FOOTBALL Preview 2021 - The Elkin Tribune

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FOOTBALL Preview 2021 - The Elkin Tribune
2021

F O OPreview
       TBALL

                        Featuring
 EAST SURRY                 EAST WILKES                      ELKIN                      FORBUSH

               MOUNT AIRY                 NORTH STOKES                   NORTH SURRY

SOUTH STOKES                STARMOUNT                    SURRY CENTRAL                 WEST STOKES
FOOTBALL Preview 2021 - The Elkin Tribune
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FOOTBALL Preview 2021 - The Elkin Tribune
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FOOTBALL Preview 2021 - The Elkin Tribune
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FOOTBALL Preview 2021 - The Elkin Tribune
2021- 22 VARSITY GRANITE BEARS FOOTBALL TEAM

                                                                                                                                                       Cory Smith | The Mount Airy News

GranitE City Strong
                                                                                                                                                                                          FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2021
By Cory Smith                                4-3 overall, 4-1 conference, Northwest     Honors: quarterback Holden Poindexter,        the Year for the spring ‘21 season. Moore
csmith@mtairynews.com                      1A Conference Runner-up, lost in the first   running back Cameron Moore, Dalton            led the Bears in yards rushing and rushing
                                           round of 1AA State Playoffs                  Nance – who was honored as both a wide        touchdowns, while Nance was the team’s
  TEAM                                       KEY LOSSES                                 receiver and defensive back – and defensive   leading receiver in yards receiving and re-
  Mount Airy Granite Bears                   Mount Airy only graduated seven seniors    back William Mayfield.                        ceiving TDs.
  HEAD COACH                               in 2021, but many of those seniors played       Poindexter graduated as Mount Airy’s          On defense, Nance and Mayfield helped
  J.K. Adkins, 24-8 record at Mount Airy   critical roles for the Granite Bears. Four   all-time leading passer and was named         Mount Airy hold conference opponents to
  LAST SEASON                              graduating seniors received All-Conference   NW1A Conference Co-Offensive Player of        just 23 points across five games. Nance led
                                                                                                                                                                                          5
FOOTBALL Preview 2021 - The Elkin Tribune
MOUNT AIRY BEARS

                                                                                                                                                                                        Jimmy Kuhn | Special to the News

                        the team in pass deflections, while May-         tackles per game in the spring. Fellow line-   ell are strong returning players expected to    tions last season. Tyler Mason and Mario
                        field led the Bears in forced fumbles.           backers Isom and Taylor were recognized        get reps on defense. He also noted Mason        Revels add to Mount Airy’s speed in the
                           DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS                         as All-Conference honorable mentions last      Hill, who was an All-Conference selection       secondary.
                           The Mount Airy defense returns its top        seasons and look to make the top squad in      on the offensive line last season, and Sao         Zeb Stroup is also joined by his brother
                        six tacklers from the 2020-21 school year:       the new-look NW1A Conference. The two          Lennon will share some duties on defense.       Walker, now a sophomore, in the second-
FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2021

                        Reece Deaton, Nic Isom, Kasen Taylor, De-        were second and third on the team in total        Zeb Stroup, a force on both sides of the     ary.
                        ric Dandy, Zeb Stroup and Jonah Bilyeu.          tackles as juniors.                            ball, returns for his senior season. The ath-      Walker Stroup is one of two players com-
                           “We do return a lot of experience on that        Dandy was an intimidating force on the      letic cornerback had a pair of interceptions    peting for placekicking duties. Adkins said
                        side of the ball,” said coach J.K. Adkins.       defensive line as a 6-foot 4-inch, 210-pound   to go along with two pass deflections in        he has two really good options with Walker
                        “We have some tough, physical kids and           freshman. He picked up four sacks and two      2020-21.                                        and Dylan Tilley. Tilley kicked PATs for the
                        they’ve got a good understanding of what         tackles for a loss during his first season        “Zeb is a plug-and-play kind of guy,”        Bears last season, hitting 24-of-27, and was
                        their job is. It’s no secret that any time you   with the varsity squad. Dandy had 40 tack-     Adkins said. “He does a lot of good for us      2-of-3 on field goal attempts.
                        have a good defense, you have a chance to        les during the shortened 2020-21 season,       wherever we need him.”                             “Dylan’s done a great job in the off-sea-
                        win football games.”                             and Bilyeu, a sophomore last season, had          Mount Airy’s defensive backfield is filled   son and has really strengthened his leg,”
                           Deaton is a two-time All-Conference           31 tackles.                                    with athletes. The Bears also return safety     Atkins said. “Walker is a great kicker in his
6

                        linebacker that led the Bears with 11.0             Adkins said Caden Joyce and Logan Dow-      Peyton Fonville, who had a pair of intercep-    own right, too.”
FOOTBALL Preview 2021 - The Elkin Tribune
MOUNT AIRY BEARS
   OFFENSE                                      be a “ground-oriented, more option-based           Mount Airy opens the season with games        Wilkes on September 17. It will mark Ad-
   Mount Airy had a mix of rushing and          offense.”                                       against three county rivals. The Granite         kins’ first game against his former team and
passing offense in 2020-21 by averaging            Of Mount Airy’s 31-total touchdowns in       Bears played host in the latest edition of       is the Bears’ first game in the new North-
212.0 yards on the ground and 141.2 in the      2020-21, 21 were scored by members of the       the Sock Bowl against an improving North         west 1A Conference. Elkin, East Wilkes and
air. However, the Bears come into this sea-     class of 2020. Of the 10 scored by returning    Surry squad in week one, and came away           Starmount join the NW1A Conference after
son without their starting quarterback and      players, Zeb Stroup and Tyler Mason each        with a strong win, 43-0. Next, they will trav-   leaving the Mountain Valley split confer-
running back from last season.                  had three, and the following players each       el down the road to face the defending 1AA       ence.
   There are three candidates currently bat-    had one: Deric Dandy, Peyton Fonville, Naz-     West Regional Champs East Surry before              “I’m far enough removed from that league
tling for the job of starting QB: Zeb Stroup,   rel Bell and Josh Penn.                         ending with a road game against Surry Cen-       that I’m not quite sure what other people
Ian Gallimore and Logan Fonville. Zeb is the       Bell, Mason and Zeb Stroup each had          tral, which makes the first meeting between      have,” Adkins said. “I do think the new
only QB with varsity experience. He served      more than 100 yards rushing last season.        the teams since 2018.                            conference makes sense in our area with
as Mount Airy’s quarterback during the          Bell and Stroup each had one rushing touch-        Mount Airy’s schedule also includes           enough 1A and 2A teams to split it up.”
2019-20 season and threw for 1,186 yards        down, while Mason had three.                    games against the top two teams in the for-         SCHEDULE
and 16 touchdowns with a .531 completion           Adkins highlighted Mason as one of the       mer Mountain Valley 1A/2A Conference:               Friday, 8/20 vs. North Surry 7:30
percentage. Zeb also served as backup QB        Bears’ projected running backs. The coach       Ashe County and Elkin. Ashe went unde-              Friday, 8/27 @ East Surry 7:30
in Mount Airy’s playoff game against Pine       also mentioned Reece Deaton, Traven             feated during the spring 2021 regular sea-          Friday, 9/3 @ Surry Central 7:30
Lake Prep in the spring.                        Thompson and Josh Penn as viable options.       son before falling in the first round of the        Friday, 9/10 vs. Ashe County 7:30
   Fonville is a junior and Gallimore is a         The Bears’ run game is boosted by its two    2AA State Playoffs.                                 Friday, 9/17 @ East Wilkes* 7:30
sophomore. Fonville served as the Granite       returning All-Conference linemen: Mason            Elkin finished 6-2 last season. The Elks’        Friday, 9/24 vs. South Stokes* 7:30
Bears’ JV quarterback during the spring         Hill and Kandon Davis. Both will be seniors     only regular season loss was against Ashe           Friday, 10/1 @ Starmount* 7:30
2021 season, while Gallimore was limited        this season. Hill received his first All-Con-   County, and the team reached the Elite              Friday, 10/8 vs. North Stokes* 7:30
due to an injury.                               ference selection in the spring 2021 season,    Eight of the 1A State Playoffs before losing        Friday, 10/15 OPEN
   Adkins plans to use a “plethora of backs”    while Davis has been honored the past two       to the eventual state champion, Murphy.             Friday, 10/22 @ Elkin* 7:30
to move the chains this season. He described    seasons.                                           Another interesting matchup will be              Friday, 10/29 @ Alleghany* 7:30
Mount Airy’s projected 2021-22 offense to          BIG GAMES                                    Mount Airy’s conference opener at East              *Conference

