2017 CCC preseason talk

[BlackKnightNut]

I'm already itching for football to get started. Not really sure exactly what ND has coming back, but most likely the favorites this coming year coming down from 4A to 2A. Oak Grove will field a JV squad, then join the conference in varsity the year after. Kickedoff, do you have any info on ND returners?

Other schools fans feel free to chime in on your returners as well. Without good knowledge, my predictions are as follows:

1. North Davidson
2. Ledford
3. Thomasville
4. Lexington
5. Salisbury
6. South Rowan
7. East Davidson
8. West Davidson
9. Central Davidson

The North and Oak Grove JV game is going to be PACKED.

 

[Sportsnut17]

I'm already itching for football to get started. Not really sure exactly what ND has coming back, but most likely the favorites this coming year coming down from 4A to 2A. Oak Grove will field a JV squad, then join the conference in varsity the year after. Kickedoff, do you have any info on ND returners?

Other schools fans feel free to chime in on your returners as well. Without good knowledge, my predictions are as follows:

1. North Davidson
2. Ledford
3. Thomasville
4. Lexington
5. Salisbury
6. South Rowan
7. East Davidson
8. West Davidson
9. Central Davidson

The North and Oak Grove JV game is going to be PACKED.

Will the stadium be ready at Oak Grove this season?

 

[BlackKnightNut]

Not sure, I live in gboro now and don't get out that way much except for visiting my folks. Everytime I go by, it seems the high school is coming along very fast. If the stadium isn't ready, they may just use the middle school field or maybe play an away schedule on JV. Might need to pay Holcomb a visit and catch up a bit.

 

[TVILLEDAWG2370]

Thomasville middle of the pack,get use to it,it's the norm now...only team I would guarantee a win against would be West Davidson

 

[BlackKnightNut]

Well East Davidson lost the best coach they've had in ages and Central has been nothing since they let go of the guy who ran the double wing because he hurt the kids feelings. West... you already know. I was going strictly off the opinion that tville, lex and SR should have better athletes than the directional schools. You can interchange their place, though I wish tville would get good again personally.

 

[Kicked Off]

Well, it's about time we started talking football.....

Believe you guys are right about the top 2, think Lexington and Salisbury will tussle for 3rd. Honestly don't know that much about the non Davidson County guys. First 2 games of season for ND are going to be tough!

For ND: (in my humble opinion)...
-You have to replace Joe, but Josh is going to be fine based on what I have seen/heard. Good arm and head, just needs reps.
-TJ is going to have 2000 yards if we commit to the run and go deep in playoffs. That young man ran a 4.45 two times in a row (saw it myself) at the Shrine Bowl combine. Benched 185 either 19-20x. Believe you will see D1 offers coming after summer camp circuit.
-O and D line should be as good if not better this year. Some good guys coming up from JV plus starters like Tate Leonard and Carson to anchor the O line. Blake should have a really good year up front for the D. Him, Zander, Maddox and Evan V should make a lot of tackles. I know Jackson Perrell will be in the secondary, not sure if at corner or safety. D won't be huge, but should be really fast and able to swarm. The D has to improve as a unit for us to be elite this year.
-WRs probably in line with last year as well. Sure Zi will make a lot of catches/yards/TDs in this offense. Looks like he has grown since last year when I was at ND kicking with Christopher last week. Hope and believe Jacob LaFlesh will have a really good year as well. Not sure about who lines up at TE or how deep we are for this area.
-Special teams, Christopher will have to get a new holder and snapper this year, if they can gel and if protection is there, this offense will score an awful lot of points. Could be a year where he gets a ton of extra points and not as many FG attempts. Selfishly, would like to see a ton of both. Punting is stronger than last year, hope he DOES NOT get a chance to showcase that too many times each game.
-The wild card is the new coaching staff and the new conference/classification. Coach Flynn seems to be doing all the right things, is motivated to have a special season. Believe he is an aggressive coach who will want to make a statement. Hated to see Coach Holcomb leave but after seeing him interact, the passion is undeniable and I do believe Coach Flynn is the right man for the job.

All that said, not sure what ND has to offer in a couple of years, but this year should be one to watch closely. Don't know enough about 2A teams to make a crazy statement like "state champs", but do believe the talent exists to play into December...✌ Injuries and unlucky bounces aside, very good team should be on the field at Palmer Field for the ND faithful.

 

[BlackKnightNut]

I don't care if we are coming down to 2a, we have to shore up the defense this year if we want to make a serious run.

 

[TVILLEDAWG2370]

I would love to see thomasville great again,but I just don't see it happening,sad but true IMO hope I'm wrong though,but I doubt it

Well East Davidson lost the best coach they've had in ages and Central has been nothing since they let go of the guy who ran the double wing because he hurt the kids feelings. West... you already know. I was going strictly off the opinion that tville, lex and SR should have better athletes than the directional schools. You can interchange their place, though I wish tville would get good again personally.

