Fall Sports Preview 2011

FALL SPORTS PREVIEWFriday, Aug. 19, 2011

THE PILOT — SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2011

BY CHARLIE BERGMANNSpecial to The Pilot

Pinecrest football fans have becomeaccustomed to waiting until October and thestart of conference play before the realexcitement begins.

In fact, the Patriots begin the 2011 seasonwith 15 regular season non-league wins in arow.

An early rush of adrenalin is a certainty for allinvolved tonight (7:30 p.m. kickoff) when thePatriots open the season by entertaining a JackBritt squad that has won 10 or more games insix of the last seven years, includingappearances in state championship games in2008 and 2009. The Buccaneers are ranked

No. 4 in the Carolina Preps/NCPrep Reportpreseason top 25 media poll.

Barron Collier of Naples, Fla., and NewHanover are two other marquee-qualityopponents in the toughest non-conferenceschedule put together since Chris Metzgerbecame the head coach in 2007. SoutheasternConference opponents Richmond Senior andScotland County are ranked No. 5 and No. 6,respectively, in the poll.

“To my knowledge, and based on the people Iknow, this is the toughest schedule Pinecrest hasever faced,” Metzger said after scrimmagesagainst Northwood and Douglas Byrd last week.

see PINECREST, page 3

FRIDAYNIGHTLIGHTS

Pinecrest Season BeginsWith a Rush of Adrenalin

DONNA FORD/Special to The Pilot

Coming off a 2010 season with 15 regular season non-league wins in a row, the Pinecrest Patriots will kick off their 2011 season at home tonight against Jack Britt.


North MooreCross CountryHeating Up

BY JOHN KRAHNERT IIISpecial to The Pilot

Interest in North Moore cross country is highheading into the 2011 season with 31 runnersturning out to summer workouts — and there couldbe more.

Head coach Chris Coble enters his sixth season asthe Mustangs’ coach, and his boys’ team is one ofthe deepest yet. The boys are coming off a fifth-placefinish in the Yadkin Valley Conference last year.

The girls’ squad, fresh off a fourth-place confer-ence finish last year, is more of a question mark. ButCoble is optimistic about both teams this season.

“I’m really pleased with where we’re at,” he said.“Workouts have been good. Obviously, practice sofar this start of the season has looked good.”

The boys’ team returns five of its top seven runnersback from last season. Alex Landers, who was onespot away from being all-conference last year, looksto lead the pack this season. Justin Marley alsoreturns.

A rising freshman, Tristan Mackey, is expected tobe a real talent and should contribute right away.

Coble thinks the team should be competing in thetop half of the conference. Gray Stone is always afactor, and West Montgomery is coming off a strongsecond-place finish last year.

“Our boys’ team should be, I hope, one of thestronger teams in the conference,” Coble said.“We’ve got several pieces coming back from lastyear.”

On the girls’ side, only three of the top seven fromlast year’s team are back this season after losingseveral seniors to graduation. Junior JourdanWofford is the squad’s best runner returning thisseason, and like Landers, just missed out on all-conference last year. Several freshmen will also becontributing, but Coble said it could take a couplemore weeks to figure out just how his girls’ team isgoing to look.

Gray Stone, South Stanly and Chatham Centralare the girls’ teams to beat.

“Obviously our goal is the same as the boys’,”Coble said. “We want to finish in the top half of theconference.”

Coble is excited about the turnout for the programand is enjoying working with the kids.

“Probably what I love to see most, especially with31 out there, is the encouragement going on amongthem. They’re high-fiving as they’re going by, they’retelling each other ‘good job,’ and they’re saying‘keep working hard’ as they pass each other on thetrail.

“The team concept is really strong for us rightnow.”

SCHEDULE: Aug. 23 Preseason Meet; 30 @ Chatham Central*; Sept. 6 @ EastMontgomery*; 13 North Moore*; 20@ Chatham Central*; 27@North Rowan*;Oct. 11@East Montgomery*; 18 YVC Championship Meet

*Yadkin Valley Conference Meet

Viking Squad FacingAn Uncertain Season

BY F.W. MANNING IISports Writer

The Union Pines boys’ and girls’cross country teams begin their2011 campaigns Aug. 31 in aCape Fear Valley Conference tri-school meet in Lillington againstWestern Harnett and SouthernLee.

Although the Viking boys didcapture the 2010 CFVCchampionship — marking theirthird straight league title and 10thover the past 12 years — an air ofuncertainty surrounds the makeupof their top seven runners as theseason draws near.

At last year’s CFVC champi-onship meet, Union Pines had fiverunners place in the top 12.However, three of those runnersare no longer part of the Vikingsquad.

Not all the news is bad for theUnion Pines boys, however.Summer turnouts are high andyounger runners have started tomake their mark on the sandy,shady trails of Reservoir Park — aplace the Union Pines cross coun-try team has trained in the presea-son for the past several years.

“We have been working out in

the mornings and I am verypleased by the numbers we’vehad,” said head coach Nat Carter.”There have been 17 guys whohave consistently showed up forworkouts, which is an improve-ment over last year.

“As a group they have all beenworking pretty hard. We do nothave our top five to seven spotsfigured out yet, but we do havesome solid returners, includingStorm Jessup and Tre’ Egerton.”

Jessup placed ninth in the 2010CFVC championship race, whileEgerton took 10th place. Bothrunners earned all-conferencehonors last season and figure tobe leaders for the Vike squad thisyear, according to Carter.

“There are a lot of new faces,”Carter added, “but I suspect somewill step up because of theconsistency of depth we have as ateam.”

Meanwhile, the Union Pinesgirls’ team is coming off a third-place finish in last season’s CFVCstandings.

The Lady Vike squad doesfeature some experience,including seniors SavannahMangrum and Alyssa Radel.

“We have about seven returneesout of the 12 girls who came outthis summer,” said Carter.

“Laura Haulsee has been onerunner who is looking particularlygood after an injury sidelined herfor the half of the year lastseason,” he added. “AlsoSavannah and Alyssa, our twosenior leaders, have both beenmuch more focused. So as we getcloser to the first race there will besome serious competition for ourtop seven spots and some goodcompetition for individual slotswithin the top seven.”

When accessing the girls’ overalltimes, Carter is optimistic aboutUnion Pines’ ability to compete for

a league title.“I like our chances to contend

for first in the conference, but it isgoing to be tough becauseOverhills is the reigning championand returns five of its top six girls.Even still, I feel like we are goingto give them a run for theirmoney.”

SSCCHHEEDDUULLEE:: Aug. 21 @ Western Harnett*; Sept. 3@ Jungle Run Invitational; 7 @ Overhills*; 10 @ 5-Stage 8-Mile Relay; 14 Union Pines*; 21 @ SouthernLee*; 24 @ Bulldog Stampede Invitational; 28 @Westover*; Oct. 5 @ Douglad Byrd*; 12 UnionPines*; 19 @ CFVC Championship; 29 @ Mid-EastRegional; Nov. 5 State Meet

* Cape Fear Valley Conference Meet

Talent, Experience Earn PHS Top 25 RankingBY MICHAEL WARREN

Special to The PilotHeading into the 2011 edition of Pinecrest

cross country, both the boys’ and girls’ teamsare predicted to be among the top in thestate.

The similarities between the two teams areplentiful. Both start the season ranked in thetop 25; the boys are 18th and the girls are12th. Both return the majority of their top runners. Most importantly, both are filled withyoung talent.

The boys are looking to improve on a 2010season that saw them finish third in the regionand 25th in the state. Having to replace threeseniors, the preseason top seven runners aresenior Ben Kaiser; juniors Becket Killam andJacob Troutman; and sophomores Will Proulx,Matt Harmody, Chris Kelly and Javier Bustos.

As a whole, the team depth has improved,and coach Jeremy Swofford is anticipatingrunners moving in and out of the top seven.Some of the younger runners on the team areadjusting from jayvee to varsity racing.