        Cardinals
          Bears                                                          roster
NO.     NAME                        POS.                 YR.       HT.      WT.                 NO.    NAME            POS.                              YR.             HT.      WT.
1       Zeb Stroup                  QB, WR, CB           Senior    6’ 2” 185 lbs                32     Deric Dandy     DE, TE                            Sophomore       6’ 4”    210 lbs
2       Kasen Taylor                LB, WR               Senior    5’ 10” 180 lbs               42     Logan Finch     HB, DE                            Junior          6’ 0”    185 lbs
3       Mario Revels                WR, DB               Sophomore 5’ 11” 160 lbs               44     Blake Hawks     NG, WR                            Sophomore       6’ 1”    165 lbs
4       Reece Deaton                LB, RB               Senior    5’ 10” 205 lbs               50     Jonah Bilyeu    OL, DL                            Junior          6’ 0”    215 lbs
5       Tyler Mason                 RB, DB               Sophomore 6’ 0” 180 lbs                54     Hayden Bender 		                                  Sophomore       5’ 10”   178 lbs
6       Nic Isom                    OLB                  Senior    5’ 10” 175 lbs               55     Matthew Bagley  G, DE                             Senior          6’ 2”    230 lbs
7       Logan Dowell                HB, DE               Senior    6’ 0” 175 lbs                59     CamRon Webster  OL, DL                            Junior          5’ 11”   210 lbs

                                                                                                                                                                                                FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2021
8       Josh Penn                   RB, DE               Senior    6’ 0” 215 lbs                64     Kam Hawks       OL, DL                            Sophomore       6’ 3”    210 lbs
10      Peyton Fonville             FS                   Senior    6’ 0” 190 lbs                65     Landon Cox      OL, DE                            Sophomore       6’ 1”    190 lbs
12      Logan Fonville              QB, DB               Junior    6’ 0” 160 lbs                66     Sao Lennon      OL, DL                            Senior          5’ 10”   245 lbs
14      Avery Poindexter            WR, MLB              Junior 		          155 lbs             70     Mason Hill      OL, DL                            Senior          5’ 11”   210 lbs
15      Ian Gallimore               MLB, QB              Sophomore 5’ 10” 183 lbs               74     Clint Riggs     OL, DL                            Junior          6’ 4”    275 lbs
19      Nick Penn                   WR, DE               Senior    6’ 1” 1 85 lbs               75     Caden Joyce     OL, DL                            Sophomore       6’ 4”    240 lbs
20      Traven Thompson             RB, LB               Junior    5’ 11” 170 lbs               80     Dylan Tilley    K                                 Senior          5’ 10”   145 lbs
21      Walker Stroup               WR, DB               Sophomore 5’ 11” 1 75 lbs              87     Caleb Collins   WR, DB                            Senior          5’ 9”    140 lbs
22      Brison George               RB, DB               Sophomore 5’ 5” 135 lbs                88     Josh Chavis     WR, DB                            Junior          5’ 10”   165 lbs

                                                                                                                                                                                                7
25      Caleb Reid                  RB, DB               Sophomore 6’ 1” 1 80 lbs
FOOTBALL Preview 2021 - The Elkin Tribune
SURRY CENTRAL GOLDEN EAGLES

                         Continuing the Ascent
                        By Cory Smith                                tackles, five tackles for a loss, three sacks,   and carry momentum moving forward.               five pass deflections, four forced fumbles,
                        csmith@mtairynews.com                        one forced fumble and two fumble recover-           “The brunt of our team was juniors, and       three TFL and an interception.
                                                                     ies. He also filled in on the offensive line.    we didn’t have many sophomores on var-              In addition to his defense, Priddy made
                           TEAM                                         Whitaker, primarily a defensive end, set      sity,” Southern said. “We’ve got what we         waves in the spring as one of the top re-
                           Surry Central Golden Eagles               a new Surry Central school record with           feel like is a strong senior class that’s very   turners in the state. As a junior, Priddy led
                           COACH                                     15.0 sacks. He also had 40 total tackles,        versatile. We have a lot of skilled guys.        the state with 348 yards on kickoff returns
                           Monty Southern, 57-97 record at Surry     14 TFL, two forced fumbles, two fumble           This is a tight knit group that’s played to-     in the regular season. He also had the lon-
                        Central                                      recoveries and one blocked punt.                 gether their whole lives.”                       gest kickoff returned for a TD in the state,
                           LAST SEASON                                  Woods and Holt were great two-way                Four all-around athletes return to make-      running 94 yards to score.
                           4-3 overall, 4-3 conference, Tied for     players. Woods was the team’s leading re-        up Surry Central’s secondary a deadly               One of the few juniors on the team, Clay
                        third place in the Western Piedmont 2A       ceiver with 357 yards and six touchdowns.        weapon this season: Logan Priddy, Kar-           Whitaker, has been impressive at safety.
                        Conference                                   On defense, Woods had 31 total tackles,          son Crouse, Memphis Bolatto and Da-                 Senior Kade Norman, an All-Conference
                           KEY LOSSES                                four TFL, one interception, one forced           kota Mills. Priddy started the spring 2021       honorable mention with 37 total tack-
                           Surry Central graduated seven seniors     fumble, one fumble recovery and one              season as cornerback, but then moved to          les last season, anchors the linebackers.
                        in 2021. Though fewer in numbers than        blocked field goal.                              safety with Crouse as Mills found his fit        Southern said one of his running mates
                        the 2019 and 2021 spring season, many of        Quarterback Holt threw for 750 yards          at corner.                                       will be Cole Butcher, who spent his time
                        the seniors were longtime starters for the   and eight touchdowns, while also being              Crouse, Bolatto and Mills were all given      on the defensive line in the spring.
                        Golden Eagles.                               second on the team in yards rushing with         All-Conference Honors last season, while            Andres Gonzalez, another returning
                           Four members of the class of 2021 re-     253. Holt also had 20 total tackles, five        Mills – playing his first season of football     All-Conference player, is one of the play-
                        ceived All-Conference Honors in the          TFL and two interceptions.                       for the Golden Eagles – was an honorable         ers that looks to fill the holes left by Camp-
                        spring 2021 season: Chase Holt, Ste-            DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS                         mention.                                         bell and Whitaker. He’s been on the varsity
                        ven Campbell, Sam Whitaker and Brady            The spring 2021 season marked Surry              Mills led the team with three intercep-       squad ever since the midway point of his
                        Woods.                                       Central’s first winning season since 2016.       tions, and Bolatto had one as well to go         freshman year. Gonzalez had seven TFL,
                           Campbell and Whitaker both made their     A lot of the same players are playing this       with his five pass deflections, a fumble re-     five sacks and a safety last season.
                        biggest impact on defense. Campbell, a       fall. Led by 17 seniors, Southern hopes to       covery and a blocked punt. Krouse led the           Blake Edwards is another player that
                        linebacker finished the year with 28 total   bridge the gap between the two seasons           team with 49 tackles in seven games, had         will make a big impact on the defensive

                          Golden Eagles
                          Cardinals                                                                                   roster
                          NO.      NAME                      YR.                 POS.             HT.      WT.          NO.      NAME                         YR.                  POS.             HT.      WT.
                          1        Dakota Mills              Senior              WR/DB            6’1      160          32       Wyatt Burton                 Senior               WR/DB            5’9”     175
                          3        Cole Butcher              Senior              RB/LB            6’       190          34       Lucas Johnson                Freshman             RB/LB            6’       180
                          4        Karson Crouse             Senior              RB/S             6’/      180          50       Kade Norman                  Senior               OL/LB            6’1”     215
                          5        Carlos Martinez           Junior              AB/C             5’8”     140          55       Enoc Lopez                   Junior               OL/LB            5’10”    200
                          6        Mason Jewell              Freshman            QB/S             5’1”     150          56       Andres Gonzalez              Senior               OL/DL            5’10”    220
FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2021

