South Piedmont 4A/5A Media Day Recap

<p>This past Saturday, August 1st, the South Piedmont 4A/5A Conference held their first every Media Day on the campus of Jay M. Robinson High School in Concord. All eight teams were in attendance, and there were plenty of talented players and seasoned coaches in the building. We'll highlight one player from each team in attendance and provide a brief overall synopsis of our thoughts from what the teams said at Media Day. <br><br><strong>West Rowan Falcons </strong></p>   <p>The Falcons were first up with us at Media Day, and Head Coach Louis Kraft said their hope this season is to go further than they did last year, which was the 2nd round of the state playoffs. A key returning player for them is RB Devauhn White, who rushed for an impressive 1,150 yards in only 10 games of action last season as a sophomore. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/qQduRnpKfgg?si=ViOEKSY5NgnclwTc </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">The big-time defensive lineman was in attendance at the media day, and he looked strong and imposing as you would expect, based on his dominant year last season, when he was named the Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Opposing coaches were impressed with the shape he was in, and Kayden is a confident young man. Kayden shared that the best thing he does is shut down the running game up front during one of his answers at Media Day. </p>    <p><strong>Carson Cougars </strong><br><br>Head Coach Jonathan Lowe was happy to talk about this year's version of the Cougars, who are looking to learn from a tough first-round playoff loss last season to take the next step overall as a program. Coach Lowe brought 5 players with him; 4 of them he called "Apex" players, basically meaning they are cornerstones of the program, leaders, and players that the team will look to as a major key to their upcoming season. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/YsoapTJTtGQ?si=Q0_Eox9VHH97Mr_h </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Coach Lowe shared that his team is a Flexbone offense, which means the running back will be one of the essential pieces of success for the Cougars offensively. Perkins will get the majority of the carries, and he's strong enough to handle the load, and he can make some special things happen if he's able to get into the open field with the football. Look for a possible 1,000-yard season from this talented back. </p>    <p><strong>East Rowan Mustangs </strong></p>   <p>Head Coach Brian Flynn has been doing a slow rebuild of the Mustangs' program from some deep depths of struggles only a couple of short years ago, but the fruits of those labors started to bear fruit last season, as East won 4 games and made the state playoffs. Coach Flynn didn't mince words and said one of their goals is to get a home playoff game in front of some rabid and dedicated fans in Granite Quarry. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/_jeOg_iBOKw?si=Fahhz6Q2W9J-Vzhy </div></figure>    <p>Ashur was in attendance at Media Day, and he's an essential piece of the Mustangs' defense at the linebacker level. Ashur wasn't a boastful player, but his film shows that he is definitely one of the defensive leaders of the team. Don't be surprised to see a 100+ tackle season out of him this year. </p>    <p><strong>Salisbury Hornets </strong></p>   <p>Hornets Head Coach Clayton Trivett is coming off of a rare losing season - previous to this past season, Trivett has had 4 consecutive double-digit winning seasons, so this coach definitely knows how to win football games at a very high level. Coach Trivett was very transparent about the struggles the Hornets had last season, stating that the team let some program non-negotiables and standards slip to an unacceptable level, and that those issues have been corrected this offseason. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/bFfKwf5uvBg?si=SeCLveJ5Jb-PizkF </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Isaiah did a lot last season offensively, and expect the same kind of output and usage this season from this talented young man. He will be important to the Hornets offensively from the quarterback position, and defensively in the backfield as well. He's got some good speed and playmaking ability in the open field. Isaiah spoke with a quiet confidence at Media Day, and it wouldn't surprise me to see him go over 2,000 total yards of offense this season. </p>    <p><strong>South Rowan Raiders </strong></p>   <p>Head Coach Chris Walsh was straight up when he talked about his team's offensive philosophy at Media Day. Walsh stated that they're going to be a physical run-focused Power I offense, and that's what fits his team's strengths, and that the players like the physicality of their scheme. That bodes well for returning All-Conference RB [player_tooltip player_id='2104496' first='Nicolas' last='Woolf'], who figures to be lined up for a 1,000-yard season behind a strong offensive line up front. