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.
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20 UCW JANUARY 2-8, 2019 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM County football jamboree moves to full field play this year by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Blount enjoys chance to be on Shrine Bowl sidelines by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Attention Students: Let Your Voice Be Heard Get published in our award-winning community newspaper Up & Coming Weekly Send in your feature articles, editorials, short stories, movie and music reviews or original poetry and artwork to: highschoolhighlights@upandcomingweekly.com Subject line: High School Highlights Please include your photo and school information. Next summer's Cumberland County High School Football Jamboree will undergo one major change in format. Instead of having two scrimmages in progress during each session, the event will switch to a full-field format with only two teams competing at the same time. Vernon Aldridge, student activi- ties director for Cumberland County Schools, decided to make the change after talking with coaches and officials and seeing the success of the format at the Battle for the Border scrimmage at Lumberton High School. "It kind of helps with wear and tear on the field, going full field rather than being on both ends the entire time,'' Aldridge said. "It also allows them to get into more game-like situations and open up their playbook.'' The dates for this year's jamboree are Aug. 15 and 16, with the first day at Seventy-First High School and the second day at Gray's Creek. Since only two teams will be on the field at once in the new format, the scrimmage will start at 5 p.m. with the final scrim- mage starting at 9 p.m. Aldridge said he'll schedule two Cumberland County teams in the final scrimmage so any out-of-town teams competing won't be finished scrim- maging any later than 9 p.m. The format for each scrimmage session will call for 25 minutes of scrimmage time, a five-minute halftime, then a second 25 minutes, followed by a five-minute break before moving to the next scrimmage session. The 10 Cumberland County senior high schools will again all take part, with the rest of the field yet to be determined. Pine Forest coach Bill Sochovka likes the new format for the same reasons Aldridge does. Another problem the full-field format will cure is the num- ber of people who are on the field. In the old format, coaches were allowed on the field behind the com- peting teams. Going full field will put reserves for each team on opposite sides of the field, and the coaches will be there with them. "The sidelines were cramped (with the old for- mat),'' Sochovka said. "It's better when you have one team on the sideline.'' The full field will also allow teams that prefer to pass to work on more of their plays. Neil Buie, supervisor of football officials for the Southeastern Athletic Officials Association, said the officials also don't have to worry about coaches on the field when the action is full field. "Every time there was a change of possession, you had to blow the ball dead,'' Buie said of four teams sharing the field. "With a turnover, the ball remains alive. It's just like officiating a game, without the kicking part.'' Football players and coaches weren't the only specially invited guests at the recent Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas all-star football game in Spartanburg, South Carolina. South View High School's Marianna Blount spent the Shrine Bowl week working as a student athletic trainer with the North Carolina team. A senior at South View, Blount got into athletic training somewhat by accident when she missed out on cheerleader tryouts as a freshman at South View and wanted to find some- thing else to pursue. Linda Buie, the athletic department secretary at South View, suggested Blount try athletic training, and it didn't take long for her to get hooked. "I think the thing that drew me to it was learning new things and getting to meet new people while helping out people in the process,'' said Blount. Samantha Colbourne, the staff ath- letic trainer at South View, said Blount has helped out with just about every sport the school offers in Blount's four years there. "She's learned how to tape kids, watched me assess injuries, watched me do rehab and helped with daily duties like getting water and putting stuff out when we have practice,'' Colbourne said. Blount has also been to camps and clinics for student athletic trainers to learn more about skills athletic train- ers need. "She's very eager to learn,'' Colbourne said. "She picks up all the skills pretty quick. She's very per- sonable and always asking questions." Blount said being chosen to work at the Shrine Bowl was an honor and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. She said her favorite part of the week was joining the coaches and football players for the annual visit to the Shriners Hospital for burned and crippled children in Greenville, South Carolina. "Seeing the kids, the looks on their faces, they were so excited,'' she said. "We were able to tour the hospital and meet with them and their par- ents. It makes your heart feel good, especially with Christmas coming up. "It was over the top. Amazing.'' Blount said she got valuable experience being around the certified athletic trainers at the Shrine Bowl, learning taping methods and getting to know the players and coaches. "The whole thing about the Shrine Bowl is it's for a good cause,'' she said. "It makes you feel good to know you are there, making a difference in these kids' lives. That's the main goal, to be there and raise money for them. It's a great feeling to raise money for them to be treated.'' HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS Marianna Blount Vernon Aldridge