“It’s more fun, but it kind of hurts,”

remarked Bustos.“This might be one of the fastest teams

Pinecrest has ever had,” Swofford said. “Theboys are looking to win the region and finishin the top five at the state championshipmeet.”

“Usually the state winner comes from ourregion, so a good showing at regions shouldtranslate to states,” said Killam. “With such ayoung team, one can’t help but look ahead tothe 2012 season and a shot at the statechampionship.”

“It looks good,” said Swofford, looking forward. “We’ll have almost all of our topseven returning and if you look at the stateoverall we should be top three.”

Like the boys, the Lady Patriots are lookingto improve on a 2010 season in which theyfinished second in the region and 12th in thestate. After losing only one senior from the topseven, the girls line-up of senior JennaWoronoff; juniors Jennie Cunningham,Hayden Rudd, and Kara Zoellner; and sopho-mores Katie Hayes, Jaleigh Jensen, MulloyManning looks much the same as last year’s.

The depth of talent on the girls’ team iscomparable to the boys’. Coach JohnBuchholz expects senior Katana Lemlin andsophomore Zia Matti to be among those whoshuffle into the top seven.

Where does this depth come from? Hardwork in the summer.

“I don’t think there’s another group in thestate that works as hard as these girls do,”said Buchholz.

“This year’s girls’ team is also looking totake its place among the best in Pinecrest history,” says Buchholz. “Time-wise, this couldbe the fastest team we’ve had.”

Buchholz is looking to see his girls finish inthe top two in the region and among the top10 in the state.

The teams will open the season with thePatriot Invitational on Aug. 18, where the girlswill face their main regional competition, WestJohnston, for the first time this season.

On Sept. 3, the teams travel to South ViewHigh School for Jungle Run, where the boyswill get their first real test against rivals SouthView and Terry Sanford.

PHILIP TAYLOR/The Pilot

Union Pines’ cross country teams are working hard.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2011 THE PILOT — SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. PAGE 15

BY HUNTER CHASESports Editor

Young is the key word for the O’Neal girls’tennis team this season.Veteran coach Don Woodfield noted that helost three seniors from last year’s team thatfinished 11-5. Four of the losses came againstCape Fear Academy and WestchesterCountry Day. Cape Fear finished the seasonas the 2-A independent school statechampion, while Westchester finished near thetop in state play.“We had a good year last year,” Woodfieldsaid. “But we lost three seniors from that teamand we lost three seniors the year before. Thisyear we have no seniors.”What he does have is a squad of 13 girlsthat returns only a few players with varsityexperience. Included in that group arefreshman Greyson Keel and juniors MaggieHacas, Ally Hoehn-Saric and Dana Averbook.Woodfield knows that Hacas and Keel aregoing to be in the top-two spots, whileHoehn-Saric and Averbook are also going tobe in the starting lineup. High school tennishas six singles and three doubles teamscompeting in each match.For the final two spots in the six singleslineup, there are four or five players fightingfor position.“We’ve got a lot of new girls,” Woodfieldsaid. “Most of them were former jayveeplayers and have only been in the programone or two years.”He said the Cape Fear IndependentConference boasts a lot of strong teams inaddition to Cape Fear, and that his teammight suffer a few growing pains this season.“It’s a great group of kids,” Woodfield said.“But we don’t have the depth we’ve had in thepast. We are a young team.”

Youth to DefineO’Neal TennisTeam’s Season


In 2008, the Union Pines women’s golf teamwon its second straight 1-3A state golf champi-onship. Three years later, the Lady Vikinggolfers are looking to get back on track undersecond year head coach Raymond Groseclose.“At the beginning of last year the team onlyhad two players and no coach,” saidGroseclose. “They missed the first conferencematch because no one was able to take them.”The squad was without a coach because MattRagsdale, Union Pines’ head wrestling coach,vacated the position one year after seeing theLady Vikes win back-to-back state titles. Heresigned from the post after the 2009 golfseason to focus full time on lifting the Union

Pines wrestling program to the status of a truestate power.“I soon told (athletic director) Bobby Purvis Iwould take team to their next match,”Groseclose said, “and serve as their coach sothe girls could play.”He took freshman Lindsay Dakin andsophomore Lauren Clark to the next conferencematch only to learn Union Pines could competebut not score as team, because they needed atleast three players.“The very next day I started recruiting in thehalls (at Union Pines) and soon had sevenplayers,” said Groseclose. “We managed toimprove as the season went on and evenfinished second in a conference match.”The 2010 Vikings did not qualify forpostseason play, but Dakin was selected as amember of the 3A Cape Fear ValleyConference all-conference team.According to Groseclose, this season looksmuch brighter.“We return all but one player from last year,”he said, “and this group of girls is one of themost enjoyable groups I have ever had theprivilege to coach. They are all good studentsand have great attitudes.”

The 2011 Viking golf team includes Dakin,along with freshman Kayla Jackson, sopho-mores Olivia Blue, Shannon Burns, SheldonKoppenhofer, Jaden Roy and Channah Valkos,junior Lauren Clark and seniors MackenzieKoppenhofer and Riley Whalen.Groseclose admitted his team’s overall goal isto win a conference championship.“We may not meet that goal this year,” hesaid, “but I think we will have much moresuccess than last season. Most of our team isstill very young and inexperienced. Some havereally just taken up golf. But Dakin isexperienced in tournament play and will leadus again as well as Clark, who is very talentedand has been working hard on her game.“I expect Lauren and Lindsay to push eachother to become better. Mackenzie(Koppenhofer) is a senior and our captain. Shehas played on the golf team for four years andis capable of scoring well. More importantly,however, she is a tremendous leader, both onthe course and in the classroom.”

SSCCHHEEDDUULLEE:: Aug. 15 @ Lee County; 29 @ Southern Lee; Sept. 6 @Western Harnett; 12 @ Overhills; 26 @ Gray’s Creek; Oct. 3 @ DouglasByrd; 10 Union Pine

Crider, Pinecrest Golfers Eyeing Third TitleBY CHARLIE BERGMANN

Special to The PilotPlayer of the year Hailey Crider, and threeteammates who also earned all-league honors in2010, make the Pinecrest girls’ golf team a goodbet to win their third Southeastern Conference titlein a row.The left-handed swinging Crider, now a junior,has been playing plenty of tournament golf,including participation in the recent U.S. Kids Golfevent. Sophomore Savannah Thompson, lastseason’s league runner-up in stroke average, wasthe leading point earner among girls in this summer’s Tin Whistles First Tee Junior Tour.The other all-conference returnees are junior

Haley Robinson and senior Becky Anderson.Sophomore Elaine Kearney is also back from lastyear’s squad. Newcomers are junior ShaylaVirath and freshman Katherine Cirigliano.The Patriots will be led by Pinecrest staff member Jennifer Kearney, who succeeds theretired Sandy Sackmann, the only coach in thestate to win both girls’ and boys’ state titles duringher tenure. Kearney will be assisted by PinehurstResort golf professionals Rich Wainwright and EricAlpenfels.“I am very appreciative of their help,” Kearneysays.After finishing sixth in last year’s CentralRegional tournament, one of the Patriot goals will

be to finish in the top four in order to qualify forthe 4A state championships. This season getsunder way with a conference match at PinehurstNo. 8 on Sept. 6.The new coach has been impressed with thedetermination of her players during the heatwave.“They seem to have a desire to play no matterhow hot it is.”

SSCCHHEEDDUULLEE:: Sept. 6 - SEC at Pinehurst No. 8; 12 – SEC at Bayonet; 14 –Clayton and Leesville Road at Pinehurst No. 6; 19 – SEC at Pinehurst No. 3; 20– Northwest Guilford and Grimsley at Pinehurst TBD; 26 – SEC at Pinecrest CC,Lumberton; 28 – Grimsley and Page at Starmount Forest CC; Oct. 4 – SEC atNational; 10 – SEC at Scotch Meadows; 17 – SEC at Pinehurst No. 5; 25 – NCH-SAA Regional TBD; Oct. 31, Nov. 1 - NCHSAA State at Pinehurst No. 6.


