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W.C. Cards hosts Clay County in season opener Shannon Hutchinson Sports Writer The Wayne County Cardinals open the 2005 season this Friday night, at home, against 3A foe Clay County. The Cards return several key starters off last yearıs 6-5 campaign, while the Tigers hope to build off a surprising 8-3 mark in 2004. The contest will mark the first ever meeting between the two schools. Clay County hopes to continue their upward trend under fourth year head coach Aaron Stepp. Steppıs squads have posted records of 0-10, 4-6 and 8-3 during his tenure at Manchester. The Tigers used a powerful pushing attack to average 41.5 points per game in 2004. The squad posted four shutouts in their first five games and rolled to a 5-0 mark. Stepp is looking to replace two players that both rushed for over a 1,000 yards last season. Clay County will look to talented runningback Byron Bragg to pace their Wishbone attack. Bragg posted 12 touchdowns in 2004 and earned the notice of the Cards head coach. "Clay County has a very good runningback in the Bragg kid. Heıs a very hard-nosed runner and hard to tackle," said Cards head coach Shawn Thompson. After watching the Tigers scrimmage against Williamsburg last week Thompson offered his view of their offensive unit. "Theyıll use some wishbone and split-back formations and have one of the top running games weıll see this season. They have good size up front and like to line up and play smash-mouth football. Clay County is a very physical team and are a typical mountain-type team," said Thompson. Wayne County will counter with an experiment defensive unit that hopes to improve on the 28.9 points per game allowed in 2004. The senior tandem of linebacker Ryan Steele and defensive end Joe Coffey will lead a unit that has been solid in scrimmages against both Estill County and York (TN). "We have to play with a focus and guard against any big plays. In our scrimmages Iıve been pleased with our aggressiveness and the way we swarmed the football," said Thompson. The Cards offense will face a Clay County defense that bases out of the 40, but likes to switch things up to keep the offense off balance. The Tigers allowed just under 23 points per game in 2004. "They do a very good job of switching things up on the defensive front. Clay County swarms the football very well, with a lot of good young players. I am glad that we play them the first game of the year, because with some of their youth theyıll get better each week out," said Thompson. Quarterback Ryan Steele will pace the offense after totaling over 1,100 yards and 10 total touchdowns in 2004. Steeleıs two favorite targets from last season in Joe Coffey and Tyler King both return to help lead an offense that posted a school record 32.7 points per game last year. "Offensively some of our younger kids are stepping up, so weıve been able to mix things up with both the run and the pass. We want to be able to keep their defense off-balance as much as possible. A big key in our passing game is our ability to pick up the blitz and pass block, Clay County is so physical we just canıt take plays off," said Thompson. One of the bright spots in last weekıs scrimmage against Estill County was freshman halfback Chris Burks. Burksı scored three touchdowns in the Cardsı impressive outing. The head coach noticed marked improvement in the Cards from the first scrimmage against York (TN) through last weekıs effort against Estill County. "I thought we gave a better effort in our second scrimmage and that started with each player taking care of their individual responsibilities. I also thought our linebacker play really stepped up. Against York we played sluggish at times, so I thought our intensity was better last week," said Thompson. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Jewell Field. "We had such great fan support last year and I certainly hope that continues this year. It just means so much to our kids and program. We want to develop a real home-field advantage every time we step on our field. Last year a lot of people told me they wouldıve been there if they knew we wouldıve won, so this year I want people to know weıre gonna try our best to win every time out, joked Thompson. Add a comment |
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