Up & Coming Weekly

June 25, 2019

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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JUNE 26-JULY 2, 2019 UCW 21 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Editor's note: This is part of a series on Cumberland County high school spring football workouts. Cape Fear High School con- tinued the most successful era of football in school history last season with a 7-5 record. It included a trip to the first round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3-AA football playoffs. But for that tradition to con- tinue, head coach Jake Thomas is going to have to fill some signifi- cant gaps caused by graduation. "Obviously we lost some real- ly good linebackers,'' Thomas said. "We also lost some good running backs. That's the main focus of the guys we've got to replace from last season.'' The good news for Thomas is he's got a few skilled players back this year, among them quarterback Ki'mani Britton and running back Cayden McKeithan. Britton completed 70 of 138 passes for 613 yards and five touchdowns. McKeithan rushed 89 times for 289 yards and scored five touchdowns. Thomas said Britton has progressed well from his freshman season last year and showed positive signs during the spring. The Colts' leading receiver from 2018 is back, Taiquan Gamble. He had 33 catches for 281 yards and two touchdowns. One of the most experienced Cape Fear return- ees is offensive lineman Caleb Krings. Krings said the Colts have a new team and a new begin- ning as they head into sum- mer and fall workouts. "In the offensive line we've got half of us coming back,'' he said. On the defensive side of the football, Thomas will be counting heavily on cornerbacks Micah Nelson and Lamon Lock to anchor the pass defense, along with versatile athlete Nick Minacapelli. There is one returner in the linebacking corps, Donta Autry. Thomas said he has put in a lot of hard work in the offseason. Most of the spring, Cape Fear has focused on getting its base defensive package installed so the team can immediately react to any offensive for- mation or motion it sees in a game. Offensively, the team stressed learning three or four base plays with the ability to run a counter play and a pass play off each one. Colts have multiple holes to fill this year by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Jake Thomas Caleb Krings Cape Fear Pine Forest Douglas Byrd Seventy First E.E. Smith South View Gray's Creek Terry Sanford Jack Britt Westover BRINGING YOU THE BEST IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS Check NCPrepSports.net for playoff details. & 6-8pm MONDAY Congratulations to all NCHSAA 2019 GRADUATES Work has finally started on demol- ishing the home football grandstand at Terry Sanford High School. The structure beneath the bleachers had reached a point where it could no longer be repaired. For the 2019-20 school year, the Bulldog football, soccer and lacrosse teams will play home games at Reid Ross Classical High School's John Daskal Stadium. Plans are to return to the rebuilt Terry Sanford stadium in the fall of 2020. Terry Sanford stadium demolition begins by EARL VAUGHAN JR.

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