                          7        Logan Priddy              Senior              AB/S             6’       180          58       Christian Robinson           Senior               OL/DL            6’3”     260
                          8        Ayden Wilmoth             Sophomore           AB/LB            5’11”    160          60       Cannon Gates                 Senior               OL/DL            6’2”     230
                          9        Avery Wilmoth             Senior              QB/LB            6’1”     195          62       Reid Danley                  Sophomore            OL/DL            5’9”     195
                          11       Spencer Leclair           Senior              AB/LB            6’       170          71       Samuel Branch                Junior               OL/DL            5’8”     265
                          15       Jacob Edmonds             Senior              K                6’1”     170          73       Jose Rayo                    Senior               OL/DL            6’       220
                          16       Brady Edmonds             Senior              WR/LB            6’2”     170          74       Blake Edwards                Senior               OL/DL            5’11”    205
                          17       Brian Williams            Freshman            AB/DB            5’8”     135          75       Fisher Freeman               Sophomore            OL/DL            5’9”     260
                          19       Dante Watson              Senior              AB/LB            5’10     165          77       Graden Spurlin               Junior               OL/DL            6’4’     315
                          21       Memphis Bolatto           Senior              WR/DB            5’11”/   55           81       Cole Snow                    Junior               WR/DB            5’8”     130
                          22       Clay Whitaker             Junior              WR/S             5’8”     155          82       Evan Wall                    Sophomore            WR/DB            6’1”/    40
                          24       Trevor Dutton             Junior              WR/LB            6’2”     160          84       Kyle Inman                   Sophomore            WR/DB            5’7”     130
8

                          30       Allen Huffman             Freshman            AB/S             5’9”     145
FOOTBALL Preview 2021 - The Elkin Tribune
2021- 22 VARSITY GOLDEN EAGLES FOOTBALL TEAM
line, Southern said. Edwards didn’t play in
the spring, but is someone that fits right
in with the group of nearly two dozen se-
niors.
   Another of the seniors, Jacob Edmonds,
returns as the team’s placekicker. He
knocked down 16-of-22 PATs and 1-of-2
field goals in the spring.
   OFFENSE
   Surry Central’s offense returned two key
pieces in the form of Crouse and Priddy.
   The two carried the ball nearly 90 times
combined last season and that was with
another running back in the rotation and a
mobile QB. They were first and second on
the team in yards per carry, with Priddy
getting 5.0 and Crouse 6.5, and combined
for 11 of Central’s 13 rushing touchdowns.
   “We feel really good with those two,”
Southern said. “They’re two kids with a
lot of experience playing varsity football.”                                                                                                          Amy Cave | Special to the News
   Also in the backfield mix is running
back Dante Watson. Watson was able to          formed Foothills 2A Conference that fea-        Friday, 8/20 @ Alleghany 7:30           Friday, 10/1 @ Elkin 7:30
get more reps than expected last year with     tures three teams from the former West-         Friday, 8/27 vs. East Wilkes 7:30       Friday, 10/8 vs. Forbush* 7:30
Avery Wilmoth out with an injury.              ern Piedmont and Mountain Valley Con-           Friday, 9/3 vs. Mount Airy 7:30         Friday, 10/15 vs. North Wilkes* 7:30
   Wilmoth is set to be the Eagles’ QB this    ferences and one that was promoted to           Friday, 9/10 OPEN                       Friday, 10/22 @ North Surry* 7:30
season.                                        the 2A division from the Northwest 1A           Friday, 9/17 @ West Wilkes* 7:30        Friday, 10/29 @ East Surry* 7:30
   “We did a little bit more throwing this     Conference.                                     Friday, 9/24 vs. Wilkes Central* 7:30   *Conference
summer than we usually do, and he did 70-         “I love it,” Southern said when discuss-
80 percent of the reps and looked great,”      ing the Eagles’ new conference. “The trav-

                                                                                                     Your Headquarters
Southern said. “He was our JV quarter-         el is going to pretty similar; I just think
back before last year. He’s really smart and   we will have a better crowd at schools now
a really conscientious kid.”                   and they’ll travel better coming here. I also
   Central averaged just under 100 yards

                                                                                                  for Surry County Sports
                                               think it’s going to be really competitive.”
receiving in the spring. Woods accounted          Central’s first big test comes on week
for 18 of the team’s 42 total receptions and   three when the Eagles host Mount Airy
360 of the 699 total yards. Priddy was the     for the first time since 2018. Scheduling
only other player with more than six re-       conflicts kept the two county rivals from
ceptions, hauling in eight passes for 191
yards and a TD.
                                               doing battle the last few seasons. Surry
                                               Central last defeated the Bears in 2015,
                                                                                                           Follow High School Sports
   Southern said he feels good about air-
ing the ball out with athletes like Mills,
                                               but Mount Airy has won almost every
                                               other recent meeting.
                                                                                                          Coverage in Print and Online
Bolatto and Brady Edmonds available for           The Eagles have a tough road follow-
big plays, and then having players such        ing their BYE week in early September.
as Watson, Priddy, Krouse and Whitaker         The team hosts Wilkes Central (5-2 last
available as well.                             season), travels to Elkin (6-2 last season)

                                                                                                  The Mount Airy News
   Four of five offensive line starters from   then hosts the 2020-21 Western Piedmont

                                                                                                                                                                                        FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2021
the spring returned for the 2021-22 sea-       2A Conference Co-Champion Forbush (6-
son. Andres Gonzalez is the only return-       1) last season.
ing All-Conference lineman, but Southern          After a home game against North Wil-
expects him to be surrounded by players        kes, Surry Central ends the season with
such as Christian Robinson, Kade Nor-          road games at North Surry (4-3 last sea-
man, Cannon Gates, Jose Rayo and Blake         son), who battled tooth-and-nail to defeat
Edwards.
   “I’m excited,” Southern said. “This is a
                                               the Eagles in the spring, and East Surry                                      319 N. Renfro St. – Mount Airy
                                               (9-2 last season), who won the Northwest
really fun group to coach. The group in the    1A Conference Championship and 1AA                                                    336.786.4141
spring was too.”
   BIG GAMES
                                               West Regional Championship this past
                                               season.
                                                                                                                                    mtairynews.com
   Surry Central will compete in the newly        SCHEDULE
                                                                                                                                                                                        9
                                                                                                                                                                             70052335
FOOTBALL Preview 2021 - The Elkin Tribune
SOUTH STOKES SAURAS

                           Sauras staying Sauras                                                                                                                                                 roster
                              focused
                           By Robert Money Jr.
                                                                                                                              NO.
                                                                                                                              1
                                                                                                                              2
                                                                                                                              3
                                                                                                                              5
                                                                                                                                         NAME
                                                                                                                                         Junior Hairston
                                                                                                                                         Timothy Chalmers
                                                                                                                                         Matthew Waters
                                                                                                                                         DJ Goolsby
                                                                                                                                                                                             YR.
                                                                                                                                                                                             Sophomore
                                                                                                                                                                                             Sophomore
                                                                                                                                                                                             Senior
                                                                                                                                                                                             Senior
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       POS.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       QB/DB
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       RB/LB
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       TE/DE
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       WR/RB/DB
                           rmoney@thestokesnews.com                                                                           6          Anthony Campbell                                    Senior                                    WR/DB
                                                                                                                              7          Evan Ashley                                         Junior                                    WR/DB
                             TEAM                                                                                             9          Arlyn Durrell                                       Junior                                    RB/LB
                             South Stokes                                                                                     10         Brendon Bradford                                    Junior                                    WR/DB
                             COACH
                                                                                                                              11         Isiah Lash                                          Sophomore                                 WR/FS
                                                                                                                              12         Jesse Carrick                                       Senior                                    RB/LB
                             David Diamont, 9-10 (300-163)                                                                    13         Nolan Coe                                           Junior                                    QB/LB
                           record at South Stokes                                                                             14         Michael Fallin                                      Senior                                    QB/SS
                             LAST SEASON                                                                                      16         Daniel Martin                                       Junior                                    WR/DB
                             2-5, 0-5 conference, sixth place in the                                                          17         Connor Cox                                          Freshman                                  QB/DB
                                                                                                                              18         Keelan Robertson                                    Junior                                    WR/DB
                           Northwest 1A Conference                                                                            20         Noah Booe                                           Sophomore                                 RB/LB
                             KEY LOSSES                                                                                       22         Evan Patterson                                      Senior                                    RB/DB
                             The biggest losses for the Sauras are                                                            25         Justin Joyce                                        Freshman                                  WR/DB
                           All-Conference players Johnny Dotson                                                               30         Cameron East                                        Freshman                                  WR/DB
                                                                                                                              33         Austin Evans                                        Senior                                    RB/CB
                           and Jordan Mitchell. Dotson led the                                                                35         Jason Hernandez                                     Freshman                                  RB/DB
                           team with 65 tackles and two fumble                                                                43         Jaryd Galloway                                      Junior                                    FB/DE
                           recoveries on defense and played                                                                   50         Moises Jaramillo                                    Sophomore                                 OL/DL
                           several downs on the offensive side                                                                51         Parker Barron                                       Freshman                                  OL/DL
                           relieving Mitchell at fullback. He gained
                                                                                                                              53         Nick Heavener                                       Senior                                    OL/DE
                                                                                                                              55         Carson Hall                                         Senior                                    OL/DL
                           126 rushing yards and two touchdowns.                                                              56         Bryson Mabe                                         Freshman                                  OL/DL
                           Mitchell chimed in with 45 tackles and                                                             58         Michael Werts                                       Sophomore                                 OL/DL
                           a sack from the defensive line. He was                                                             59         Matthew Inman                                       Junior                                    OL/DL
                           second on the team in most rushing                                                                 60         Colton Pruitt                                       Freshman                                  OL/DL
                                                                                                                              61         Wyatt McBride                                       Senior                                    OL/DE
                           yards with 450 yards and was first with                                                            62         Alex Johnson                                        Freshman                                  OL/DL
                           the most rushing touchdowns of six.                                                                63         Logan Knight                                        Junior                                    OL/LB
                             Quarterback        Tyler      Patterson                                                          64         Patrick Chaney                                      Freshman                                  OL/DL
                           controlled the Sauras offense and was David Diamont                                                65         Vinnie McManus                                      Sophomore                                 OL/LB
                                                                                                                              68         Jordan Fulp                                         Sophomore                                 OL/DE
                           selected as honorable mention All-                                                                 70         Dalton Hutchings                                    Freshman                                  OL/DL
                           Conference. Defensive players Gabriel                                                              72         Alex LaRoche                                        Sophomore                                 OL/DL
                           Gibson (27 tackles), Zachary Warning of the kickoffs and sophomore Isiah                           73         Bryce Epperson                                      Freshman                                  OL/DL
                           (23 tackles), and Arron Justice (27 Lash will take over the punting duties.                        75         Landon Johnson                                      Junior                                    OL/DL
                           tackles) were solid at their positions.   Waters averaged 42.1 yards per kick last                 79         Dezmond Galloway                                    Sophomore                                 OL/DL
                             DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAM                    season.
                             Returning starters from last year’s       Carrick, Goolsby, Lash, Noah Booe,
                           team are scarce. The Sauras return four   and JR Hairston will take turns handling
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           OPENING HOURS:
10 FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2021

