The football practices at Dudley have stepped it up a notch or two and on Friday night the Panthers were practicing in pads. The Panther varsity and junior varsity teams were going at it in helments, shoulder pads, and shorts. They were also wearing shoes and they were picking them up and putting them down.
Dudley, under coach Steven Davis, works hard. Dudley lost most of their skill players from last year’s team; James Perry and the Blacknall brothers but the returning lineman are HUGE. Dudley has two offensive linemen that weigh in at about 350 each.
Another strength looks to be team speed.(Kenny Okoro and Kyree Ward) I’m not too sold on the long passing game but you have to go up field on occasion. With the HUGE lineman that Dudley has I don’t see how anybody can stop these guys if they can find three or four good backs that like to run and can hit the holes. If the HUGE lineman can get off on the snap count then Dudley is going forward.
As I was saying Dudley was hitting light with the shoulder pads on and the Panthers got in two practices on opening day Monday, one at midnight and the other later Monday afternoon.(the NCHSAA has said no major violation occured) Dudley opens up with Eastern Randolph on August 24 and one thing is for sure, Coach Steven Davis is running these boys and they will be well conditioned. The Dudley JV’s might just be faster than the Varsity but they aren’t as strong or as quick
Strength and conditioning coach Curtis McMillian is pushing these young men and Coach Mac is one of the best in the business. Again, Dudley is trying to go to the air but with those HUGE offensive linemen they are a can’t miss team on the ground if the backs are set.
Northeast Guilford assistant coach Bob Via said he didn’t think there would be a scrimmage in High Point on Saturday night. Coach Via said it is too soon to be putting on the full gear and that you can only run a 7on7 scrimmage in pre-season. Will there be game in High Point on Saturday evening? Eastern Guilford is scheduled and they are also slated to have a scrimmage next Saturday morning. Our High Point contacts will have to get us the rest of the story.
NEG and Page are conducting morning practices and they both go at it in full gear as scheduled on Monday morning. Let us know how your teams are doing……