Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1056332
24 UCW NOVEMBER 28-DECEMBER 4, 2018 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS EARL VAUGHAN JR., Sports Editor. COMMENTS? EarlUCWSports@gmail.com. 910-364-6638. Village Christian ends frustration with state title by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Dallas Wilson tackles challenge of repeating title by EARL VAUGHAN JR. When Emerson Martin took over as head football coach at Village Christian two years ago, he had eight players returning from a team that lost in the 2016 state champi- onship game. Two years later, after three trips in a row to the state finals, the Knights are finally state champions, follow- ing a 39-8 rout of Asheville School in the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 11-man Division III football title game. Martin, who teaches weightlifting classes, said the first challenge was getting students in his classes to join the football program. "That let us have the first winning season in school history,'' he said of the 2017 campaign. When the 2018 season began, Martin felt all the pieces were finally in place to bring home a state championship. "We had senior leadership from the year before,'' he said. "That was the biggest part of everything in the turnaround. The strongest point was the way the kids came together, the way they became friends on and off the field, just their commitment to the off- season in working together. No one was more important to the process than versatile senior Asa Barnes, whose 50-yard run for the first touchdown against Asheville helped set the tone for the championship game. "He is the best all-around player I have on my team,'' Martin said of Barnes, who played multiple positions on both sides of the football for the Knights and rarely came off the field. "From the starting point of the championship game, he ran harder than I've ever seen him run,'' Martin continued. "He ran with a passion I've never seen him run with.'' Barnes still had a bitter taste in his mouth from the disappointing loss in the 2017 championship game, a game the Knights felt they should have won. "There never was a time when we were able to forget about it,'' Barnes said of the 2017 defeat. "We really drilled it into peoples' heads that we wouldn't forget it, and it drove us to be better.'' Barnes said he worked on improving his speed and stamina in the offseason, preparing himself for the grind of being a two-way performer for the Knights. One of the biggest parts of this year's win was tak- ing the early lead, and Barnes said that was some- thing the Knights tried to do all season. "When we win the coin toss, we want to get the ball and put up points quickly,'' he said, "try to take their hope away. "I felt like from the jump we were the more talented team and had to listen to what our coaches wanted us to do, execute and play together as a team.'' Junior quarterback Tim Grate said Village avoided the mistake of getting overconfident. "The words of the week were stay humble, s tay level and don't underestimate your opponent,'' he said. Grate said his goal was to make his reads and finish with no turn- overs, which he accomplished. "The offensive mindset was to score every posses- sion,'' he said. "If you score every possession, you're more than likely going to win the game.'' Now that the Knights have finally earned the championship, the next goal is to start the process for chasing the title in 2019. "I have a lot of big expectations for them,'' Barnes said. "I expect them to exceed what we did this year. They just have to not be complacent and always work hard.'' Grate said the team needs to prepare for the off- season grind and just pick up where it left off. "For most people, it's getting faster, getting stronger and getting smarter,'' he said. At a school rich with wrestling tradition, Cape Fear's Dallas Wilson found a way to make his- tory of his own last year. He faces an even bigger chal- lenge this season: finding a way to top it. Last winter, Wilson, son of Cape Fear head coach Heath Wilson, became the first sophomore in school history to win a state wres- tling championship, taking home the title in the 132-pound weight class in the 3-A state tournament. Wilson is the lone returning state champion among Cumberland County wrestlers this fall, and having been around wrestling at Cape Fear with his dad, also a former state champ, he knows well the challenges involved in repeating. "That's the first thing he told me after last year was over,'' the elder Wilson said of his son. "I'm not going to be a one and done. That's their biggest fear. He knows he's got a target on his back.'' In addition to the target, the younger Wilson will be looking at new challenges this season. He's got- ten taller and gained weight, which means he'll be moving into a different weight class. His father said the two will likely wait until the WRAL tournament Dec. 21 to make a final decision on what weight Dallas will be wrestling at for the remainder of the season. The key to the choice will be how comfortable Dallas is with the final weight he chooses, Heath said. Dallas has prepared for his upcoming wrestling season with a tough summer of competition that included competing in the Super 32 about a month ago. "He's not overconfident, and he's not looking beyond anybody,'' Heath said. Dallas gets challenged regularly in practice by his mat partner Jared Barbour, who weighs in at around 160 to 170 and is among the top three wrestlers in the state in his weight class. Dallas looks at last year's state title as just the beginning of a journey in wrestling that will contin- ue for another two years at the high school level. "Defending it and winning two more (titles) is next,'' Dallas said. "My biggest concern would be my health more than anything. I need to stay healthy.'' He battled problems with a gimpy ankle last year and still has concerns about it as this season begins. He's focused on taking better angles of attack when he makes his shots, something he said multiple state champions do. "They understand angles and how to get on legs and how to hit moves that a kid that's average wouldn't even think about,'' Dallas said. "Hard work is the main aspect going into this year and next year.'' Dallas Wilson won't be the only solid returner on the mat for Cape Fear this season. Tristan Chapman, 126 pounds, placed fifth in the state last year. A conference champion, 120-pound Jack Culbreth, also returns, along with 145-pound Jeremiah Smith, who came close to beating the state champion a year ago. Now that the season is over for the Cape Fear football team, Wilson said 220-pound Nick Minacapelli will be joining the team soon. "We've got some sleepers this year,'' Coach Wilson said. "The newcomers are learning quickly.'' Members of the Village Christian football team pose with their state title trophy. Dallas (left) and Heath (right) Wilson