 

[bkknights93]

I agree with BKN, defense, Front and Linebackers have got to get pressure on QB's, AND somehow keep rushing yardage down..the last 2 years have been terrible, linebackers can't get free to find the ball carrier

 

[BlackKnightNut]

North used to be known for run stuffing and if you beat us it was down the field with fast receivers. Last year any offense with a pulse could do what they wanted and we just had to outscore them hoping they had turnovers... I really hope it was because of youth and inexperience because elite 2A teams are comparable, and in some cases even better than the competition we had in the CPC. I'm looking at you, Shelby.

 

[bkknights93]

It just seems since we had a defensive coaching change a few years back, that defense just wasn't stressed enough, now if that was due to talent at those positions, lack of coaching experience, etc., I haven't a clue...I do know that if we do not strengthen the rushing defense, we will be in some very tight battles in the CCC!

 

[GoNtheDistance]

North better win in the next 2 years before the slow drip of talent starts to funnel to Oak Grove. They will always be respectable but will see a decline from their recent success. Just my opinion.

 

[BlackKnightNut]

I don't think anyone would dispute that. Oak Grove is going to get the Midway, wallburg and a lot of Arcadia kids so most believe the majority of talent is headed that way. North will get welcome, reedy creek and a few arcadia kids as well, depending on what side of Enterprise Rd you live on lol

 

[GoNtheDistance]

I hate it for north as they have a storied history. There are always losers when a new school opens unfortunately. Especially in rural areas that get by with less than some in the city limits.

 

[BlackKnightNut]

Well at least we have had a good run leading up to it. I pity the folks at Trinity, who were awful before wheatmore opened and basically have no hope now...

 

[Wow71]

ND- Big roster and big kids. Should win the CCC this season.
LHS- Strong program dropping from 3A with numbers. Will contend for CCC title.
ED- Good OL coming back, defense is the ? Bad JV team last two years.
WD- Typical team with size and no speed. Will pound and ground to lower tier of the CCC.
Lex- Athletic and looks good on paper. Can they get more competitive and less predictable on offense and defense?
THS- Good JV team last two seasons and won the conference in 2015. Can they get back to the Old way, that is TBD at this point. Still athletic and tough enough to be middle of the pack for now.
OG-New school with big expectations. But they will have to learn to play on Friday nights after next season so that will be a big adjusment regardless of talent.
CD- Struggled at the 3A level and has been down. Has the kids to win some games and compete. Biggest challenge is coming out of the current losing ways and that may take a while for them.
Salisbury- Athletic as can be and a real good JV team. Won the CCC track title so speed is not an issue. Will be skilled enough to win some games in the CCC.
SR- New to the CCC and has been struggling to win games overall. Probably will continue to struggle again in the CCC with nine conference games.

Prediction- ND. LHS, THS/Lex/ED (upper middle), Sal, WD/CD, SR OG doesn't matter in 2017 (JV Only).

 

[Kicked Off]

I will go ahead and put this one out here....offensive player of the year will likely be TJ Boyce, RB @ North Davidson. Would love to see a 1800-2000 yard, 20+ TD season to help stoke the recruiting fire. Honestly believe it's possible.

Don't know enough about the other teams to speculate on who the competition will be for the other "of the year awards".

Also just realized that the Dispatch all county team and the CCC all conference teams will be all but identical (Salisbury and SR withstanding)....

 

[BKnights18]

I know ND will be about the toughest team in the CCC this year, especially since they are playing with a 4A roster and return an all conf rusher. Their question will of course be defense.

East varsity is returning a lot of players from a team that went 8-4 last year and finished I think tied for 2nd in the conference. They are returning their starting QB and one starting WR and have two really good RBs returning, both who I believe have been timed around 4.5 in the 40. One of the RB also plays some MLB on defense and both players are getting looks I believe have a chance to play at the next level. I heard East is also returning some good experience on OL but don't know many names so they could be really good on offense this year. If their defense can come around they can be really good. East has some great size returning on the DL, I know they have a couple of seniors that are around 300lbs, NT is 350. They also return at two starting LBs, one I know was all conf last season. They will have to replace some of their DBs and lost their all conf safety, so that will be their weakness on D, front seven is their strength. I don't how the new coach Hines is gonna be so it's hard to predict how the team will be but this will probably be the best team (at least in experience & talent) East has had in quite some while so don't sleep on them.

As far as the other teams in the conf, I know Lexington had a really good JV team last year and also beat East varsity so I expect them to be pretty good this year and possibly finish 3rd behind ND and Ledford, possibly challenging for 2nd in conference. Thomasville had a pretty good JV team too but is low on numbers. East varsity beat TVille last year too so I expect that to be a close race for middle of the conference this year. I give East the edge in that matchup since they have beat them 2 out of last 3 yrs and also play them at East this year. Salisbury always has great athletes and had a pretty good JV team also, hard to predict how they are gonna be too, not sure what they have coming back. As far as the remaining teams, West, Central and South Rowan, I believe it is safe to say they will round out the bottom of the conference. This is how I see them finishing.