O’Neal cross country coach Josh Roberts wantsto see his number of runners creep up, while thenumbers associated with their times creep down.“It has been and will continue to be a time ofgrowth by drawing from younger students,”Roberts said, “and molding them into performance runners and into a team.“I would like to see another heavy round ofrecruiting from the younger grades to draw oninterest from students who are unsure of whatthey want … We will see a few older individualscreep up the school Top 10 records and makesome respectable showings at our seasonalmeets.”

One of those older individuals is Austin Puleo.A senior now, he has been running for O’Nealsince his seventh-grade year. He is expected to bea leader for the boys, helping to solidify a teamfeel, while also working on bringing his owntimes down.“He has several records for the school in crosscountry,” Roberts said. “We’ll be leaning on himfor his presence.”On the distaff side, Roberts says that juniorCourtney Morrison is his most seasoned performer. The first time she ran cross countrywas last year. Roberts is also excited that a new coach for thegirls’ team is on the way. Laura Kerr has fouryears of collegiate Division I experience, having

run four years of cross country and track for theUniversity of Arkansas. She is expected to join theteam in early October.“I’m looking forward to her joining us,” Robertssaid.O’Neal is a member of the Cape FearIndependent Conference, a tough conference inwhich to compete, Roberts said. Last season, theFalcons earned middle of the pack status in thestate championship, and Roberts hopes to buildon that as he enters his fourth year at the helm ofthe Falcon harriers.Right now, the Falcons have seven boys and sixgirls practicing for the first meet that is scheduledfor Sept. 1. With school set to start on Monday,Roberts is hoping those numbers will grow when

the younger students start arriving on campus.But until then, he’s working with whom he said toform “a solid core” for the teams.His approach to the coaching of the runnerswho have joined his squads is simple and direct.“I support a high volume of miles on trail withgood rest and recovery days about once a week,”Roberts said. “I don’t have much running scienceto throw at the team — hydrate, get natural rest,spur one another on and run like the forest is onfire.”

Schedule: Sept. 1 — Lee Christian School; 7 — at Cape Fear Academy; 14— at Fayetteville Christian; 17 — adidas CC Challenge in Cary; 28 — atFayetteville Academy; Oct. 5 — CFIC conference teams; 11 — at Lee ChristianSchool; 18 — at Village Christian Academy; 28 — NCISAA state champi-onships at McAlpine Park.

Puleo, Morrison Return to Lead O’Neal’s Cross Country Team

UP Golf IsOn Track


The North Moore girls’ tennis team has been working hard inpreparation for its second year under head coach Cheryl Brewer.

Last season was the first for the Lady Mustangs since theprogram was restarted after a two-year hiatus. The 2011 editionof the team returns key players from last year’s team, includinglast year’s No. 1 player, Shannon Marley.

Brewer said her team comes to practice focused and ready tolearn every day and is a very coachable group.

“They’re willing to work, “ Brewer said. “They’ve got a greatattitude about them. They’re a great group of kids to be around.They don’t fuss, they don’t complain. They get along welltogether.”

Other key returnees are last year’s No. 3, Ciera McDonald,and seniors April Warren and Julie Williams, who were aformidable doubles team. Both played in the top six in singleslast year.

Brewer expects Warren and Williams to provide the leadershipfor the young team.

Several freshmen join the team, as well as a couple ofsophomores who didn’t play last season.

“We are young,” she said. “I’m sure East Montgomery andGray Stone are going to be loaded. And Chatham Central, Idon’t know what they’ve got back. I know they had a reallystrong team last year. I’m not exactly sure what they’re returning.

“I think it will be a toss-up as far as filling in the rest of thepack between us and South Stanly and Albemarle.”

North Moore opened the season Monday at home againstAlbemarle.

SSCCHHEEDDUULLEE:: Aug. 15 Albemarle*; 17 Chatham Central*; 22 @ South Stanly*; 24 North Rowan*;26 East Montgomery*; 29 @ West Montgomery*; 31 South Davidson*; Sept. 7 Gray Stone*; 12 @Albemarle*; 14 @ Chatham Central*; 19 South Stanly*; 21 @ North Rowan*; 26 @ EastMontgomery*; 28 West Montgomery*; Oct. 3 @ South Davidson*; 5 @ Gray Stone*

* Yadkin Valley Conference Match

PAGE 14 THE PILOT — SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2011

Parziale, Numberg and DeckerHead Up Strong Patriot Team

BY CHARLIE BERGMANNSpecial to The Pilot

The Pinecrest girls’ tennis team has plenty of returning talent todraw from in the pursuit of its third Southeastern Conference titlein a row. That includes singles champion Ally Parziale and theleague’s top doubles teammade up of ChrissyNurnberg and CarolineDecker.

Parziale, a senior, is atwo-time state qualifier andthe conference runner-upin singles in her freshmanand sophomore years. Shehas also earned all- onference honors in soccer.Patriot coach Gail Deeseplans to pair up Nurnberg,a junior, and Decker, asophomore, again thisseason.

Back with the team aftertaking a year off from tennis is Antonia Meyers,who occupied the fifth singles slot in 2009. Thesenior earned all-statehonors as a member ofthe Patriot soccer team lastspring.

There will be plenty ofcompetition to fill out theother singles and doublesspots between now and the season opener against EastMontgomery at home on Aug. 23.

Among the other returnees that saw action from a squad that

has gone undefeated in its last two years of conference play arejuniors Karen Smith and Casie Jingle. Smith is just getting backinto the swing of things after suffering a knee injury while playing lacrosse in the spring.

With the roster still being finalized, other members of the teaminclude seniors AudenLaurence and SavannahKittrell, juniors KaileyOsterman and RileyMecimore, sophomoresMary Mitchell Morris,Amanda McCauley andJosie Lee, and freshmenPiper Davis, AmandaSalloum, Brittany Jenkinsand Willa Mitchel.

The first conferencematch is scheduled to beat Lumberton on Sept. 1.

“I think we’re going tobe match-smart,” Deese,who is in her fourth season as coach of thegirls, and has coached thePatriot boys for six years,said. “I’ll probably havethe strongest three or four.It could be pretty interest-ing.”

SSCCHHEEDDUULLEE:: Aug. 23 – EastMontgomery; 29 – at Chapel Hill; Sept. 1– at Lumberton*; 6 – at Scotland*; 8 –Purnell Swett*; 13 – Richmond*; 15 at

Hoke*; 22 – Lumberton*; 27 – Scotland*; 29 – at Purnell Swett*; Oct. 3 – at Union Pines; 4 – atRichmond*; 6 – Hoke*; 10 – SEC Tournament

*Southeastern Conference Match

UP Tennis Early Favorites for ChampionshipBY F.W. MANNING II

Sports WriterThe Union Pines Lady Viking tennis team enters

the 2011 season as the six-time defending 3ACape Fear Valley Conference champions.

The 2010 team finished with an overall recordof 17-2 and reached the quarterfinals of thestate playoffs.

Head coach John Frye admitted Union Pines isapproaching the season expecting to competefor conference, regional and state honors.

“Our squad should be among the earlyfavorites for the CFVC championship,” he saidduring practice Thursday. “Following a summerof intensive workouts, the girls are playing withcomposure and confidence.”

Viking junior Melissa Tally went 38-7 overall in2010 and returns as the two-time defendingCFVC singles champion, a 2010 Mideastregional finalist and a state quarterfinalist.

Tally will be joined by fellow juniors (and CFVCdoubles champions) Madi Kramer (33-4) andLaura Cameron (29-8).

Kramer is the Vikings No. 2 singles player,while Tally occupies the No. 1 slot.

“I look for good things from these two girls,”Frye said about his junior duo of Tally andKramer. “They have both won championships inthe past, so they know what it takes to reach thatlevel and then perform and succeed at that level.

“When their teammates see Madi and Melissawinning championships and making the bigshots, they tend to fall in line.”

