There is a lot of excitement in the air in Wilmington as football season begins this week. Where Wilmington is not a hot bed of talent like Charlotte, Raleigh, and the Triad things are heading in the right direction. The numbers at all 4 highs schools are way up. Hoggard and Laney JV had to cut over 30 kids each this year. That means both schools will suit up over 60 kids on JV. Laneys varsity numbers are up as well and Hoggards numbers have been high the last 3 classes. Murray Middle school and Myrtle Grove Middle feed Ashley high school and there has been some good talent at those schools the past 2 seasons. Ashley will still be looking up for a few years but they have better talent coming through the system. In 2-4 years I can see Hoggard, Laney and NH being really good. This will make for some fun football in the port city.
Hoggard- Will be the team to beat this season. They have a very good QB and good speed at WR and RB. They have a good rotation on the O line and if healthy they will be able to run and throw. Jones at QB will burn you in the air and with his legs. He is a legitimate threat. The defense is replacing 3 LB’s but have some nice pieces. Jaxon King was all state at safety last season and looks to continue to be a turnover machine. Look for Davis Manning to be an all conference LB. The Jr is one of the strongest players on the team and has great instincts. Special teams should be solid. I look for Hoggard to be battle tested come playoff time and they will be a difficult team to beat.
NH- Will be projected 2nd in the conference but the Wildcats have struggled on offense this offseason. They have a new, untested QB and a lot of holes to fill. NH always reloads with athletic kids but that doesn’t always translate to all conference type players. NH should be very good on defense as they return most of their defense from last season that played really well at times. NH‘s biggest problem will be Laney kids not transferring. NH has lived on 5-6 quality Laney kids coming over each year. This has made a huge difference as many years NH was looking to be rebuilding but that changes with all the transfers.
Laney- I think Laney will have a shot to beat NH this season and take 2nd place in the conference. Laney has size and speed and it looks like coach Little was able to keep the kids at Laney. Laney will run the RPO and they have an adequate QB (Little)and a legit D1 level athlete(Powe) at WR. They have good speed at RB and plenty of size on the line. Laney should score points this season. Laney was typically solid on defense during the Yoman years but they were not very good last year. If they can shore up their defense they will be a threat to NH and WB. If Laney can keep their players they will be competing for the conference in a few years.
Ashley- There is still a lot of work to be done here but things are looking better. Ashley needs a coaching staff that can build some consistency. They do not need to beat everyone but they need to start competing with some of the better teams and they need to beat the teams they can beat. It is hard to change a culture and Ashley should have some talent to turn things around in the next 3 years.
Hoggard- Will be the team to beat this season. They have a very good QB and good speed at WR and RB. They have a good rotation on the O line and if healthy they will be able to run and throw. Jones at QB will burn you in the air and with his legs. He is a legitimate threat. The defense is replacing 3 LB’s but have some nice pieces. Jaxon King was all state at safety last season and looks to continue to be a turnover machine. Look for Davis Manning to be an all conference LB. The Jr is one of the strongest players on the team and has great instincts. Special teams should be solid. I look for Hoggard to be battle tested come playoff time and they will be a difficult team to beat.
NH- Will be projected 2nd in the conference but the Wildcats have struggled on offense this offseason. They have a new, untested QB and a lot of holes to fill. NH always reloads with athletic kids but that doesn’t always translate to all conference type players. NH should be very good on defense as they return most of their defense from last season that played really well at times. NH‘s biggest problem will be Laney kids not transferring. NH has lived on 5-6 quality Laney kids coming over each year. This has made a huge difference as many years NH was looking to be rebuilding but that changes with all the transfers.
Laney- I think Laney will have a shot to beat NH this season and take 2nd place in the conference. Laney has size and speed and it looks like coach Little was able to keep the kids at Laney. Laney will run the RPO and they have an adequate QB (Little)and a legit D1 level athlete(Powe) at WR. They have good speed at RB and plenty of size on the line. Laney should score points this season. Laney was typically solid on defense during the Yoman years but they were not very good last year. If they can shore up their defense they will be a threat to NH and WB. If Laney can keep their players they will be competing for the conference in a few years.
Ashley- There is still a lot of work to be done here but things are looking better. Ashley needs a coaching staff that can build some consistency. They do not need to beat everyone but they need to start competing with some of the better teams and they need to beat the teams they can beat. It is hard to change a culture and Ashley should have some talent to turn things around in the next 3 years.