Article from the WS Journal

Below is an article from the Winston Salem Journal about the Piedmont Triad Conference.

By Mason Linker

Journal Reporter

Last season, Ragsdale was the best team on paper, and on the field, in the Piedmont Triad 4-A Conference.
The Tigers breezed through the regular season undefeated and won their first 14 games before losing a close rematch to Greensboro Dudley in the quarterfinals of the NCHSAA 4-A playoffs.

The 2010 season looks as if it will be different.

"The reality in our conference, it's not like last year when Ragsdale was head and shoulders above ...
everyone," Coach Scott Schwartzer of Southwest Guilford said. "There's not a dominant team. Anyone can win it, and anyone can finish last."  Although Ragsdale is still on the short list of contenders, sharing that spot with High Point Central, there's no shortage of teams that could be factors. Northwest Guilford has a large number of returners, East Forsyth has the makings of another solid team, Glenn has a new head coach and a new offense, and Parkland and Southwest have the athleticism to win any league game. 

East Forsyth took a bit of a step back in 2009, after replacing many players from its 2008 Class 4-A quarterfinal team but closed strong, winning its last four regular-season games to make the playoffs. Coach Todd Willert is hoping that momentum will carry over for a team that returns most of its starters on offense, including Erik Smith, a 6-1, 185-pound senior quarterback. "I think even toward the end of the year last year, (Erik) was the reason we went on that wining streak," Willert said. "He really started to understand the position, and he is bigger, stronger and a lot faster."

Willert said that junior Amon Giles provides the speed at running back that East has lacked in recent years and that the defense is younger, but more athletic.

"What we have right now are a lot of good high-school football players, and we are really excited," Willert said. "We want to think we are going to play for the conference title. It would be nice to have us and Glenn come down to the end of the year playing for it. We want to be a contender."

Glenn, under longtime coach Dickie Cline, either ran the I-formation or, more recently, spread offense. But Aldine Payne, Cline's successor, has committed to the Flexbone, a triple-option offense, and has brought on veteran Gary Whitman as his offensive coordinator.

Senior Cameron Campbell (6-2, 195) will be the Bobcats quarterback and should spend a lot of the time trying to get the ball to Josh Hawkins, a 5-11, 175-pound senior and one of the area's top running backs.
"The kids love it, I mean they love it," Payne said of the Flexbone. "And now we have coaches that know the offense and how to make adjustments out of it."

Jay Crump (6-3, 220) is the only returning defensive lineman, but the Bobcats are solid in the secondary, and Payne said he thinks his defense will catch up.

"I think we are going to win every game, but as a coach, you have to think like that," he said. "I would like to see us wind up in first place, but there are some really good teams in our league."

Coach Dee Bell put Parkland back on the map soon after he was hired in 1999, guided the Mustangs to the NCHSAA 3-A title in 2001 and kept his team dangerous for years afterward.

But the Mustangs have been sliding lately, all the way to 2-9 last season. Bell has never been shy about speaking his mind, but his rhetoric is toned down this season, and he expects improvement. "We will win more than two, I will put that in there right now," Bell said with a laugh. "If everything falls into place, I think we will have a pretty good football team. This year, things are a little different, and I think we will be all right."

Chris Hairston, a 6-2, 195-pound senior running back who has committed to East Carolina, is Parkland's marquee player, and Bell has switched from a spread to a one-back offense. Parkland has three returning offensive linemen, including junior Tabias Jones (6-4, 260), who also will start at defensive end. Junior Carlos Gregory (6-2, 200) will play quarterback and provide some physical running.

Parkland needs to see some positive signs early from its front players on a defense that took some poundings last year, but the Mustangs have an experienced secondary paced by safety Douglas Middleton.

Ragsdale is always one of the area's most solid teams, but the program will need to bolster a defense that lost several three-year starters to win the league title again. The Tigers shouldn't have many problems on offense if they can bolster the line -- quarterback Luke Heavner and running back Donovan Smith return.

High Point Central, which had the league's second-best defense last year behind Ragsdale, should lead with its defense again. Jonathan White and Merritt Blanks return at defensive ends, but quarterback Drew Adams (6-1, 170) will need to ignite an offense that struggled against better defenses in 2009.

Southwest Guilford has a dominant athlete -- quarterback Airyn Willis, a 6-2, 180-pounder who has committed to Georgia Tech -- but the question is whether a thin offensive line will be able to protect him and open seams.

"We are pretty deep at skilled positions," Schwartzer said. "But our big concern is depth on the offensive and defensive lines. Airyn is a special athlete, and we are not hiding what we want to do. We will get him the football and get him in space, and he has a chance to have a great year for us."

Coach Joe Woodruff, in his fourth season at Northwest Guilford, has eight starters back on offense and seven back on defense. He also brought up players from an undefeated 2009 junior-varsity team. Northwest, coming off two straight playoff appearances, also can win the conference.

"I dare you to find out the conference favorite," Woodruff said. "That's a decent conference now, and there is obody in that deal we can't beat, and probably every one of those guys can beat us."

Matt Pawlowski is back at quarterback to run a ball-control offense that Woodruff described as "hybrid Wing-T," Dalton Dillon returns at fullback, and Austin Pauley returns at halfback.
Northwest put more emphasis on defense, and Woodruff said that his team will be aggressive. "We don't have Mount Tabor's speed, but we have pretty good speed for Northwest," Woodruff said.
mlinker@wsjournal.com
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