Back for their senior year at Union Pines areBrittany Jones (31-9 and a 2010 CFVC singlessemifinalist) and Virginia Priest (33-4), whoteamed with Shannon Simpson to reach thefinals of the CFVC doubles championship.

“All of the girls on this team excel in the classroom and are bright intellectually,” said

Frye. “Brittany and Virginia were both junior marshals this past year. They are both quite cerebral — always thinking of ways to improvetheir own game — and are frequently willing tooffer help to their teammates.

“They have played a lot in the offseason prepping for this and I think you are going to seea lot of strong matches from both of these girlsas they provide the team with leadership duringtheir senior seasons.”

According to Frye, juniors Elena D’Argenio(10-2), Maddie Walden (10-3) and GabrielleRoback (7-1), sophomore Celine Bullock (7-1)and incoming freshmen Tabitha Hamilton andAudrey Van Arsdale also figure to compete forplaying time.

D’Argenio and Walden were 2010 CFVC dou-bles semifinalists and regional qualifiers.

With the season fast approaching, Frye closedby discussing his 2011 Lady Vikings’ prospects

as they set to embark on their 2011 campaign.“This is a talented group,” he said, “and it is a

deep group. We can go down and play six,seven, or even eight kids if we need too.

“From day one, out here we constantly focuson improving skills while making all aspects ofour game stronger. The girls have all workedreally well on volleys and serves in the preseason, and this has maybe been the bestoff-season an entire team of mine has had forsome time.”

SSCCHHEEDDUULLEE:: Aug. 15 @ Asheboro; 17 @ Scotland; 22 Douglas Byrd*; 24Overhills*; 29 @ Gray’s Creek*; 31 @ Southern Lee; Sept. 6 WesternHarnett*; 8 Open; 12 @ Westover*; 14 @ Douglas Byrd*; 19 @ Overhills*;21 Gray’s Creek*; 26 Southern Lee*; 28 @ Western Harnett*; Oct. 3 Pinecrest;5 Westover*; 12-13 CFVC Tournament; 18 State Duals; 21-22 IndividualRegional Tournament; 25 State Duals; 28-29 Individual State Tournament; Nov.1,3,5 State Duals

*Cape Fear Valley Conference Match

NM Tennis IsHard at Work


Southeastern Conference singles champion Ally Parzialeand the Pinecrest girls’ tennis team are proven winners.


Pinecrest Volleyball Working to ImproveBY CHARLIE BERGMANN

Special to The PilotThe loss of two of the top returnees to injuries

will make it difficult, but not impossible, for thePinecrest volleyball team to improve on lastseason’s 24-7 record that included a pair of stateplayoff wins.The Patriots were scheduled to open the season

at home against Lee County on Tuesday.Coach Barbara Foxx had known for some time

that 6-foot-3 all-conference front line playerJanea Williams would be undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery during the summerbreak. The junior is expected to recover in timefor the basketball season.Unanticipated was a knee injury suffered by

Molly Maples in practice. A promising outsidehitter last year as a freshman, she was the teamleader in service points.“We lost two important hitters so we’re

regrouping for the outside,” Foxx said earlier inthe week. “But I’m really pleased with the way welook. We started three freshmen two years ago sowe’re still young and still having fun.”Graduation losses included another outside

hitter, and dominating presence at the net inconference player of the year Addy George, whois about to begin her season at West Carolina.The departures mean more responsibility for 6-0Felicia Painter, who was one of the team captains

last season as a sophomore. She finished thirdon the team in kills and second in blocks.Junior middle blocker Amber Goodwin, and

senior outside hitters Ashleigh Welton and KeyasaMartin, and Devin Lally, a junior, will be amongthose counted uponup front.Painter thinks the

team is capable ofovercoming theinjury losses.“It was tough to

lose both of them,but we have otherhitters that aregoing to step upthis year,” shesaid.“Everybody’sbeen doing agreat job and I’m definitelylooking forward to the season.”Back are the team’s top two assist leaders in

juniors Keegan Lynch and Megan Thomas, alongwith senior setter Callie Boone and sophomoreKatie Smith. Sophomore defensive specialist RaeNunez was moved up to the varsity late in theseason and received valuable playoff experience.Lynch could also see action in that role. Othermembers of the team include seniors Samantha

Creech, Carina Houseman and Katelynn Pace.Foxx begins the season with 615 career wins,

the third most in state history. After finishingsecond in the Southeastern Conference in 2010,the Patriots will try to derail a Scotland Countysquad that has won six league titles in a row.

Most of the Patriot regulars playedJunior Olympicvolleyball in the off-season.Boone, one of the

senior captains, feelsthe team has a goodchemistry.“We have a lot of

passion this year, a lotof hard workers andgood team communi-cation, which is great,”she said.

SSCCHHEEDDUULLEE: Aug. 16 – Lee Senior;17 – Jack Britt; 18 – Western Harnett; 22 – at Jack Britt; 23 – Overhills; 25 -at Western Harnett; 29 – at E. E. Smith; 30 – at Overhills; Sept. 7 – at LeeSenior; 8 – at Lumberton*; 10 – at Laney; 13 – at Scotland*; 14 – UnionPines; 15 – Purnell Swett*; 20 – Richmond*; 21 – at Union Pines; 22 – atHoke*; 26 – E. E. Smith; 28 – Middle Creek; 29 – Lumberton*; Oct. 4 –Scotland*; 6 – at Purnell Swett*; 11 – at Richmond*; 12 – at Middle Creek; 13- Hoke*; 18 – Conference tournament TBD

*Southeastern Conference Game

simply because she doesn’t know how theother teams in the conference are looking. “Who knows what can happen,” she

said. “I’d love to win conference and gofrom there, but I want to at least finishthird, if not better. I think that these girlscan do that, and I just expect them to getbetter every single day.” Frey came over to North Moore after

serving as an assistant at Union Pines. It’sFrey’s first head coaching gig. She saidshe’s enjoyed making the decisions, but itcan be stressful at times. She said everyone at her new school has

been very welcoming and the transitionhas gone well. She said her new playersare open and willing to learn.“I told the girls from day one, attitude

and effort is my big thing,” Frey said, “andthat’s all I’ve seen from them — positiveattitudes. They’ve given me 100 percent.”North Moore opened the season at The

O’Neal School Thursday.

SSCCHHEEDDUULLEE:: Aug. 18 @ O’Neal School; 23 Gray Stone; 25 ChathamCentral; 30 @ South Stanly; Sept. 1 @ East Montgomery; 6 Albemarle;8 @ West Montgomery; 13 @ North Rowan; 15 South Davidson; 19 @South Davidson; 22 @ Gray Stone; 27 @ Chatham Central; 29 SouthStanly; Oct. 4 East Montgomery; 6 at Albemarle; 11 West Montgomery; 13North Rowan

NettersFrom Page 12

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DONNA FORD/The PilotCoach Barbara Foxx is pleased with the wayher Lady Patriot team is looking.


This will be a season of transition for theNorth Moore volleyball program as itwelcomes first-year head coach Emily Frey.

The Lady Mustangs had a strong season in2010, finishing third in the Yadkin ValleyConference with a 10-7 overall record (9-7YVC). Six seniors from last year’s team havegraduated.

Frey has brought with her a new, 6-2offense that features two setters that will workon the back row, allowing the team to havethree hitters at all times.

It’s a completely new system for the Lady’Stangs, and one that is difficult, Frey said. Butshe has been impressed with the improvementso far.

“It’s going well,” Frey said. “Every daythey’re getting better. They’re working hard.It’s all new to them. It’s nice to see every daysomething’s getting a little bit better.”

Shakorya “Coco” Brower, a three-sport starat North Moore, returns for her senior season.A powerhouse, she’ll be the team’s No. 1hitter. Cadie Lowe and Alex Williams will beholding down the setter positions. Both wereon the varsity team last season.

Another senior, Holly Green, has stepped upin summer practice with her passing ability.Frey said she was looking into the possibilityof making her the libero.

Frey said she didn’t want to make any loftyexpectations of how the team would finish,

PAGE 12 THE PILOT — SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2011


O’Neal volleyball coach Kendall Harperthinks building confidence will be key to the2011 campaign for the Falcons.