                           defensive starters: Matthew Waters,       kickoff and punt return duties.                                                                                                                                       Monday-Thursday
                           DJ Goolsby, Jesse Carrick and Wyatt         OFFENSE                                                                                                                                                               11am-9:30pm
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Friday 11am-10pm
                           McBride. Carrick (27 tackles), who          The team returns three on the                                                                                                                                     Saturday 7am-10pm
                           was tagged honorable mention All-         offensive  side of the ball. Carrick will                                                                                                                              Sunday Closed

                           Conference last season, and Waters (49    carry the  load out of the backfield. He
                           tackles) will anchor the defense in the missed one game due to a concussion,                                            1/2 Price Wine Night                Enjoy our snacks           Celebrate with us                     Drink Specials
                           middle, while Goolsby will lead a young but still ran for 488 yards with three                                             Thurs. Nights!               From cheese fries to wings! Bring the whole family!            Great Deals every weekday!

                           secondary. McBride will continue his touchdowns. Joining him as a returning
                           excellence at the defensive end position. starter is offensive lineman Carson Hall    627 S Main St. •King, NC 27021
                             The Sauras are still looking for a and Moises Santana.                              info@townandcountrygrille.com
                                                                                                                 •T/336-983-3641                   Enjoy your favorite wine for      From cheese fries to wings,    Bring the whole family to

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                                                                                                                                                                                         your evening out!
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2021- 22 SOUTH STOKES VARSITY FOOTBALL TEAM

                                                                                                                       Robert Money | The Stokes News

who will play various positions,” said      big game simply because Coach David

                                                                                              Your Headquarters
Diamont. “Their ability to perform in       Diamont led that program for many
different positions at different times      years and their stadium is named after
during a game will be our ‘key.’ We need    the legendary coach.

                                                                                           for Stokes County Sports
to improve our physical strength and          North Stokes beat the Sauras last
setting out to be the best team member      season breaking a South six-game
you possibly can become.”                   winning streak. The game is slated for
  BIG GAMES                                 the last game of the season and surely
  West Stokes is always a big game for      the stadium will be packed from the
the Sauras, as it is for the Wildcats.      North and Southern part of the county
The King, Pinnacle and Walnut Cove
communities shared South Stokes
                                            for bragging rights.
                                              SCHEDULE                                       Follow High School Sports
until West Stokes opened its doors in         Friday, 8/20 vs. West Stokes 7:30 p.m.
the 1999-00 school year. The teams
didn’t play each other last year due to
                                              Friday, 8/27 at Bishop McGuinness
                                            7:30 p.m.
                                                                                            Coverage in Print and Online
COVID-19 restrictions, but the Sauras         Friday, 9/3 at McMichael 7:30 p.m.
beat the Wildcats 12-8 in a season that       Friday, 9/10 vs. East Surry 7:30 p.m.

                                                                                                                                                         FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2021
West made the 2A West Regional Finals.        Friday, 9/17 vs. Alleghany 7:30 p.m.*
  Bishop McGuinness and McMichael             Friday, 9/24 at Mount Airy 7:30 p.m. *
are key non-conference games for the          Friday, 10/1 at East Wilkes 7:30 p.m. *
Sauras. Both are very winnable games          Friday, 10/15 at Starmount 7:30 p.m.
and it’s important for South to get early   *
winnable games before entering its            Friday, 10/22 vs. North Stokes 7:30
tough conference play.                      p.m*.                                                 122 S. Main St. - King
  Other big games for the Sauras are          Friday, 10/29 vs. Elkin 7:30 p.m. *
East Surry and North Stokes. Although         *Conference                                             336.591.8191
the Cardinals hold a lop-sided record
                                                                                                   thestokesnews.com
                                                                                                                                                         11
against the Sauras, it’s going to be a      Robert Money can be reached at 336-749-1193.                                                      70052337
2021- 22 NORTH STOKES VARSITY FOOTBALL TEAM

                                                                                                                                                Robert Money | The Stokes News

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                                                         Stokes                                       • cHurcH grouPS
                                                                                                        Fun AcTiViTieS For
                                                                                                        THe wHole FAMily

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                                                                                                                                              Fall SeaSon

