Appomattox 2016
- Thread starter rivalsHSFBfan16
- Start date
Appo will be strong this year too! Will they be better than last season? Well...we have to wait and see. JV only loss 1 game last year so we do have talent coming up. Somebody said in earlier post that the talent trickles at middle school. I have been to a few games and I have to agree. I say Appo should have 2 more strong years, but Coach Smith is a great coach so who knows what he can do when they get to him? Smith has middle schoolers in the weight room every year. They ride the activity bus over.
We only loss 1 O Lineman (2x All state matthan drew, Ferrum U commit), the rest are Juniors with 1 sophomore (3 started in 2014 as Sophomores) . OLine will be strong for years to come. JV has a lot of promise at OL as well. We are going to lose Marquise Morgan (U of Charleston) whom is a great blocking TE, but Raiders have someone to cover that next season that played OL (Center) last year. Center this year will be long anapper Drake Cocks, he was C several times last yr. He has D-1s and D-2s breathing down his neck for long snapping. He is the best in state of VA (2A I know he is).
Buster Henderson (UVA-wise) will be missed at WR, but we do have a lot of talent that can be used at WR, but there will never be another Buster. All of our RBs are Juniors. Phillip Fleshman will probably be one of the best RB in the state next season. Fast and speedster Tre Walker will be that 1-2 Punch off that veer O. Phillip and Trey compliment each other because both look same in uniform. Short, stubby, and explosive out the hole.
QB, Matt Page (Newport News Apprentice School) be a hard position to fill, he was developed from 9th Grade (camps and playing QB at JV & little league). We have Matts backup Javon Scruggs (Sophomore that plays Safety on D) that shows promise. He has WR/CB Devon Graves (Sophomore, NC State commit) who has experience at QB during middle school years. Graves is the fastest kid on our team. I have heard RB phillip fleshman will be used in a few packages as well at QB. 7 on 7s and qb camps have been looking promising for Javon and he is a leader. W finally got out JV QB back on field with head straight. He has a nice arm (lefty) and pretty dang acccute. Now if we can keep him off streets and mind straight, we will have a great quality back up. Matt Page helped develop his throw as well. Javon is the only one committed to the qb camps and I feel he is going to grow in the next two years. What is yet to see is, can Javon read the audible? Can he be patient in pocket? Is he gonna read the option using that veer well? Matt Page did great at all of these last season.
Also, last year, we had the luxury of having players play one side of the ball in most positions. I dont see that happening as much next season.
I dont see anyone taking All State Deven Dews (U of Charleston) spot at Safety, that is going to be a concern as well unless he puts a Kelso brother back there. We do have 2 kids at JV Ryan Jackson/ Omar Bailey that will help out tremendously. They may be somebody that can slip back there at safety as well.
CB will be a concern as well. We will lose CB/WR Deshawn Thomas (Bluefield College) as well. He probably had the best hands on the team and the most underrated player on the Raiders in my opinion. He made many crucial stops for Raiders at CB.
You know what happens when you win it all, everyone wants to play now.So we have attracted some athletes that gave up on football 2 years ago to focus on baseball, basketball and track. This is going to benefit the Raiders because the kids we got back this year were great football players in the past (JV, MS, little league). these kids have great possibility of earning a 1st team slot
We got a great Junior transfer from Pensacola FL. He is Matt Pages 1st cousin. He gonna be nice at CB, he fast but hands are so-so at WR.
I hope this helps....
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