The squad has already gotten a dose ofconfidence by winning a match against KerrVance Academy and taking a hard-fought five-set win over Richmond Senior High, a 4-Apublic school, in a scrimmage. Also on theearly-season schedule are inter-county matchesagainst Union Pines and North Moore, schoolswith strong programs.

“The conference we play in is tough,” Harpersaid. “So we’ve scheduled strong teams early inan effort to boost that confidence level.”

After finishing fifth in Cape Fear IndependentConference last season, the Falcons are hopingto soar higher this season. They will be doingso with a team that is a mixture of veterans andtalented newcomers. The 13-member squadhas five seniors, three juniors, two sophomoresand an eighth-grader, with Harper expecting anumber of the younger players to fill importantroles.

“All the players have skills to play at the samelevel,” she said. “The younger players can stepup and play.”

Harper said that freshmen Taylor Shelton andScottie McGowan, the only setter on the teamright now, along with eighth-grader KatjaEhlers, will see significant playing time. KellyGriffin, a sophomore, is penciled in at the libero(defensive specialist) position.

Joining those young players in a possiblestarting lineup are seniors Jackie Chamberlain,

Claire Russell and Maeve Bartiss.The Falcons did suffer an early-season

setback when hard-hitting sophomore KatelynHunt rolled her ankle. Harper said she willprobably miss several weeks, but should returnby the time conference play rolls around.

Other members of the squad include KatieDyer and Torry Sedder, both seniors, andjuniors Leah Samaras, Colleen Tafoya andTeresa Griffin.

Harper said the strengths of her team areserving, digs and hitting, while developingcommunication is something the squad hasdeveloped as the season progresses.

“All the players are very strong servers,” shesaid. “(Kelly) Griffin is great at digging. Weneed to work on communication, especially ontipped balls, but that is probably just a lack oftime spent together as a team. Over the courseof the season we should start doing better atthat.”

Harper said that tough competition early willlead to a stronger team later. She said the winsover Kerr Vance and Richmond Senior aregood signs for the developing squad.

“Those games have been a good start on theconfidence level,” she said.

Schedule: Aug. 12 — Kerr-Vance Academy; 16 — North Moore; 18 —Union Pines; 23— at Fayetteville Academy; 25— Carolina Friends; 29— Flora MacDonald Academy; 30— at Lee Christian School; Sept. 1—at Cape Fear Academy; 6—at Grace Christian School; 8—at St. David’s;13 — Lee Christian School; 27 — Harrells Christian Academy; 29 —Village Christian Academy; Oct. 4 — at Fayetteville Academy; 5 — CapeFear Academy; 11 — at Harrells Christian Academy; 13 — FayettevilleChristian; 14 — at Flora MacDonald Academy; 18 — FayettevilleAcademy; 20—at Village Christian Academy.

see NETTERS, page 13


After a breakout performance last year, the2011 Union Pines volleyball team has its sightsset higher, with the Vikings’ top goal entering thisseason being to claim a Cape Fear ValleyConference championship.

Union Pines finished 16-7 overall last seasonand second in the CFVC standings.

The 2010 Lady Vikes were winners in eight oftheir final 10 contests and collected the program’sfirst playoff victory since 2006 with an opening-round home win.

“Last season we focused on building chemistryand making sure we played together as a team,”said head coach Leslie Fish. “In the process weaccomplished our goals of competing for theconference crown and getting a home playoffmatch.

“Now there is nothing else to shoot for, otherthan winning a league title. As a group we knowwe are capable of accomplishing that goal, so itis what we are after.”

The Vikings return nearly all of their top-eightplayers from last season, including senior setterMorgan Bridgers and senior captain/middle hitterCrystal Hicks.

“We had a great experience at our camp atCampbell University over the summer,” saidBridgers, a two-time all-conference selection wholed the team in assists the last two seasons.

“At practice we have been concentrating on thethings we learned last season, plus the stuff welearned at camp,” she said. “So in the gym, everysingle day for like two and three hours we workon it all.”

A four-year starter, Hicks led the Vikes in kill-efficiency last season.

“We have worked really hard since the start ofsummer and have all done great things at campand in the preseason,” said Hicks.

A two-time all conference selection, she wassecond for Union Pines last year in both total killsand total digs.

“Our chemistry is great,” said Hicks. “We arelooking so much better and aggressive as a teambecause we saw our progress from last year. Thisyear we are out to show everyone that we can doit and we are going to be conferencechampions.”

Other key top-right returners include seniorsLexi Byrd, Anna Sadler, juniors Brittany Ericksonand Zazil Porras, and sophomore Tiffany Hicks.

The only notable absence on the roster is juniorTyler Ross. The right-hitter, who led the Vikings inkills last season and finished second in blocks,has opted to run cross country for Union Pinesthis fall.

Union Pines opened its season with threestraight road matches in as many days startingMonday, Aug. 15, at Purnell Swett, followed byThe O’Neal School and then Terry Sanford.

SSCCHHEEDDUULLEE:: Aug. 15 @ Purnell Swett; 16 @ O’Neal; 17 @ Terry Sanford;22 West Montgomery; 23 Purnell Swett; 25 @ West Montgomery; 29 TerrySanford; 30 Douglas Byrd*; 31 @ Pinecrest; Sept. 1 Overhills*; 6 @ Gray’sCreek*; 8 @ Southern Lee*; 13 Western Harnett*; 15 Open; 20 Westover*; 21Pinecrest; 22 @ Douglas Byrd*; 27 @ Overhills*; 29 Gray’s Creek*; Oct. 4Southern Lee*; 6 @ Western Harnett*; 11 Open; 13 Westover*; 17-18 CFVCTournament

* Cape Fear Valley Conference Game

North Moore NettersGiving 100 Percent

UP Vikes Setting Sights HighConfidence Is Goal at O’Neal

DONNA FORD/The Pilot

Shakorya “Coco” Brower (8) will be the Mustangs’ No. 1 hitter again this year.


Expectations High for Pinecrest BootersBY CHARLIE BERGMANN

Special to The PilotCan you name the only 4A boys’ soccer team

in North Carolina to make it to the state finalfour in both 2009 and 2010? If you answeredPinecrest, you are correct.

The Patriots lost 2-1 to Green Hope in a 2009semifinal match and knocked on the door againlast year before falling 3-0 to eventual statechampion Durham Jordan in another semiencounter.

“The final four is now expected I think by thisgroup,” Todd Abbey, beginning his third seasonas the boys’ coach, said before practice onThursday. “Nothing is going to come easy, butthey’re not only going to work hard to get there,but they definitely want to get further.”

Led by 16 returnees, including five that haveparticipated in two state semifinal matches, thePatriots were scheduled to open the season athome against Sanderson last Tuesday. A toughsecond week includes road dates at LeesvilleRoad on Monday and Athens Drive on

Wednesday.On a team that has plenty of talent through-

out, a strong midfield is led by four-year varsityplayers Richard Palmer and Barrett Goulden. Uptop, Dane Nelsen, another four-year performer,led last year’s squad with 23 goals.

Senior center back Nick Kruyer and left backMorgan Van Camp are three-year veterans inthe back. Senior Christopher Potter is expected tostart at right back. Seniors Mitchell Dotson andJ.T. Stilwell will again share the goalkeeping.

“Richard and Barrett have been playingtogether there now for about two and a halfseasons,” Abbey said. “Our midfield will be astrong point this year. You look at the defenseand you have Nick Kruyer, one of the bestdefenders in the state, not only on the field, buthe’s No. 1 in his class. I think this is the strongestall-around defensive team I’ve had because ofthe knowledge and talent.”

Nelsen, who scored five of his goals in theplayoffs, might be able to fall back into themidfield at times because of the arrival of Bryan

Vancleave, a senior playing soccer for the firsttime after three years as a member of thefootball team.