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NORTH STOKES VIKINGS

      VIKINGS                                                                                                                Vikings
    STARTING A
                                                                                                        roster
     NEW ERA                                                                                               NO.
                                                                                                           2
                                                                                                           11
                                                                                                                       NAME
                                                                                                                       Elijah Cone
                                                                                                                       Justin Rogers
                                                                                                                                                    YR.
                                                                                                                                                    Senior
                                                                                                                                                    Junior
                                                                                                                                                                         POS.
                                                                                                                                                                         QB/DB
                                                                                                                                                                         RB/DB
By Robert Money Jr.                                                                                        12          Jamison Wood                 Junior               QB/WR/DB
rmoney@thestokesnews.com
                                                                                                           19          Ethan Garcia                 Sophomore            RB/DB
                                                                                                           20          Victor Martinez              Senior               RB/DB
   TEAM
                                                                                                           25          Tyler Wood                   Junior               RB/LB
   North Stokes Vikings
   COACH                                                                                                   44          Ethan Puckett                Senior               RB/LB
   Jamie Fortner, first year at North Stokes                                                               50          CJ Smith                     Senior               OL/DL
   LAST SEASON                                                                                             52          Garrett Smith                Senior               OL/DL
   3-4, 1-4 conference, fifth place in the                                                                 54          Cameron Bullins              Sophomore            OL/DL
Northwest 1A Conference                                                                                    55          Brian Tysinger               Sophomore            OL/DL
   KEY LOSSES                                                                                              60          Will Greer                   Sophomore            OL/DL
   The Vikings lost All-Conference players                                                                 62          Bryan Mabe                   Junior               OL/DL
Jacob Murray and Adam Pollard and                                                                          63          Chris Hardin                 Junior               OL/DL
honorable mention athlete Dylan James.                                                                     66          Ethan Roberson               Senor                OL/DL
Murray led the team with 508 yards                                                                         81          Tanner Horsely               Senior               WR/DB
rushing and recorded the most tackles          Jamie Fortner                                               85          Josh Manring                 Senior               TE/WR/DE
on defense with 72. Pollard anchored the
offensive and defensive line and James
                                               position after throwing for 205 yards and
recorded 35 tackles and averaged 5.3 yards
                                               two touchdowns on 15 completions. He           Another big game for the Vikings is                   Friday, 9/24 at Starmount 7:30 p.m.*
per rush on 11 attempts.
                                               also rushed for 311 yards on 65 carries,     cross-county rival South Stokes. North                  Friday, 10/1 vs. Alleghany 7:30 p.m. *
   Other key losses for the Vikings were
                                               scoring two touchdowns.                      broke South’s six-game winning streak                   Friday, 10/8 at Mount Airy 7:30 p.m. *
Matthew Edwards (transferred to East
                                                  Martinez led the Vikings with 102         with a 22-8 victory last year.                          Friday, 10/15, vs. East Wilkes 7:30 p.m.
Surry), Deuce Chalmers (transferred to
                                               carries last season gaining 504 yards          SCHEDULE                                          *
South Stokes), and linebacker Scotty
                                               and three touchdowns. Puckett will get         Friday, 8/27 at North Moore 7:30 p.m.                 Friday, 10/22 at South Stokes 7:30 p.m.*
Stevens, who decided not to play because
                                               more carries in the backfield and Hardin,      Friday, 9/3 at Chatham Central 7:30 p.m.              *Conference games
of multiple injuries.
                                               Manring, CJ Smith, and Garrett Smith will      Friday, 9/10 vs. Patrick County 7:30 p.m.
   DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS                                                                                                                        Robert Money can be reached at 336-749-1193.
                                               hold down the offensive line.                  Friday, 9/17 vs. Elkin 7:30 p.m. *
   The Vikings return six defensive
                                                  “With the number of players we have,
players: Ethan Puckett, Elijah Cone, Victor
                                               keeping everyone healthy is the biggest
Martinez, Garret Smith, Josh Manring and
                                               key,” said Fortner. “The team is working
Jamison Wood. Puckett led the defense

                                                                                                                                                                                                         FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2021
                                               tremendously hard and the younger players
with 58 tackles, Manring 31, Martinez
                                               are picking up on the system well. If we
28 (two interceptions) and Cone 20.
                                               keep the work ethics and positive attitude
Wood added 13 tackles and three passes
                                               it will be a successful season.”
defended after starting midway through
                                                  BIG GAMES
the season.
                                                  The Vikings will open the season
   OFFENSE
                                               with non-conference opponents South
   North Stokes returns seven offensive
                                               Davidson, North Moore, Chatham Central                                          Barretto Track          Bobcat T-550
starters to the team: CJ Smith, Chris                                                                                            Trencher              Track Loader           Barretto Stump Grinder
                                               and Patrick County. Each same is very            Bobcat E32 Excavator
Hardin, Puckett, Cone, Martinez, Manring
                                               winnable before the Vikings enter league                     825 W. Lebanon St., Mt. Airy 636 S. Main St., King
and Garrett Smith.
                                               play in one of the toughest conferences in                        336-789-RENT              336-958-8222

                                                                                                                                                                                                         13
   Cone will return at the quarterback                                                                                 www.cookerentals.com                                                   70051912
                                               the area.
2021- 22 WEST STOKES VARSITY FOOTBALL TEAM

                                                                                                                                                      Robert Money | The Stokes News Johnson

                         Wildcats looking
                         to rebound from
                            2-4 season                                                                                  Terry Gaither
                                                                                                                                                                 336-591-5534
                                                                                                                                                                 201 W. Fourth St.
                                                                                                                                                                 Walnut Cove, NC 27052
                                                                                                                        LUTCF, Agency Manager
                        By Robert Money Jr.                             high six sacks and added 38 tackles and
                                                                                                                                                                 336-593-2801
                        rmoney@thestokesnews.com                        one interception. He was also the Wildcats’                                              407 N. Main St.
                                                                        punter. Barker had 12 punts with a long of                                               Danbury, NC 27016
                           TEAM                                         47 yards.
                           West Stokes Wildcats                            Pack was a two-way starter and a two-                                                 336-983-0361
                                                                        time All-Conference selection. He helped                                                 100 River Birch Ct.
                           COACH
                                                                        the Wildcats to the West Regional Finals                                                 King, NC 27021
                           Chris Johnson, 2-4 (46-71) record at West
                        Stokes                                          in 2019 and this past season paced the
FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2021

                           LAST SEASON                                  defensive line with 40 tackles. Pack assisted
                           2-4, 2-4 conference, sixth place in the      the offensive line in helping West Stokes
                                                                        gain nearly 1,300 yards in offense.                An Authorized Agency for
                        Western Piedmont 2A Conference
                           KEY LOSSES                                      Shrewsbury mainly played on the
                           West Stokes graduated seven players          offensive line, but got multiple snaps on
                        from its 2020-21 roster, two of which earned    the defensive front. He recorded 14 tackles
                        All-Conference Honors and one Honorable         and a sack, but he was more than that.
                        Mention: Cameron Pack, Gabriel Barker,          Shrewsbury’s job was to clog the middle and
                        and Ayden Shrewsbury. All three players         he was one of the best at doing it.
                        made an impact in their own way. Barker            DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAM
                        missed the first game of the season against        The Wildcats return five of its top seven
14

                        Surry Central, but still finished with a team   defensive players. All-Conference player                                                                       70052321
WEST STOKES WILDCATS
Dakota Barker led the team with 57 tackles
and nine tackles for loss. Honorable mention
selection Dillon Stanley added 44 tackles in
the No. 2 spot and Orasha Graham came in
with the fifth most tackles at 33. Defensive
lineman Bryan Gordon was sixth on the
                                                                                                                Wildcats
list with 28, and even though Brighton
Berthrong only played in three games this
past spring, he finished seventh on the team
                                                                                                        roster
with 16.                                                                                                NO.   NAME                 YR.                    POS.
   “With low numbers, we must have an
injury-free season,” said Johnson. “Our                                                                 1     Mason Cain           Junior                 QB/FS
                                               Chris Johnson                                            2     Spencer Betha        Senior                 WR/DB
development and continuity of our line
play will be key to our success. We need       year and Blackburn has to have an impactful              3     Brighton Berthrong   Senior                 WR/DB
to be excellent tacklers even though the       season. Rawley’s ability to make big plays               4     Dylan Roscoe         Senior                 QB/DB
state putting restrictions on hitting during   will be a must for us. Bryan Gordon has had              7     Dillon Stanley       Junior                 RB/DB
practice.”                                     a great camp and if he can continue at the               8     DJ Moore             Junior                 OL/OLB
   Jerry Adkins returns as the Wildcats’       pace he’s been on, it will help us immensely.”
kicker this season. He was 2-for-5 in field                                                             9     Jasir Gaye           Junior                 WR/DB
                                                  BIG GAMES
goal attempts and was 7-for-9 in extra-point                                                            11    Demorick Blakely     Junior                 WR/DB
                                                  The Wildcats opened the season with a
attempts. He also took care of the kickoff     strong win against cross-county rival South              12    Hunter Ramey         Junior                 WR/DB
duties with 20 attempts and two touch-backs    Stokes, 49-6. Prior to this match-up, West               13    Keyon Rawley         Sophomore              WR/CB
last season.                                   held an overall 16-05 record, but the Sauras             15    Gary Perminter       Junior                 WR/DB
   Stanley returned most of the Wildcats       won 12-8 over the Wildcats in its last                   19    Jacob Collins        Senior                 WR/DB
kickoff returns last season with six and the   meeting.
most punt returns with three. Sophomore                                                                 22    Carson Stevens       Junior                 WR/DB
                                                  Last season West lost to North Surry in
Keyon Rawley will take over the punting                                                                 23    Dakota Barker        Junior                 RB/LB
                                               the last minute of the game and will look
duties.                                        to square off against its former conference              24    Jerry Adkins         Senior                 K
   OFFENSE                                     foe. Before last season, the Wildcats                    26    Caleb Wood           Sophomore              WR/DB
   Junior Mason Cain will quarterback the      and Greyhounds battled for the WPAC                      33    Shelton Blakely      Senior                 SB/OLB
Wildcats with Stanley (All-Conference          championship each season with one or the                 50    Ben Smitherman       Senior                 OL/DL
Honorable Mention) and Dakota Barker           other winning it.
(All-Conference), and Berthrong returning                                                               52    Conner Lankford      Junior                 OL/DL
                                                  East Surry will be a challenge for the
to the offense. Berthrong missed the last      young Wildcats, but the teams have battled               53    Zaid Dobson          Senior                 OL/DL
three games of the season last year due to     in some great games over the past decade.                56    James Spainhour      Junior                 OL/DL
injuries and looks to rebound and lead the        The Wildcats will return to a conference              58    Orasha Graham        Junior                 OL/DL
young offensive team.                          that features state champions Reidsville and             59    Austin Blackburn     Senior                 OL/DL
   Joining Cain, Stanley, Barker, and          McMichael. West faced Reidsville in the                  63    Joseph Leake         Junior                 OL/DL
Berthrong on the offensive side are tight      West Regional finals in 2019 and is 0-5 all-
end DJ Moore, wide-receivers Jasir Gaye                                                                 72    Bryan Gordon         Senior                 OL/DL
                                               time against the Rams. McMichael is another
and Keyon Rawley and offensive linemen         crucial game for the Wildcats. West holds a              73    Jullian Mendieta     Senior                 OL/DL
Ben Smitherman, James Spainhour, Orasha        9-1 overall record against the Phoenix, but              78    Matthew Gupton       Junior                 OL/DL
Graham, Bryan Gordon, Matthew Gupton           those games have been close over the years.
and Austin Blackburn. Gaye will return            SCHEDULE
to both sides of the ball after missing last      Friday, 8/20 at South Stokes 7:30 p.m.        1937-                                   GENTRY’S STORE

