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August 22 & 23, 2001 The New Season New song, familiar verse . Maiden team to beat in Southern Foothills 1A By RONALD KISER Sports Editor of The Eagle The conference may be new, but as far as the pre-season favorite is concerned, it’s the same old story. Maiden’s Blue Devils, coached by the legendary Tom Brown, will be heavily favored to walk off with top honors in the Southern Foothills 1-A circuit. The Blue Devils could run into a bit of trouble in their October 12 trip to Hendersonville. The Bearcats could pose a problem with a number of vets off last year’s playoff team. Polk County also made the state playoffs last time, but coach Jeff Wilson lost 13 good seniors. As for Cherryville’s Ironmen and the Bessemer City Jackets, both teams are question marks and although both coaches expect better times, they prob- ably won't have the fire power to challenge Maiden. All five teams - Highland Tech of Gastonia is a sixth member, but won't play varsity football in 2001 - will be in post-season and most Southern Foothills coaches do not like that idea. Like it or not, however, the 2001 season will continue at least one week later for all. As for the schedule itself, that October 12 Maiden at Hender- sonville tilt looms large on the horizon and then there are the November 9 tilts sending Polk County to Hendersonville and the 48th renewal of one of North Carolina’s oldest rivalries - Cherryville verses Bessemer City. Here's a preview of the South- ern Foothills 1-A - MAIDEN - Coach Tom Brown starts another year and his Blue Devils, bolstered by 17 good vets, are favored to grab the first Southern Foothills flag. Big question here is to find a replacement for Shrine Bowl quarterback Grant Rembert. Another Rembert, this one J.R., and promising sophomore Logan Spake are top candidates for the job. Omar Hayes, who ran for 400 yards last time, and Lamont Reid, who accounted for 500 yards, return as do three hefty 280-pound linemen. Senior Josh Canady and juniors Matt Isenhour and Derek Fox will be throwing their 280-pound frames around. Center Jon Miller and junior tackle Dan Sipe are other ---mainstays. ‘Maiden was 11-2 last time and the Blue Devils will again be a power to be reckoned with in state 1-A playoffs. HENDERSONVILLE - A total of 17 vets make the Bearcats a top threat. Coach B.]. Laughter welcomes six starters back on each side of the football. The Bearcats, too, may be the biggest team in the Southern Foothills with four 220-plus linemen and a hard- running 225-pound fullback. Brice Terry starts at tackle and he’s 64” and 295 pounds. Nathan Thompson (230) and Kirron Wood (220) are also up front and at fullback is 225- pound Matt Menchaca. Run- ning backs are vets Adam Brown and Cyone Simpson and coach Laughter also has a leader in Eric Smith (190) at tight end. Hendersonville was 11-2 last season and it looks like another banner year for Laughter and the Bearcats. POLK COUNTY - Jeff Wilson starts his fifth season with nine lettermen off last season’s playoff squad. But 13 good seniors graduated and that hurts. Top returners include quarter- back Jordon Edwards, who hit on 61 of 97 passes last time for 652 yards and five TDs, and senior running back Robbie Petty, who accounted for 729 yards on 156 carries. Receivers Jon Blatt - 26 catches for 310 yards - and Trey Miller, who accounted for 239 yards in receptions, also return along with a pair of 215-pound tackles - Jamie Marlowe and Allen Mcintyre. CHERRYVILLE - Steve Wilson starts his second season here and the Ironmen will again face a tough schedule that includes North Gaston, East Gaston, Hunter Huss, Bunker Hill, and of course, Maiden and Hendersonville. Senior Shane Summer returns to the quarterback post with Kanawha Johnson set to run the football. ~ Travis Walls (240) and Chad Johnson (245) are big linemen and 200-pounder Adam Crane is back at tight end. Chris Craft, Blake Clary and all-conference Brooks Gardner are among the vets and kicker Justin Goins is there, too. Bryan Burnette, Kenneth Harris, Chris Harris and run- ning back Chase Corry are good looking newcomers. yA BESSEMER CITY - Head coach Mike Crawford fields another young squad at Besse- mer City, but the Yellow Jackets should be improved after last year's disappointing 0-10 mark. SOUTHERN FOOTHILLS 1A CONFERENCE PRE-SEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM Runningbacks Jermaine OFFENSE Gamble and Deontae Davis are expected to lead Bessemer City's POSITION PLAYER SCHOOL offense. Gamble had 682 yards TE Adam Crane Cherryville rushing last year on 140 carries WR Jon Blatt Polk County and Davis 666 yards on 109 OL Derrick Fox Maiden attempts. OL Daniel Sipe Maiden Crawford has only three OL Allen McIntyre Polk seniors on the team, therefore, a OL Tim Paris Hendersonville handful of juniors and sopho- OL Kerron Ward Hendersonville mores will need to carry the load QB Jordan Edwards Polk County as Bessemer City faces a chal- RB Adam Brown Hendersonville lenging pre-conference slate RB Matt Menchaca Hendersonville with Chase, Charlotte Country RB Robbie Petty Polk County Day and East Lincoln on tap and ~~ RB Jermaine Gamble Bessemer City tough contests with Southern RB Deontae Davis Bessemer City Foothills foes Hendersonville ! and Maiden. DEFENSE HIGHLAND TECH - The DL Eric Smith Hendersonville school out of Gastonia will field DL Daniel Sipe Maiden only a junior varsity football DL Sharone Simpson Hendersonville team in 2001, but come 2002 DL Travis Walls Cherryville they'll be ready to romp. DL Matt Isenhour Maiden Coached by former West Lincoln ~~ LB Jonathan Miller Maiden and Clemson University player LB Brooks Gardner Cherryville Lanny Ford, Highland will make LB David Burgess Hendersonville itself known in the Southern LB Colt Love Polk County Foothills circuit. DB Blake Ward Hendersonville The Highland jayvees openat ~~ DB Lamar Reid Maiden Cherryville August 30. DB Brandon Moore Polk County Predicted order of finish: E PRE-SEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Adam Brown, RB, 1 - Hendersonville : Hendersonville. : wd od 2 Melden PRE-SEASON ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Daniel Littlejohn, Soph. 3 3 Polk County RB, Polk County. : 4 - Cherryville 5 - Bessemer City Quality Sewing Thread Since 1891 There is a Difference! P.O. Box 504, Mount Holly, NC 28120 Hi Telephone: (704) 827-4311 Fax: (704) 827-0267 : 8 Web Site: www.amefird.com h Our People - Our Company! Our Customers - Our Partners! A&E is committed to providing world-class quality products and services, which we achieve through continuous improvement of processes. ~The Difference Is a Tradition of Quality! {
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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