“Bryan is probably the fastest player I’ve seenand I’ve seen some pretty fast ones,” Abbeysaid. “He has a good left foot and his biggestasset is going to be his defensive ability. He’s juston top of people and doesn’t foul. AllowingDane to fall back into the midfield makes use ofhis creativity. There are just a lot of options thisyear.”

Also operating in the middle with Palmer, whoearned all-state honors last year, and Goulden,an all-conference and all-region selection, is agroup of returnees that includes seniors JimmyCasey and Jordan Beck, and juniors OliverHunter and Hayden Little. The wing playersinclude seniors Max Clare and Koron Kennedy,and junior Taylor Morton. Senior Justin Mace isone of the leading goal scorers amongreturnees.

Other newcomers to the varsity include seniorsThomas Barkley and Shane Bridgeman, juniors

Luke Lynch, Jake Harbeck and Drew Phillips,and sophomore Rene Cruz.

“We’ve got a great team coming back andplayers moving up that will definitely help us,”Palmer said. “I think we have a team that cantake us really far.”

This year’s squad will be seeking its 15thconference title in a row. In addition toSanderson, Leesville Road and Athens Drive, thetough non-league schedule includes East ChapelHill, Hoggard and Terry Sanford. The new jayveecoach is Evan Saleeby.

“Expectations are high this year,” Gouldensaid. “A bunch of these players have been to thesemifinals. We hope to do better this year.”

SSCCHHEEDDUULLEE:: Aug. 16 – Sanderson; 20 – at Greensboro Day; 22 – at LeesvilleRoad; 24 – at Athens Drive; 27 – at Brittany Showcase; 31 – at East ChapelHill; Sept. 6 -at Hoggard; 12 – New Hanover; 14 – at Lumberton*; 19 – atScotland*; 21 -Purnell Swett*; 26 – Richmond*; 28 – at Hoke; Oct. 5 –Lumberton*; 6 – at Terry Sanford; 10 -Scotland*; 12 – at Purnell Swett*; 13– at Jack Britt; 17 – at Richmond*; 19 – Hoke; 24 – SEC Tournament

*Southeastern Conference Game


The Union Pines boys’ soccer team will beplaying under its third head coach in asmany seasons during the 2011 campaign,which wrapped up its first week of actionWednesday.

Mike Mibb, the newest head coach for theVikings, has officially been on the job closeto seven weeks. During that time, he and theUnion Pines players seemed to have set thefoundation for a promising relationship.

“We started preseason in July doing threepractices a week,” said Mibb. “Then sincethe first (day) of August, we have been goingtwice a day.

“Although the first week was real hard onthe guys, their legs adjusted and now theteam’s fitness has improved drastically.”

According to Mibb, fitness is part of athree-pronged plan he feels will allow UnionPines to be more competitive overall andchallenge for wins against the upper levelteams in the CFVC and the 3A division.

“The first priority to compete at a high levelwas to improve our fitness, which we havedone with our two-a-day practices,” saidMibb. “We must also improve our technicalabilities, such as our first-touch on the ball.

“Our tactical awareness needs work, asdoes our team play, and that is going to bean ongoing process throughout this season.”

The last two seasons have been lacklusterefforts for the Vikings. Both campaignsresulted in first round losses in the state playoffs.

In 2009, under head coach Jeremy Blake,

the Vikes went 9-9 overall and finished thirdin the Cape Fear Valley Conference with aleague mark of 8-4. Jeremiah Johnson wasthe program’s head coach last year, asUnion Pines again placed third with a leaguemark of 7-4-1, while finishing 8-7-3 overall.

“Overall the guys have been progressingwell,” said Mibb. “They were third in the conference last season with apparently littlesupervision, so I am excited about the seasonand the boys are definitely looking forwardto it.

“Both the players and I hold great expectations for the upcoming season andfirmly believe we have a very good opportunity to win our conference.”

Southern Lee has dominated the CFVCover the past two seasons, compiling a perfect 24-0 record to win consecutiveleague titles. Meanwhile, Gray’s Creek hasbeen steady in second position with a leaguemark of 19-4-1 over that span, while theVikes have compiled a 15-8-1 two-yearmark in conference competition.

“I want the players to grow in their abilitiesand understanding of the game,” Mibb said,“and grow as a team. That is why I believethey should set a goal of winning their con-ference and getting past the first stage in thestate playoffs.”

SSCCHHEEDDUULLEE:: Aug. 15 Lee County; 16 @ East Montgomery; 17 NorthMoore; 22 @ Scotland; 24 @ Lee County; 29 O’Neal School; Sept. 6Jordan Matthews; 8 Harnett Central; 12 Douglas Byrd*; 14 Overhills*;19 @ Gray’s Creek*; 21 @ Southern Lee*; 26 Western Harnett; Oct.3 @ Westover*; 5 Douglas Byrd*; 10 @ Overhills*; 12 Gray’s Creek*;17 Southern Lee*; 19 @ Western Harnett*; 26 Westover*

*Cape Fear Valley Conference

BY ANDREW SOBOEIRONewsroom Intern

The O’Neal School boys’ soccer team hasprogress to maintain.

After a year of losses in 2009, the Falconsbounced back in 2010, winning 10 games out of19. The team placed third in the Cape FearIndependent Conference, narrowlylosing to Cape Fear Academy in thefirst round of the state tournament.

Coach Ted Hassenfelt must nowmaintain and improve upon thisprogress, even as much of his teamhas graduated and gone to college.

“We lost nine seniors last year, sixof whom were starters,” saidHassenfelt. “This season we willhave only one senior on the team,so it will be fun to see the other players step up and become leaderson this team. I am expecting a slowstart, but a fast finish.”

Last year, Hassenfelt focused ontraining his players to toughen themselves mentally and not get discouraged. This year, his energiesare directed toward helping newplayers understand their roles in the team.

“Our main focus will be on being as organizedon the field as possible,” he said. “We are young,so we are working very hard on getting the playersto understand their roles and responsibilities withinthe system we will play.”

When asked about tactics, the coach is unconcerned. “I think we are technical enough,” hesaid, “to possess the ball fairly well against mostteams once each player understands his role within

the system.”Hassenfelt will have to cope with losing some of

his players in important, established positions. ColinJameson, who started at fullback, Brandt Davis, thegoalkeeper, and Bryce Baldelli, the leading scorer,have all gone off to college. While the new playersmay well have the talent, they haven’t yet

established which positions they canbest occupy.

“It will take a few games to getthe right players in the right spots,”the coach said, “but we do havesome returning players and somenew players who will be fun towatch. From last season, we arereturning all-conference playersJacob Talbert and J.R. Moore. Inaddition, I am expecting big thingsfrom newcomer Zach Eiserman andreturning player Rick Catania. Rickplayed as an eighth-grader last season and was solid. I am expecting an all- conference-typeyear from him this season.”

Finally, it is essential that the players come together as a team.They must learn to respect each

other, and influential members must step up andtake leadership roles.

“We have just started practice and two-a-daypractices,” said Hassenfelt. “The team chemistry isdefinitely not there yet, but after the first few gamesand away showcase tournament, the players willbond. Getting the players to understand their roleson the team is something we are working on.Once that is in place, clear leaders will emerge andteam chemistry will follow.”

UP Soccer Looks Promising


Rick Catania

O’Neal Will Be Fun to Watch


‘Stangs Set to Gel As Season Progresses

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Though the North Moore boys’ soccer teammay be headed into a rebuilding season,expect the Mustangs to remain competitive inthe Yadkin Valley Conference.2010 was a season of firsts for the program.

It recorded its first-ever win over Jordan-Matthews and beat YVC rival Albemarle for thefirst time on the road en route to a 9-8-1record and an appearance in the 1A stateplayoffs.But six seniors from that team — Oscar

Ramirez, Jose Peralta, Junior Lopez, NoeRamirez, Juan Carlos Garcia and JaredMcNeill — have graduated. Now new playerswill have to step up to fill that void.“We’ve had a good summer of workouts,”

head coach Michael Shamberger said. “This isdefinitely a rebuilding year for us, because wedid lose six good seniors — not only goodtalent-wise but good leadership. So we’ve got alot of holes to fill. But the group that I’ve gotthis year, they have been working hard. They’reeager.”Led by three seniors, the team is balanced in

terms of age — four juniors, five sophomoresand five freshmen.Shamberger said midfielder Oliver Castrejon

(sister, Leslie, was a standout on the North

Moore girls’ team), midfielder/fullbackGervacio Cabrera and goalkeeper AlejandroMendoza are set to lead the way for his team.