                                                                                                                                                                                          FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2021
season.                                           Friday, 8/27 vs. North Surry 7:30 p.m.        2021                                Celebrating 84 years of business in downtown King
   Cain threw for 263 yards and three             Thursday, 9/2 at East Surry 7:30 p.m.
touchdowns, while Barker led the team with        Friday, 9/17 vs. McMichael 7:30 p.m. *                                             We sell lawnmower parts. We stock
323 yards rushing on 46 carries and Stanley       Friday, 9/24 vs. Walkertown 7:30 p.m*
ran for 315 yards on 67 carries and four                                                                                             original and aftermarket parts for
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a huge factor and how quickly Jasir Gaye          Friday, 10/22 at North Forsyth 7:30 p.m.*
gets back into football form after being          Friday, 10/29 vs. Galax 7:30 p.m.                                                   117 South Main St. • King, NC
out last year is going to be important us,”       *Conference games
added Johnson. “ We need to have Barker
                                                                                                                                      336-983-3440
                                                                                                                                                                                          15
and Stanley repeat the success they had last   Robert Money can be reached at 336-749-1193.                                                                                    70052282
THE 2021- 22 EAST SURRY VARSITY FOOTBALL TEAM

                                                                                                                                                                                            Cory Smith | The Mount Airy News

                         New Look, Same Goal
                        By Cory Smith                                   Derek Sutterby and Jesse Whitaker.                  selected as defensive players on the All-Con-   and defensive back.
                        csmith@mtairynews.com                              Baker and Whitaker started on the offen-         ference team.                                      DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
                                                                        sive line, and Baker was an All-Conference             Tilley was third on the team in tackles         East Surry’s defense has a lot of question
                          TEAM                                          selection as a junior and senior. The duo           with 50, while also recording 7.0 TFL and       marks ahead of week one because the Cardi-
                          East Surry Cardinals                          helped block for an offense that led the 1A         a team-high 5.0 sacks. Tilley also forced       nals are still putting things together.
                          COACH                                         division with 4,072 yards of total offense.         two fumbles, recovered three fumbles and           “We haven’t had one day yet where our
                          Trent Lowman, 35-6 record at East Surry       This included 1,824 yards rushing, most of          blocked one punt.                               whole team has been here,” said Cardinal
                          LAST SEASON                                   which came from Bullington, who ran for                Needham led the team with six intercep-      coach Trent Lowman during the second
                          9-2 overall, 5-0 conference, Northwest        1,091 yards and scored 20 touchdowns.               tions and also had six pass deflections, a      week of practice. “The way baseball went
                        1A Conference Champions, West Regional             Bullington received All-Conference Hon-          fumble recovery and 37 tackles.                 all the way through June, then there was
                        Champions, 1AA State Championship Run-          ors on offense and defense. He recorded 51             Sutterby was fourth on the team in tackles   basketball camp and Young Life camp…
                        ners-up                                         tackles, 6.0 tackles for a loss and 3.0 sacks.      with 47, including 2.0 TFL and 4.0 sacks.       we’ve had kids out for different reasons and
                          KEY LOSSES                                    Another two-way player, Gosnell, led the            Sutterby was also the NW1A Conference           haven’t had our full team together yet.”
                          East Surry lost 17 players from its 2020-21   team with 87 tackles, 11.0 TFL and 4.0              Specialist of the Year, hitting 48-of-51 PATs      The already-shortened summer vacation
                        roster, seven of which earned All-Conference    sacks. On offense, Gosnell had 669 yards re-        and 2-of-3 field goals.                         took away time for every school to have off-
                        Honors: Mackenzie Baker, Luke Bullington,       ceiving and seven receiving touchdowns. He             Another Cardinal graduate, Carson            season workouts. East Surry had even less
                        Benji Gosnell, Tye Needham, Kaleb Tilley,       also had three rushing TDs.                         Hawks, was an All-Conference honorable
                                                                           Needham, Tilley and Sutterby were all            mention as a receiver, backup quarterback                               See CARDINALS | 26

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EAST SURRY CARDINALS

      Cardinals                                 roster
NO.   NAME               YR..        POS.       HT.    WT.              NO.   NAME                YR..            POS.       HT.    WT.
1     Luke Bowman        Senior      WR/DB                              53    Hayden Sammons      Junior          OL/DL      5-8    190
2     Folger Boaz        Junior      QB         6-3    185              54    Daniel Villasenor   Junior          OL/DL      6-2    180
3     Dylan Cox          Junior      RB/LB      5-11   180              55    Eli Blose           Senior          OL/DL      5-11   275
4     Trace Tilley       Senior      TE/LB      6-3    175              56    Gavin Atkins        Junior          OL/DL      6-2    230
5     Trey Armstrong     Senior      RB/DB      5-10   170              57    Kole Pruitt         Junior          OL/DL      6-4    290
8     Brett Clayton      Junior      RB/DE      6-3    195              60    Elijah Becker       Junior          OL/DL      6-2    185
9     Colby Johnson      Junior      WR/QB/DB   5-11   180              61    Andrew Flippin      Junior          OL/DL
10    Layton Allen       Senior      WR/DB      6-2    175              64    Ethan Slater        Sophomore       OL/DL      6-0    185
11    Kyle Zinn          Junior      RB/DB      5-9    158              65    Isaiah Gulledge     Junior          OL/DL      5-11   215
14    Matthew Keener     Junior      WR/DB      6-0    155              74    Anthony Ward        Senior          OL/DL      6-2    190
15    Daniel Creech      Junior      WR/DB                              75    JT Simmons          Junior          OL/DL      6-6    280
16    Jacob Lowe         Senior      WR/DB                              76    Michael McMillian   Senior          OL/DL      6-2    360
17    Gabriel Harpe      Junior      WR/DB      5-11   160              81    Bryson McBride      Junior          WR/DB      6-4    190
18    Joseph Grezmak     Senior      TE/DE      6-4    205              82    Doug Lambert        Junior          WR/DB      5-10   150
19    Isaiah Arrington   Senior      WR/DB      5-11   160
20    Luke Brown         Junior      WR/DB      6-4    165
22    Anthony Ayers      Senior      TE/LB                                                                                 Delivery
23    Anderson Badgett   Junior      WR/DB                                                                                 available
24    Stephen Brantley   Junior      TE/DE      6-3    220                                                                 through
25    Eli Beck           Junior      RB/NG      5-10   175                                                                Mayberry
30    Will Jones         Sophomore   WR/DB      5-11   150
                                                                              Since 1994                                   Takeout
32    Joshua Parker      Junior      RB/LB      5-11   180                                                                   and
36    James Dezarn       Junior      TE/LB
                                                                                                                          Door Dash.
40    Jose Campos        Senior      RB/LB      5-8    165
44    Delbert Perez      Senior      TE/LB      6-0    250
51    Connor Key         Junior      OL/DL      5-10   205
52    Sam Whitt          Senior      OL/DL      5-11   285

      Best of luck to our area teams!                                             Let us cater your next event!

