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Wildcats Trying To Break Into The Win Column
With experienced leaders returning, the Rockbridge County High School football team is eager to get better after a winless season last year.
“That shouldn’t be too hard,” said third-year RC head coach Martin Cox. “The kids are working hard, poised to try to improve on last year’s marks.”
The Wildcats went 0-10 last year, following a 4-6 season two years ago in Cox’s first year at the helm.
Giving Cox hope is the fact that the Wildcats have 18 returning players, with 10 seniors to lead the way. “The seniors this year definitely have more experience than the seniors last year,” said Cox.
Key graduates from last year’s team were wide receiver Simon Emore, running back and lineman Daniel Grimm, running back and linebacker Josiah Saunders, and lineman Benjamin Pitsenbarger.
This year, with a roster of 35 players, up from 32 at the start of last season, the Wildcats are eager to compete. Complementing the 10 seniors are 10 juniors, 13 sophomores and two freshmen.
Since the Wildcats had their first official practice on Aug. 1, they have competed in a jamboree on Aug. 17 at Greenbrier East High School in West Virginia and then a scrimmage last Friday at James River High School in Buchanan.
Following the jamboree, Cox said he was most impressed with his team’s defense. “I thought our defense was improved,” said Cox. “I thought, on that side of the ball, we played really well, for the most part.”
“I think we had some things to work on on both sides of the ball, but I think defense probably was a little closer to where we want to be,” added Cox. “Offensively, after getting home and watching the film, I felt that there were just some things we needed to tweak that didn’t look as good on Saturday as the defense did. … We’ll see improvements on that side as well.”
Leading the defense is Brady Edwards, a 6-foot-5-inch, 235-pound senior who is a defensive end and a tight end. Both Edwards and junior defensive back Aiden Meyers can be relied upon to make tackles. Meyers, who is also a running back and kicker, was a starter last year and is “emerging as one of our team leaders,” said Cox.
Another key cog in the defense whom Cox highlighted as “one we’ve got to keep an eye on” is junior lineman Price Lunsford.
Offensively, Cox said the Wildcats will mostly run the ball. “We’ll try to throw when we can, but we’re definitely a running team,” he said.
Key returning running backs are seniors Elijah Fox and Gabe Wade and sophomores Pat Looney and Elijah Sorrells (6-0, 175). Wade picked up his running game late in the season last year, and Cox looks forward to seeing what he and Fox can do this year as senior leaders. Running backs who are new to the varsity level are senior Jonathan Soriano, junior Marshall Earhart, sophomores Peyton Fix (5-7, 145), John Clements and Piercen Knick; and freshman Asher Wells, who brings experience from playing for the junior varsity team last year.
Cox said Wells and the Wildcats’ other freshman, Cole Hartless, will still play for the JV team, but they have the potential to get some varsity time.
At quarterback, while senior Jayden Layman started for the Wildcats for most of the last two years, two returning players, senior Devin D’Antonio and junior Eli Watkins, could see time at quarterback. Layman is also a defensive back, and D’Antonio and Watkins are linebackers.
Junior Tyler Woods (5-10, 175) returns as the Wildcats’ punter, after missing much of last season with a broken collarbone.
Also returning for RC are senior tight end and linebacker Kyle Knick (5-7, 145), senior JP Welsh and junior Trevor Hoke (6-0, 175), who are wide receivers and defensive backs, and seven linemen: Lunsford, Edwards, seniors Isaiah Woolfrey (5-10, 205) and Ashtin Taylor and juniors Caleb Robinson, Xavier Flowers (5-11, 230) and Carlos Yebra (6-0, 245). Linemen who are new to the varsity level are Hartless, senior Andrew Hughes, junior Ben Davis and sophomores William Chittum, Finn D’Antonio (5-5, 158) and Zach Schindler (5-9, 195).
Sophomore Jonas Shanholtz joins the Wildcats as a tight end and linebacker. Also joining the team are junior wide receiver and defensive back Cole Dorey and a pair of sophomores, Joshua Sperry and Cameron Whitlock, who play at the tight end and linebacker positions.
A lot of players will play both offense and defense, and some of the younger varsity players will also play on the JV team.
Pleased with the work his players have put in to prepare for the season, Cox said, “I think we have a lot of young men who have been working hard all summer. They understand where we were last year and how much they don’t want to be there again this year. They’re putting in the work, so I give them all the credit. We just have to get out there and see what we can do. They’ve been after it since January.”
In addition to his head coaching duties, Cox is the offensive coordinator and will work with the quarterbacks. The Wildcats return five assistant coaches. Ben Kabzinski will coach the offensive line and will serve as the head JV coach, Pete Lampman is the defensive coordinator. Joey Jones is in charge of linebackers, Dan Taylor will coach wide receivers, and Austin Taylor will work with the defensive line. Rejoining the staff is Brian Dietz, who will coach the defensive line and linebackers. New to the staff is Alex Lanktree, who guides the running backs.
In the Valley District, the Wildcats will look to be more competitive after going 0-6 last year. Cox expects the toughest teams to be defending district champion Spotswood and Turner Ashby, which lost to Spotswood in overtime in the district title game last fall before defeating Spotswood in the Region 3C semifinals. TA ended up falling to Liberty Christian Academy in the regional finals.
The Wildcats’ two close games last year were against district rivals, a 47-35 loss at East Rockingham in late September and a 20-14 homecoming setback to Harrisonburg in early October. With a more experienced and focused squad, the Wildcats aim to be on the winning side of those games this year.
Before district action starts on Friday, Sept. 27 at Broadway, the Wildcats will face four nondistrict foes, starting with Parry McCluer this Friday and then having road games against Staunton and Alleghany before playing host to Blacksburg.
The Wildcats will open the season at home against local rival Parry McCluer this Friday at 7 p.m. at Prasnicki-Ross Field at Veterans Stadium in Lexington, and they’ll look to avenge last year’s 56-14 loss to the Fighting Blues in Buena Vista.
Looking forward to the contest against the Blues, Cox said, “No matter what they have, that’s always gonna be a tough game. I understand they’re over there working hard, and I’m sure they’ll be ready.”
Sports Editor’s note: The team photo will be taken and published at a later date.