He also expects newcomers Rolando Catalanand Pedro Ugarte to make an impact. Catalanis a new senior this year, while Ugarte is a

rising freshman. Catalan will most likelyplaying at midfield or forward and Ugarte willbe playing in the midfield.Shamberger cautioned that the team might

encounter rougher waters than it did lastseason, especially early on. But he thinks oncethe team figures out how to play with oneanother, things will come together.“I think the team that we start out being is not

the team that we’ll end up being,” he said,“once we figure out who’d be good at whatand who’s good playing where and all of thiskind of stuff, because the way some guys playin practice can be two different things.”Traditional powers East Montgomery and

Gray Stone should again rise to the top of theconference. But Shamberger said that if histeam gels like he hopes it will, it should becompetitive in the league.The Mustangs began the 2011 campaign at

home against non-conference foeSouthwestern Randolph.

SSCCHHEEDDUULLEE:: Aug. 15 — Southwestern Randolph; 17 @ Union Pines; 22Overhills; 25 @ West Davidson; 29 @ Gray Stone*; 31 South Stanly*; Sept.7 @ Albemarle*; 12 @ West Montgomery*; 14 South Davidson*; 21 @ EastMontgomery; 26 @ North Rowan*; 28 Chatham Central*; Oct. 3 Gray Stone*;5 @ South Stanly*; 10 Albemarle*; 12 West Montgomery*; 17 @ SouthDavidson*; 24 East Montgomery*; 26 North Rowan*.

* Yadkin Valley Conference Game


North Moore head soccer coach Michael Shamberger says his team has had a goodsummer of workouts. The Mustangs face a rebuilding year, but are eager to play.



As Union Pines football gears up for the 2011 season, there isreally no place to go but up for third-year head coach RyanRiggan and the Vikings.In his two-year tenure at Union Pines, the Vikings are 1-11 inCape Fear Valley Conference play and 6-16 overall. After openinglast season with a home win over 1A Red Springs, the Vikingswere involved in an on-field incident during Week Two againstintra-county rival Pinecrest.The immediate impact was a ban by the NCHSAA from 2010postseason play for the Vikings. The aftermath was an agonizingyear on the gridiron that saw Union Pines finish with a 2-9 recordoverall that included a winless league mark of 0-6 and a seven-game losing skid to close the season.Nevertheless, Riggan remains optimistic, as his team has beenhard at work throughout the offseason preparing for a season thathas now arrived.“I think it’s very important that we take a good long look atourselves and address some issues,” he said. “We have madesome changes to our game plan as coaches to put our team inbetter positions to succeed. We looked at a lot of film thisoffseason and made adjustments to our offense and defense tohelp us better compete and succeed.”Union Pines lost one all-conference selection and team captainto graduation in starting quarterback Taylor O’Neil. However,senior linebacker Josh Huskey, who also earned all-conferencehonors as a Vike captain last season, returns.As a result, Riggan feels the 2011 Viking squad will be the mostexperienced one to take the field on opening day since he hasbeen the Union Pines coach.“Our leadership will actually be stronger this season than it waslast year,” said Riggan. ”We have a team that has been playingtogether for us three years now, and had some success as JVplayers two years ago.“We will be asking a lot from our young guys and weunderstand that there will be growing pains with that. We havemade some changes to our systems to keep us in ball games andkind of do more things that suit our skill sets and will feel like thesechanges will give us a better opportunity moving forward.”According to Riggan, the Vikings are most experienced in theirskill positions.“All these guys played varsity last season and are returning totheir same roles,” Riggan said, “so we should be pretty goodthere.”“At quarterback we do not have a clear starter yet,” said Riggan.“If we played tomorrow we would go with Emmitt Carden, who isa rising 10th grader, but Braxton Ross is also in the mix for the job.“The tailbacks are John McMillan, A.J. Ritter and Paris Manning.Those three will be splitting the lion’s share of the carries. As sen-iors, they are very capable of moving the ball. We will be movingLee Barber to fullback and he will be leading the way for us.”

Actually, moving the ball — onthe ground — as well as keepingpossession of it is one area whereUnion Pines has changed its philos-ophy.“We will work very hard on bothsides of the ball to have a lot ofpossessions and time of possession as theseason moves on,” said Riggan. “We will be a running teamand work when we have the ball.”Another philosophical change that will be evident is thestyle in which Union Pines plays the game of football.“We are going to be very physical on both sidesof the ball,” said Riggan. “That will be ourcharacter as a team. We are making abig move to go from a finesse teamto being a hardnosed, banging,straight-ahead type.”Riggan made it clear that inorder to be successful atimplementing this style, miscuesmust be kept to a minimum.“We have to eliminate turnoversand penalties,” Riggan said, “andthe reason is we are not going tobe a good enough team to giveour opponents a lot of chances tobeat us. We need to play hard,tough, and mistake-free to moveforward.”Although Union Pines will bethe least experienced onboth sides of the line,Riggan noted it wasnot necessarily anegative.“We have thepotential for our O-lineand D-line to be better than wewere in years past,” he said. “We just need them to grow upquickly.“On the O-line we have three guys who are pretty much settledwith Huskey at guard, Tyler Southern, and Will Apple, who hasbeen the glue for the unit at center.”Two other spots on the offensive line remain up for grabs, withthree players competing for them in Connor Dull, Greg Reevesand Grayson Johnson.Shakeem McRae, who is a junior that played both ways lastseason, will be the starting tight end, while Zak Rodriguez will getthe nod at wide receiver.“On defense, the line will be anchored by Huskey and LamontLegrand,” said Riggan “Byron Gaddy, Hugh Leighton and

Shakeem McRae will bein rotation on the defensiveline as well. Our outsidelinebackers will be somecombination of Kyle Rakers, PhillipHall, Hugh Leighton, Tyler Barber andRitter, while Spencer Shadomy, ZackJones, Lee Barber, Huskey and Ritterwill be our inside linebackers.“In the secondary, we haveseveral players looking for spots. TylerMabe is making the calls for us back there, and will besurrounded by Derek Yang, Mike Quick, Brennan Cameron, EthanBenitez and McMillan.”Union Pines competed in three scrimmages during the finalweeks of the preseason. At last count, Riggan estimated just morethan 60 total players for Union Pines on varsity and jayveecombined.“I expect to dress 35 guys on varsity to start the season,” Riggansaid, “and 35-45 guys on J.V. this season as the school year startsand freshmen come out.”

NO PLACE TO GOBUT UP FOR

VIKINGS


Union PinestailbackA.J. Ritter

DATE OPPONENT SITE8/19 SW Randolph HOME8/26 North Moore AWAY9/2 Cardinal Gibbons HOME9/9 East Montgomery AWAY9/16 Overhills HOME9/23 Gray’s Creek AWAY9/30 Western Harnett AWAY10/7 Westover AWAY10/14 Southern Lee HOME10/21 Northwood AWAY10/28 Douglas Byrd AWAY

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continue to raise the bar for the program.The Mustangs are coming off a 1-10

campaign in 2010. The team’s only win cameas a result of a forfeit after the fact by WestMontgomery for violating the state’s “eight-quarter rule” that governs how much timejayvee players can play at the varsity level in agiven season.But Simmons has been hard at work layingthe foundation to make the programstronger, and the kids are buying in.

“They’re working their tails off,”Simmons said at a recent practice,

adding that the team has seenseveral newcomers,including sometalented freshmen.“We’re excited aboutsome of the kids we

have out here,but we surewould liketo have afew more.”Simmons

would liketo increasethe overall

participationin theprogram.The teamhas aver-

agedabout30 kidsat

practicethis summer,

but he wouldlike to bumpthat up to 45 ifpossible,allowing theyounger

playersto spendtimedevel-

oping at thejayvee level.