                                                                                                                                                     FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2021
                                                                                  Mount Airy                        Pilot Mountain
                                                                               2123 Rockford St                     511 E 52 Bypass
                                                                              Mount Airy, NC 27030            Pilot Mountain, NC 27041
                                                                                (336) 789-4050                      (336) 368-1900
                                                                                    Dobson                              King
                                                                                 710 E Atkins St                   105 Retail Cir
             393 CC Camp Rd • Elkin, NC 28621                                  Dobson, NC 27017                   King, NC 27021
              (336) 526-1803 • surreybank.com                                   (336) 356-2130                    (336) 983-0603
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THE 2021- 22 NORTH SURRY VARSITY FOOTBALL TEAM

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                        By Cory Smith                                     tal tackles, making him one of two players        fumble recovery and four pass deflections.   last season,
                                                                                                                                                                               • Wide Range 29 players          were underclass-
                                                                                                                                                                                                    of Investment         Options
                        csmith@mtairynews.com                             in all of N.C. to have at least 103 tackles in      DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS                      men. Even       with most players returning, the
                                                                                                                                                                                  and Strategies
                                                                          only seven games. He also recorded 20 tack-         North Surry was one of the biggest come-   Hounds are still relatively young with only
                          TEAM                                            les for a loss – tied for third in 2A and tied    back stories in the state last season. The   six seniors.
                                                                                                                                                                               Call or visit today.
                          North Surry Greyhounds                          for 16th in all state classifications – as well   Greyhounds bounced back from an 0-3 start       This year’s team consists of the six se-
                                                                                                                                                                               The creditor and issuer of the Edward Jones MasterCard is Elan Financial
                          Coach                                           as three sacks, two QB hurries, one forced        by closing the season with four straight     niors,Services,
                                                                                                                                                                                 11 juniors,
                                                                                                                                                                                         pursuant nine     sophomores
                                                                                                                                                                                                  to a license from MasterCard and     four Incorpo-
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                          Patrick Taylor, 11-8 record at North Surry      fumble and four fumble recoveries.                wins, three of which came on the road.       freshmen.      Six ©of2014
                                                                                                                                                                               Incorporated.     theElanreturning       players
                                                                                                                                                                                                           Financial Services.        were
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               All rights reserved.

                          LAST SEASON                                        Montgomery was joined on the offensive           The Hounds return 37 players from the      named      to the All-Conference team, and
                                                                                                                                                                               Edward Jones operates as an insurance producer in California, New

                          4-3 overall, 4-3 conference, Tied for third     and defensive lines by Jenkins. On defense,       spring 2021 season. Of the 43-man roster     five played     significant
                                                                                                                                                                               Mexico, and Massachusetts minutes          on defense:
                                                                                                                                                                                                            through the following   subsidiaries, respec-
                                                                                                                                                                               tively: Edward Jones Insurance Agency of California, L.L.C., Edward

                        place in the Western Piedmont 2A Confer-          Jenkins finished the year with 30 total tack-                                                         Jones Insurance Agency of New Mexico, L.L.C., and Edward Jones
                                                                                                                                                                                Insurance Agency of Massachusetts, L.L.C.
                        ence                                              les, eight tackles for a loss, four sacks, five
                          KEY LOSSES
                          North Surry graduated six veteran play-
                                                                          QB hurries and two forced fumbles.
                                                                             Montgomery, Jenkins, and Moore helped           Our clients’ interests come first.                                Barry K Revis
                                                                                                                                                                                               Financial Advisor
FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2021

                                                                                                                                                                                               .

                        ers in 2021. This included four players that      regulate the offensive line. Jenkins had 15                                                                          1810 N Bridge St Suite 101

                        were bestowed All-Conference honors their         pancake blocks, and Moore had 30. The trio                                                                           Elkin, NC 28621
                                                                          helped block for the team’s 900+ yards rush-                         Frank H Beals                                   336-835-1124
                        senior season: Rylee Jenkins, Elijah Moore,
                                                                                                                                               Financial Advisor                               Go Elks...
                        Tanner Woods and Ty Montgomery.                   ing and 800+ yards passing.
                                                                             Moore is continuing his academic and                                                                           Invest in State
                          Montgomery was named Western Pied-                                                                                   965 North Bridge Street
                        mont 2A Conference Defensive Player of            athletic careers with Emory & Henry Col-                                                                          Championship!
                                                                          lege.                                                                Elkin, NC 28621
                        the Year in the spring. His 14.9 tackles per
                        game were the fourth-most in N.C.’s 2A di-           The final All-Conference senior is wide                           336-835-4411
                        vision, eighth in the state among all classifi-   receiver Woods. As a senior, he recorded 22
                        cations and tied for 83rd in the nation.          catches for 206 yards and five touchdowns.
                                                                          He also played defense in the secondary,           Member SIPC
                          Montgomery was fifth in 2A and 12th                                                                www.edwardjones.com
18

                        among all state classifications with 104 to-      finishing the year with 23 total tackles, one      70052031                                      BRT-1941C-A-AD                                                          Membe
NORTH SURRY GREYHOUNDS
Jahreece Lynch, Zeke Moore, Jake Sim-
mons, Ryan Simmons and D’Marcus France.
   Lynch and France cover a lot of room in
the secondary. The duo have a deadly com-
bination of strength and speed, combining
                                                 operate out of the backfield. Vernon was
                                                 the secondary back last season, but has
                                                 impressed North’s coaching staff with his
                                                 speed. Brown didn’t play football as a junior,
                                                 but as a sophomore he surpassed the 1,000-
                                                                                                      Greyhounds
for nine pass deflections last season. France    yard mark with a combination of rushing
is just a sophomore, and Lynch is a junior.
   North has no shortage of athletes to play
as defensive backs. Talen Vernon, Anthony
                                                 and slot receiving.
                                                    “A lot of people are going to focus on
                                                 Jake, and they should, but we’ve got a lot of
                                                                                                    roster
Brown, Trevor Isaacs and James McCreary          guys that can make you pay if you overlook
                                                                                                    NO.   NAME              POS.    YR.
are players that Taylor said would have reps     them,” Taylor said.
in the secondary.                                   Aaron Mauck came in as quarterback              1     Trevor Isaacs     SKILL   Senior
   “With these guys we can do a lot of things    midway through the spring 2021 season              2     Anthony Brown     SKILL   Senior
in multiple coverages,” Taylor said. “We         and improved every week. Mauck ended the           3     Jahreece Lynch    SKILL   Junior
have a lot of versatility on that side of the    year with 719 yards passing and 11 touch-          4     Kam McBride       SKILL   Junior
ball.”                                           downs. He was just a sophomore then, and           5     Ryan Simmons      SKILL   Senior
   Vernon, Lynch, Brown and France are just      Taylor said he’s gotten much sharper in the        6     Jared Hiatt       SKILL   Junior
a few of the names that will also get time       last few months.                                   7     Talan Vernon      SKILL   Junior
on the return unit. Lynch alone scored on a         The QB talent doesn’t end with Mauck.           8     Jovanni Flores    SKILL   Sophomore
42-yard punt return and an 89-yard kickoff       Taylor also highlighted James McCreary,            9     Jake Simmons      SKILL   Sophomore
return last season.                              who will also serve as the North Surry ver-        10    D’Marcus France   SKILL   Sophomore
   Ryan and Jake Simmons return as line-         sion of Taysom Hill by playing receiver and
                                                                                                    11    Colten Allen      QB/DB   Freshman
backers. Ryan is the lone senior in the group,   cornerback as well, and promising freshman
surrounded by Jake, a sophomore, another         Colten Allen.                                      12    James McCreary    QB/DB   Junior
sophomore Garrett Shore and Kam Mc-                 The offensive line loses three key pieces       13    Owen McMillian    WR/DB   Freshman
Bride, a junior. Ryan had the second-most        in Montgomery, Elijah Moore and Riley Jen-         14    Derrick Simmons   WR/DB   Freshman
tackles of any Greyhound in the spring with      kins. Zeke Moore helps fill that gap, as well      18    Matthew Senter    SKILL   Junior
60, followed by Jake with 45 and McBride         as Jace Hernandez, Ty Gwyn, Braden Fore            19    Aaron Mauck       SKILL   Junior
with 35. Ryan also led the team in tackles       and Kendall Hawks.                                 21    Payten Sechrist   WR/DB   Freshman
for a loss with 23.                                 The receiving corps is another area in          50    Ty Gwyn           OL/DL   Sophomore
   Moore returns to the defensive line after     which the Hounds are overflowing with              54    Braden Fore       OL/DL   Sophomore
a stellar sophomore season earned him All-       athletes. Lynch led the team with 480 yards        55    Garrett Shore     OL/LB   Sophomore
Conference Honors. He recorded 30 total          receiving and six touchdowns in the spring.        56    Zeke Moore        OL/DL   Junior
tackles, six TFL, one sack, four QB hurries      He is expected to be joined by McCreary,
                                                                                                    58    Joseph Ravit      OL/DL   Sophomore
and had one fumble recovery in the spring.       Ryan Simmons and Trevor Isaacs out wide,
   “Zeke trimmed off about 35 pounds over        Kam McBride in the slot, and players such          59    Harley Felts      OL/DL   Sophomore
the summer,” Taylor said. “It sped him up        as Jared Hiatt, Jovanni Flores and Brady           61    Aiden Martin      OL/DL   Sophomore
a lot without compromising strength. He          Draughn at tight end.                              64    Adam Slate        OL/DL   Junior
leaned up to about 260 pounds. He’s got un-         North Surry’s young core started its as-        65    Jace Hernandez    OL/DL   Junior
believable quickness.”                           cent in the spring and looks to continue that      74    Eli Ramey         OL/DL   Freshman
   Moore will be flanked by players such as      in the fall. Even with all the players compet-     75    Bryson Wilson     OL/DL   Senior
Jared Hiatt, Jovanni Flores and even Ryan        ing for reps, Taylor said he’s not worried         76    Kendall Hawks     OL/DL   Junior
Simmons. Taylor said there are a lot of qual-    about how the players might react.                 99    Edwin Villegas    K       Senior
ity candidates to rotate in the defensive line      “We’ve got such a great group here and                Brady Draughn     DL/Y    Senior
and that the team will learn more as the sea-    these kids have bought into the fact that it
son progresses.                                  takes a team to win a game,” Taylor said.
   Flores will also serve as kicker when         “We talk about it all the time: unity over self.
needed, though Edwin Villegas will cover         They don’t care who scores or who makes a

