The 43-year-old native of Robeson County replaces Gene Doane, who resigned in late June af ter coaching for eight years at the Boiling Spring Lakes school. "I'm really excited about getting back to being a head coach again." said McKinnon, who hasn't been a head basketball coach since a two year stint at Chatham Central ended in 1987. The Chatham boys were 19-30 in two seasons under McKinnon. At Scotland County his junior varsity teams went 49-31, finishing first in the conference twice and second an other year. In six years as the boys' basket ball coach at Carrington Junior High in Durham, McKinnon 's teams post ed a record of 67-31, including a 14 0 mark his final year in 1985. A 1969 graduate of Rowland High School. McKinnon has an un dergraduate degree in psychology and master's degree in health and physical education from UNC Chapel Hill. McKinnon said he will not help coach the South Brunswick football team this year bccausc there are no openings, but he added that he wouldn't mind assisting in the future. "I have IS years in football and worked with the Scotland County team," he said. "Some basketball coaches don't like to but I enjoy it I've worked in football everywhere I've been." McKinnon said he could move to the Southpoit area as soon as this week. He has a wife, Valerie, and stepdaughter, Lauren, wtio a entering her sophomore year in high school. "I've always had my eye on this part of the state," McKinnon said. "I'm leaving a lot of good friends in Laurinburg, but I'm looking forward to coming to Southport." In 1993. the South Brunswick boys' basketball team missed the state playoffs for the first time in five years. The Cougars finished fifth in the Waccamaw Conference with a 4-8 record and overall mark of 9-15. Z6NQ S QXpceN CKlncsc j^csTaurcvnr LUNCH BUFFET FAMILY NIGHT Monday-Friday BUFFET 1 1 -2:30 PM Monday-Saturday Monday-Thursday 1 1 AM-3. 4:30-8:30 PM Friday 1 1 AM-3. 4:30-9 PM Saturday 4:30-9 PM , Sunday 11 AM-3 PM, 4:30-8:30 For take-out call 754-5280 East Gate Square. Hotclen Beach Road ? Sha#otte COASTA FITNESS V Nautilus ? Free Weights ? Aerobics ? Dry Sauna Karate ? 2 Trotter Treadmills ? 2 Lifecydes ? Climbmax Stepper ? 2 Wolff Tanning Beds ? Massage Therapy Playroom available with sitter SUMMER SPECIAL 6 month?-$175 12 month *-$300 Tues. WE FINANCE MEMBERSHIPS Vacationers Welcome Daily and weekly memberships available ... Sat 10:30 am, step Thurs. (7:00 pm), low hnpact COASTAL FITNESS OrVHi 7 riavc a wnnk Seders Rd.. behind Resort Plaza ? Shailotte 754-2772
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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Aug. 4, 1994, edition 1
31
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