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.instagram.com/p/DbmUdhnlfKz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Playing linebacker and fullback for the Raiders this season, Owen is one of those old-school players that you used to commonly see in the days of the 1980s and 90's I-formation football. It's refreshing to see, and he's the other returning All-Conference player for the Raiders. Owen speaks quietly and confidently, and you can see he likes leading by example for his defense. </p>    <p><strong>Northwest Cabarrus Trojans</strong></p>   <p>It has been an interesting offseason for the Trojans, who had some players leave their program, but it looks like it's going to give them a different look, at least offensively, this year. The Trojans players were very excited and believe they are going to have an explosive season offensively that will open a lot of eyes across the area. I will say they have some pieces to do that - most notably WR [player_tooltip player_id='2227378' first='Caleb' last='Bryant'], who didn't say many words at Media Day, but spoke confidently about the best things he does on the field - "Moss people". He'll be a player to watch for sure. Head Coach Eric Morman really likes his group, though, saying that he loves to be around them. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/Br8fk7Crq0Q?si=_Q2cGJAKaKNEchHZ </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Hudson was a pretty easy choice to feature here - a senior quarterback who will be asked to do more after the transfer of a talented running back earlier this offseason. Hudson has the arm and talent to do more, and I think he's going to get his opportunity for sure. How well he does with putting the ball where it needs to be will determine how far the Trojans ultimately go this year. </p>    <p><strong>Concord Spiders</strong></p>   <p>Head Coach Darren Shepherd does an excellent job in getting the most out of his players year in and year out - I thought he did a really good job last season getting the group he had to the 2nd round of the playoffs, as an example. This year he's got a couple of big offensive linemen to lean on, and an interesting mix of some skill guys. I'm going to be really interested to see what their offense looks like as a result of this. Regardless, this team is going to fight you for 4 quarters on Friday Night, no matter what they have on the sidelines. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/5S0SFeZm3Lo?si=Txt3gCYXSgxZxf75 </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Karter is quite possibly the best offensive lineman in the conference, much less Cabarrus County. If it's possible, he looks bigger than the last time I saw him up close and in person. Needless to say, if Concord is going to have success on offense, it's going to be running behind him up front. Karter moves people in the running game, and he's very good in pass protection. A college football program is going to get a steal with him and his talent. </p>    <p><strong>Jay M. Robinson Bulldogs</strong></p>   <p>The host Bulldogs were the last team to speak with me at Media Day, and Head Coach Jason Seidel really likes his group this year, and he's got every reason to. He's got a running back in [player_tooltip player_id='1176263' first='Ennis' last='Stiles'] with multiple offers, a defensive lineman in [player_tooltip player_id='1113123' first='Landen' last='Harding'] with multiple offers, and a linebacker/athlete in [player_tooltip player_id='1815375' first='Isaiah' last='Woodburn'] who's one of the best in the state of North Carolina at his position. Even with those three, there's more talent coming up in the pipeline that figures to make a big impact for the Bulldogs on the field much sooner rather than later this year. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/f7zbJXq3F_Q?si=8MkxvlKaBdzJry6m </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Even with all of the Bulldogs' talent on both sides of the ball, it all starts with talented returning quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1607782' first='Aury' last='Greenfield'] at the controls. Aury recently committed to play college football at Lafayette College, and he's going to be dynamite there - I think they got a steal. Aury is one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the state, and he's in line for a huge senior season. </p>    <p></p>

This past Saturday, August 1st, the South Piedmont 4A/5A Conference held their first every Media Day on the campus of Jay M. Robinson High School in Concord. All eight teams were in attendance, and there were plenty of talented players and seasoned coaches in the building. We'll highlight one player from each team in attendance and provide a brief overall synopsis of our thoughts from what the teams said at Media Day.

West Rowan Falcons