                                                                                                                                                           FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2021
primary kicking duties. Ryan Simmons will        big play because they all support each other
handle punting.                                  and want to win as a team.”
   OFFENSE                                          North Surry brought in new coaches in
   Many of North Surry’s defensive stand-        the off-season to help develop the young
outs were also recognized on the All-Con-        talent. Now, every position group on both
ference team on offense as well.                 offense and defense has an individual coach.
   Jake Simmons set the North Surry fresh-          “Are we still going to be learning this sea-
man record with 746 yards rushing on 133
carries last season. He also ran in six touch-
                                                 son, absolutely,” Taylor said. “I can’t tell you
                                                 where we’re going to land, but we are going
                                                                                                     The Flowers Company
                                                                                                     979 West Pine Street
                                                                                                                            336-789-2210
downs.
   North’s run game can hurt you with mul-
                                                 to play hard and get a little bit sharper each
                                                 week. Regardless of how much raw talent
                                                                                                     Mount Airy, NC 27030   336-789-8217
tiple players. Simmons was the star in the

                                                                                                                                                           19
                                                                                                                                                70051948
spring, but Vernon and Brown will also                                 See GREYHOUNDS | 26
STARMOUNT RAMS

                           Young Rams are Ready to Work
                           By Cory Smith                                   and one touchdown.                                 Grinton considers the Starmount second-       there for returning,” Grinton said.
                           csmith@mtairynews.com                              Holbrook, Armstrong and Stokes were           ary to be one of team’s strong suits. Cole-       With such a young team, Grinton wasn’t
                                                                           two-way threats on offense and defense.          man, a free safety, is joined by players such   comfortable giving names at outside line-
                             TEAM                                          Holbrook was a linebacker, Armstrong a de-       as Ryan Kimmer and Jayln Adams in the de-       backer, saying there were a lot of players
                             Starmount Rams                                fensive back and Stokes a threat on the of-      fensive backfield.                              under consideration, but did mention two
                             HEAD COACh                                    fensive and defensive lines.                       Coleman also serves on the return unit.       returning players at inside linebacker: Zach
                             Sandy Grinton, 16-18 record at Starmount         Pardue and Watson were both linebackers       He’s expected to be flanked by juniors Xavier   Armstrong and Darren Shore.
                             LAST SEASON                                   as well. Defensive stats were not available      King and Mason Moxley, among others.              “Both those guys are continuing to grow,”
                             3-4 overall, 3-4 conference, fifth place in   for the 2020-21 season.                            “We’ll likely switch some people up back

                                                                                                                             R
                                                                                                                                                                                                         See RAMS | 27

                                                                                                                                             umple
                           the Mountain Valley 1A/2A Conference               DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
                             KEY LOSSES                                       Starmount comes into the 2021-22 season
                             Starmount graduated 13 seniors in the         with a lot of youth. After losing 13 seniors
                           spring. Six of those graduates were All-        to graduation, the team has just five seniors                                                                   Family owned and
                           Conference players last season: Sterlin Hol-    this season. Three of these seniors are ex-                                                                     operated since 1957
                           brook, Denver Stokes, Jelani Powell, Alex       pected to be big players on defense.
                           Armstrong, Kaden Pardue and Rodney Wat-            The team’s only returning All-Conference                                                                                2021 Readers’
                           son.                                            player is senior Davion Coleman, a defen-                           FURNITURE COMPANY, INC.                                Choice Award
                             Holbrook led the Rams’ rush-based of-         sive back. Coleman was the Rams leader in                                                                                    Winner for
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                           touchdowns.                                     Grinton. “He’s an incredibly hard worker                within
                             Armstrong also served as the team’s quar-     and was voted team captain by the team.                 50 mi             1313 North Bridge Street • Elkin, NC 28621

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                             Good Luck with your 2021 Season
                                                                                                                               Good Luck Area Teams!
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                                                   336-679-7000                                                 70026647
                                                                                                                                  BE YOUR BEST!                                                                        70052328
THE 2021- 22 STARMOUNT VARSITY FOOTBALL TEAM

                                                       Photos provided by Starmount Athletics

THE 2021- 22 STARMOUNT JUNIOR VARSITY FOOTBALL TEAM

                                                  GOOD LUCK

                                                                                                   FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2021
                                                   TEAMS!!!
                                                      1521 North Bridge Street
                                                          Elkin, NC 28621

                                                      336-526-7400
                                                Dine-in Hours:
                                                * Monday, Thursday, Friday 11am-8pm
                                                * Saturday 12pm-8pm

STARMOUNT RAMS
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                                                (Tues/Wed. 3-7pm curbside only.)
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EAST WILKES CARDINALS

                                                                                                                                                                                                              Photos by Kristian Russell | The Tribune
                                                                                                                                                                 East Wilkes QB Briggs Gentry (18) fakes a hand-off against Ashe
                           East Wilkes’ Ethan Cass gets set on defense for the Cardinals in a spring 2021 game against Ashe County.                              County.

                           Cardinals are on the rise
                           By Cory Smith                                      sive players.                                      Weston Brown, Kole Lambert and Titus                     pass deflections, two fumble recoveries,
                             csmith@mtairynews.com                               Luffman, a linebacker, led the Car-             Miller. Lambert was an All-Conference                    41 tackles and 2.0 tackles for a loss.
                                                                              dinals with 64 total tackles in seven              honorable mention last season as a de-                     Weston Brown had the most tackles
                             TEAM                                             games, averaging out to 9.1 per game.              fensive back with two interceptions, two                 of any returning East Wilkes player with
                             East Wilkes Cardinals                            This included 4.0 tackles for a loss and
                             HEAD COACH                                       2.0 sacks. Luffman also had one fumble
                             Jonathan Wilmoth, 14-17 record at                recovery and an interception.
                           East Wilkes                                           Sidden was a defensive back for East
22 FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2021

                             LAST SEASON                                      Wilkes and led the team with four inter-
                             2-7 overall, 2-5 conference, sixth place         ceptions. He also had two pass deflec-
                           in the Mountain Valley 1A/2A Confer-               tions and 36 total tackles.
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                             East Wilkes graduated seven seniors              cluding a team-high 8.0 for a loss. He
                           following the 2020-21 season. Three of             also had 2.0 sacks and a fumble recovery.
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                                                                                                                                                 950 N. Bridge St. beside Elkin Rescue Squad • (336) 526-0008
                             All three of these players were select-          graduating All-Conference players.
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                           ed to the All-Conference team as defen-               Three of its top six tacklers return:                                                                                                                             70052325
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