Team Preview – Berry Cardinals

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>As we get closer to the start of the season, we will be taking a look at team previews from across the Charlotte Metro Area. We have a lot of talented players here in the city, and every year there are new faces that will become the star of their teams on Friday Nights. We'll take a look at them, as well as the overall team prospects for the upcoming year!</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Berry Cardinals are a team that always has talent in my opinion. Throughout Head Coach Andrew Howard's tenure, he has helped multiple players go on to play college football on the next level. Last season they played in one of the most competitive conferences in the state, and while they had a tough year, they did have multiple players go on to play at the next level once again - notably WR Christian McDonald (NC A&amp;T), Antoine Bell (Western Carolina), and James Brown (Johnson C. Smith). Let's take a look at some of the key players for this year's Cardinals team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We start with the quarterback, and Berry has a talented young man who I featured as an Under The Radar QB in Charlotte - Demetrius Hargroves. Demetrius is 6'5 190 pounds and is a definite dual-threat player at the position. It will be exciting to see him full-time as a starter and what he can do in the Cardinal's offense. He has a strong arm and can definitely stretch the field if a secondary doesn't respect his arm strength. He will have a couple of good targets to throw to as well, the first being [player_tooltip player_id='946973' first='Cameron' last='Macon']. Macon a 6'0 and 165 pounds is a 2024 player who has some electricity in his game. Playing behind some very good players last season, Macon still made an impact in the passing game both out of the slot and the outside. He has excellent speed and can be a threat in the quick screen game as well. Pairing along with him is Xavier Preston, a 5'11 receiver who shows some excellent vertical ability in high-pointing the football on the outside. Preston plays basketball as well, so I am excited to see him get an opportunity to break out between the lines this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively Berry will depend on Cameron Wilson on the defensive line to help control things and create some pressure on the quarterback and help clog up running lanes on the inside. At linebacker, the Cardinals have two intriguing players in Thomas Watson and Ray Savalas. Watson is 6'0 and 180 pounds and primarily will play outside linebacker, but he shows an ability on film to put his hand in the ground and help out at multiple positions on the defensive line. He tackles well in the open field and shows good discipline in zone coverage. Savalas plays more of a Rover/Strong Safety role and watching his film was enjoyable - he will run support well and deliver a blow as well. He has excellent tackling skills in the open field and should excel as the 8th guy in the box against run-first teams. Tyler Perkins will be an important piece in the secondary as well at the cornerback spot - he shows the ability to run well with receivers in man coverage. Perkins also does a good job in run support on the edge of the defense and is not afraid to come up and make a play in space. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Looking at Berry's schedule, the big game annually for them is the Battle of Alleghany against rival Harding. The schools are less than a mile apart on the same street in the western part of Charlotte, and both schools' student bodies always heavily attend the matchup. There is a trophy that goes to the winner of the game for a year until the game is played again the next season. The Cardinals currently hold that trophy, as they defeated Harding 24-14 last season. Overall, for Berry to be successful this year, they will have to get stellar play from Hargroves and the defense will need to be aggressive and force turnovers to push into the upper half of the So Meck Conference. There is an opportunity there for the Cardinals, we will see if they can take a step this season and challenge for a playoff spot. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->