1. North Davidson
2. Ledford
3. Lexington
4. East Davidson
5. Salisbury
6. Thomasville
7. South Rowan
8. West Davidson
9. Central Davidson

 

[BlackKnightNut]

East Davidson has 27 seniors coming back this year. I will amend my earlier predictions to place them higher on the list, possibly third or maybe even second if they can get past Ledford. All five offensive linemen have started or played on varsity since they were sophomores, and as stated previously they have many returners and much experience coming back all over the place. The only question is how quickly they can pick up the new coaches system. It will be interesting...

 

[Kicked Off]

Good point BK Nut...that's a lot of experience coming back at ED, especially at a critical position like O/D line. For me, still trying to determine how much of a difference in competition there will be between playin 2A vs 4A. I think some may be over estimating how "easy" this conference will be for ND. Talk of breezing through conference may be premature and stupid. I just don't know, everything comes together and we stay healthy, could score 50 a game....never know but will agree that D has to make strides regardless of who we play. Would probably benefit us if conference games were very competitive....

 

[BlueStar12]

North will need improved Oline play and better Defensive efforts. The offense should be good with Boyce and Zi but it sure will look different without Joe Butts. You can't replace what he brought to the offense and still can't believe the D 1 schools were not knocking on his door.

 

[All-out_34]

Don't count out South Rowan making some noise in the CCC. They lose offensive power, but played in one of the tougher 3A conferences last year. They could go on and finish 5th just depending on how things work out

 

[Kicked Off]

Kind of cool playing in a new conference, so many different things to look forward to, including some stadiums my son/his team haven't had a chance to play in for a while. For some of our opponents, it's a chance to one of the nicer stadiums/atmospheres in the Triad for a Friday night football game.

 

[TVILLEDAWG2370]

Thomasville/ND was always a great game with a great atmosphere,last game on the schedule for the conference championship many times...times have changed now

 

[Kicked Off]

I was fortunate enough to play in some of those ND/Tville clashes in 91-92. Bo Derek bowl I think they called it one year because we were both "perfect 10s" (10-0 records) coming into that game. Dick Cline/Coach Brown, those were good times. Fortunate enough to beat a great Tville team that year who I believe went on to win States. Tville exacted a measure of revenge in another great game at Cushwa the very next year.....like I said, good stuff!

 

[TVILLEDAWG2370]

I was fortunate enough to play in some of those ND/Tville clashes in 91-92. Bo Derek bowl I think they called it one year because we were both "perfect 10s" (10-0 records) coming into that game. Dick Cline/Coach Brown, those were good times. Fortunate enough to beat a great Tville team that year who I believe went on to win States. Tville exacted a measure of revenge in another great game at Cushwa the very next year.....like I said, good stuff!

Smiley Wagner and Lamont pegues,I think the year after ND beat Tville 14-7 in welcome,Tville won another low scoring game,I think our fullback Deshaun Cochran had a touchdown late in the game for 70-80 yards if I remember correctly

 

[bkknights93]

Cochran did run in for the score, thinking it was a 20-30 yard jaunt, it came right after T-ville had somewhat caught our DB's off-guard with a long pass reception...final in that one was 6-0, great games, especially those two years!

 

[BlackKnightNut]

I always wondered why Dickie Cline went to Ledford... Anybody have any info? I always thought he saw Hoover coming up, didn't want to go to 4A, or was too intense for the ND administration, maybe? Just a bit before my time...

 

[mikemattocks]

Does anyone have any info on Coach HInes at East Davidson? I was just wondering what kind of offensive and defense he likes to run.

 

[BlackKnightNut]

Coach Hines will run the spread on offense and 4-2-5 on D

 

[mikemattocks]

Coach Hines will run the spread on offense and 4-2-5 on D

It is going to be good to see the Eagles throw the ball a little bit more this season. I am excited about this season getting to see all of the county teams back in the same conference.

 

[Wow71]

Great to see some old CCC rivalries renew and some new ones made. .

 

[BlackKnightNut]

North will need improved Oline play and better Defensive efforts. The offense should be good with Boyce and Zi but it sure will look different without Joe Butts. You can't replace what he brought to the offense and still can't believe the D 1 schools were not knocking on his door.

I don't agree with it when a QB is just a great player/athlete, but unfortunately colleges, even the smaller ones are all about measurables. Height is what got Joe, never mind that many of the best QBs ever weren't the tallest guys around. Then you have the big studs who can't hit the broad side of a barn. Smh... Give me accuracy any day.