He pointed out that alot of North Moorestudents work over thesummer, making it

difficult to get tosummer practice.He was hopefulthat more kidswould come outfor the team

once it got closer to the start of school.“There’s a couple of guys here and there

that we’d sure like to get out here, and I thinkthis starting so early for kids around here, alot of these kids work,” he said. “Some ofthese kids work two jobs. They’re pretty busyin the summer.”The Mustangs lost several players from last

year to graduation, including a talented trio inJamar Brower, Xavier Scotton and TylerWallace, who played key roles in all threephases of the game. Simmons said a stronggroup of rising seniors and juniors will leadthe way this season.Simmons is also enthused about a group of

freshman that have been working out in theoffseason who have a lot of size and potential.“All summer long I had about 10 or 15

freshmen that came to work out with me,” hesaid. “Big kids that I’m really excited about.”Scotton and Wallace each saw time at

quarterback last year, and now that they havegraduated, both Xavier Richardson and LukeAuman look to have an opportunity to leadthe Mustangs’ spread option offense.Richardson, who has good size and a good

arm, was under center for the jayvee team lastyear.Auman played some quarterback for the

varsity squad at the end of last season.The focal point of the Mustang attack will be

tailback Darius Greene. A big, physical backwho is hard to bring down, Greene emergedlast season as perhaps North Moore’s bestoption on the ground.Simmons said he has worked extremely

hard in the offseason.“We think that this could be the year that

Darius really takes off and establisheshimself,” Simmons said. “This could be areally big year for him.”On defense, Brower was a huge factor at

outside linebacker. Defensive end MitchellWright will be moving to linebacker thisseason and should make an impact. LandonAuman, who played well at corner lastseason, will be moving to safety. Simmonssaid he will continue to utilize an aggressiveand blitzing defense.“I think we’re going to have some speed out

there,” Simmons said. “I think we’re going tobe a little undersized, but I think we’re goingto have a little bit of athleticism out there thatmaybe we didn’t have as much of last year.”The coaching staff has remarked at how

much quicker the kids are picking things upnow with a year of being in Simmons’ systemunder their belts.The Mustangs kick off the 2011 season

Friday, Aug. 19, at home against UnionAcademy out of Monroe.

Excitement Growing Over Mustang FootballBY JOHN KRAHNERT III

Special to The PilotYear two of North Moore football under

Greg Simmons is under way, and the headcoach, his staff and players are looking to

PHOTO BY PHILIP TAYLOR/The Pilot

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and sophomore Tristan Helms.

Returning PlaymakersLead Patriot DefenseInside linebacker Julius Steele and strong

safety D.J. Simpson, both seniors, were theteam’s second and third leading tacklers a yearago. Simpson is a three-year starter. The paircombined to recover seven fumbles and

accounted for 13 tackles forloss. The defensive line isanchored by 6-3, 245-poundnose guard James Harrison.“He’s got a chance to be

special,” Metzger said ofHarrison. “He’ll run sideline tosideline. He’s a workaholicwho has an opportunity tomake a big difference in themiddle.”Juniors Josh McMillan and

Luke Fetla are the tackles in the Patriot 3-4defense coordinated by coach Jason Sparks,rotating with senior Doug Harrison and RecoCain and junior Zayrick Boyd. Joining Steele asan inside linebacker is junior Jonah Caliri. Anew group of outside linebackers includesseniors Kirkpatrick and Talij McNeil, and juniorFrankie Painter.

Another returning starter in the defensivebackfield is junior cornerback Nick Lacey. Thefree safety is senior David Alston and junior SamBrower is the other cornerback with seniors AlanWatson and Josiah Smith also likely to be in therotation.“It’s a very disciplined defense, very cohesive

and mentally tough,” Metzger said. “It’s a bend,but not break defense.”Steven Kennedy succeeds graduated all-state

kicker Dillon Maples as the punter. Andsophomore Jackson Maples will take over for hisbrother as the place-kicker.In separate polls taken at the SEC coaches

meeting held two weeks ago, Scotland Countywas picked to finish first by both the coachesand media by slim margins over RichmondSenior. The Patriots were picked last among thesix teams in both votes (tied with Lumberton inthe coaches poll). Four of their first five gamesare at home.

Changes Made to Coaching StaffThe new coordinators are Metzger for the

offense and Jason Sparks for the defense.Sparks also coaches the inside linebackers.Other defensive coaches are Willie Oglesby(defensive backs and special teams), AntwanMurchison (defensive line) and JamesKazmareck (outside linebackers).Ben Hammer coaches the offensive line

assisted by Sam Cole. Barrett Merritt is in chargeof the wide receivers and Bennett Johnsoncoaches the running backs.

PinecrestFrom Page 3

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“Jack Britt is the winningest and most dominantprogram of this decade. Our league is arguablythe toughest in the state. I think it’s importantour community understands the support that’sneeded because of the tough schedule and biggames.”

Coming off a 7-4 overall and 1-4 conferencemark in 2010, the Patriots are 27-20 underMetzger after going 3-40 in the four yearsbefore his arrival.

Patriot Offensive Line Returns IntactSome of the reasons for optimism about this

edition include the return of senior quarterbackTravis Scales, who missed the last seven gamesof the 2010 season with a knee injury, and anall-senior offensive line that includes all of lastyear’s starters.

Left tackle Bryce Kennedy (6-3, 289) hasreceived 10 scholarship offers, including SouthCarolina, UNC, N.C. State, Duke, East Carolinaand Stanford. Center Steve Pollard is a three-year starter. Jerod McKenzie is the other tackle,and Octavius Rouse and Mitch Monska are theguards. Senior tight end Mike Johnson is alsoback.

“They’re all just tremendous young men,”Metzger said. “They have an opportunity to puta stamp on being one of the best offensive lines

ever here. It’s the best offensive line I’ve beenaround as a coach or a player.”

While Scales established himself as a capablerunner and passer in the veer option offensebefore his injury, the running back and receivergroups are mostly made up of inexperiencedpersonnel.

Junior Dwayne Simpson, who missed lastseason because of an injury, has been the mostconsistent ball carrier in the preseason. DeeKirkpatrick, who has been moved to defense,Tavis Pearson, a sprinter for the track team, andZach Strickland are the only returning runningbacks with any carries from last season.

McKenzie feels the experience of the offensiveof line will help offset the lack thereof at therunning back positions.

“It’s easy for them because they can trust us togive them a hole,” he said. “We all know eachother and what we’re capable of. We’re goingto block for them and they’re going to get theyards.”

Playing football for the first time since he wasa freshman, senior Traivon Williams broughtback memories of standout wide receiver JamesBaldwin III (2010 graduate) with his play in thesummer 7-on-7 passing competitions. Thebasketball standout’s progress has been slowedby a collarbone injury.

In addition to Johnson, seniors StevenKennedy, Joe White and Ranier Agustin, andjunior Justin Ray are other targets for Scales,who will be backed up by junior Aaron Reimer

PinecrestFrom Page 2

see PINECREST, page 5


Pinecrest head coach Chris Metzger prepares his team for “the toughest schedulePinecrest has ever faced. Our league is arguably the toughest in the state.”

About This IssueCover Design

Martha J. Henderson, Special Sections Editor

Cover PhotographyPhilip Taylor and Donna Ford

Supplement Design/LayoutMartha J. Henderson, Special Sections Editor

Contributing PhotographersPhilip Taylor, Donna Ford

Contributing WritersCharlie Bergmann, F.W. Manning II,

John Krahnert III, Hunter Chase,Andrew Soboiero and Michael Warren

For advertising information,contact Pat Taylor at (910) 693-2505

or email [email protected]

145 W. Pennsylvania Ave.,Southern Pines, NC 28387

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Copyright 2011

Fall Sports Preview 2011

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