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Smoky Mountain to host Owen in season-opener (continued) |
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Owen, a member of the 2-A Western Highland Conference, is looking to bounce back from an uncharacteristic 4-6 record.
"I'll be excited," Brooks said of his head coaching debut. "I'll just have to keep everything in perspective." The Warhorses are coached by Ken Ford, who is generally considered the most colorful high school coach in Western North Carolina. "Owen is a lot like us," Brooks said. "We match up pretty good. I think they're searching on offense what to do. They throw a little more than in the past." Owen utilizes a pro set and box formation on offense and a 43 and 44 defense with pressure. Speedster Jamal Harper has taken over at quarterback for the Warhorses. He will be joined in the backfield by Andre Wilson and Aaron Greene. The top lineman is 6-4, 265-pound Jamil Smith. "It will be a great challenge for us to play Owen," Brooks said. "Coach Ford does a great job. It's always one of the top programs in Western North Carolina. It should be a good measuring stick of where we are." The Warhorses scrimmaged Hendersonville Friday. "They moved the ball real well, but Hendersonville was able to throw the football," he said. Brooks said turnovers and the kicking game will be keys to the outcome. "If we play with the intensity we had Friday in the West Henderson scrimmage, I think we'll be fine," he said. The potential starting offensive lineup is as follows:Quarterback, junior Justin Roper; tailback, senior Trent Dillard; fullback, senior Josh Carnes; flanker, senior Michael Ritchie; split end, senior Darius Bryson; tight end, junior Josh Day; tackles, seniors Chris Ashe and Joel Boyd; guards, junior Andrew Maney and senior Chris Hilton; center, junior Daniel Vreeland.Others expected to be in the mix include: wide receiver, seniors Allen Sutton and Travis Hipps and junior Jake Day; running backs, juniors Dustin Melton and Christian Benson; linemen, senior Brian Pruitt and junior Nathan Woods. The potential defensive starting lineup is as follows:Ends, Hilton and junior Matt Nicholson; tackles, Boyd and Ashe; nose guard, senior Max Saunooke; linebackers, Carnes and Dillard; strong safety, Hipps; free safety, Sutton; cornerbacks, Bryson and Jake Day.Also likely to see action on defense are: backs, Melton and juniors Tony Belcher and Shawn Blanton; linebacker/end, Josh Day; linebacker/strong safety Benson. Joseph Ensley will be the punter. David Leonard will handle the place kicking and kickoff duties. Both are seniors. Bryson and Melton will be kick returners. In Friday's scrimmage at West Henderson, both teams scored twice. The Mustang touchdowns came late on a 65-yard pass from Carnes, who had moved to quarterback, to Bryson and a 70-yard interception return by Bryson. West scored on a 73-yard pass and a 30-yard run. "I was satisfied with our kids' effort," Brooks said of the scrimmage. "There were no negatives in the huddle." He said he went into the contest looking for execution on offense and no turnovers. Those goals went out the window with a fumble on the first play. "On defense, I was looking for intensity and getting 11 people to the football," Brooks said. "We did those things. These kids have internal emotion." As expected, he said the defense is ahead of the offense at this point. Brooks said the Mustangs need to do a better job tackling and executing their defensive assignments. Offensively, he wants better execution. He said the quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers played well. The schedule is as follows:The JV schedule is as follows:The schedule for the freshman team is as follows: |
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