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Friday, August 1, 2008
Full Speed Ahead
Raleigh Durham, NC
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Photo(s) By: Photo courtesy of Coach Green
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Leesville Road High School Head Football Coach David Green enjoyed a successful 2007 season, and the Pride is expected to continue its winning ways in 2008, but not without challenges. Two top players graduated, and three quarterbacks are battling for the starting slot. Coach Green is optimistic.
VYPE: You had an extremely successful season in 2007, but you have lost your two Shrine Bowl performers, Thomas Wilson and Taylor Gentry who graduated. How will you fill the key slots their departure has created? Or, will you be focusing on other areas of your game?
Coach Green: Any time you lose players the quality of Thomas, Taylor and our other seniors it is difficult to try to replace them. We will continue to try to do most of the same things we’ve done offensively, but with different players with different skills we’ll make a few adjustments. We were more of a running team during their junior year than last year, and we may be similar to that this upcoming season. We try to tweak some things each year and make adjustments that fit our personnel, and that’s what we’ll do this year.
The big key for us may be in trying to replace the leadership we got from Thomas, Taylor and seniors such as Pete Mangum, Cody Lyon, James Weaver and Michael Wooten.
VYPE: Tell us about the battle that is brewing for the position of starting quarterback. We understand you have three top-notch guns ready to fire this season: Logan Bible, Jake Groeschen and Josh Stanley.
Coach Green: Logan, a sophomore, was our varsity backup last year and played well. He understands the game, knows the offense, makes pretty good decisions to be as young as he is, and is capable of both running and throwing.
Jake, a senior transfer from Cardinal Gibbons, has a great live arm. He can really put a lot of zip on the ball. He is still trying to learn the system, and he could be a really good quarterback once he gets comfortable in our offense. He’s got good size, moves well, and has college potential.
Josh, another sophomore, was our JV quarterback last year. He has grown a lot since last year. The biggest thing with Josh is that he is not just an outstanding athlete, but a great competitor.
VYPE: Without giving away any big strategy secrets, can you give us a preview of how you are preparing to come out on top, in the face of two powerhouses: Millbrook and especially Wake Forest-Rolesville?
Coach Green: We’ll have our work cut out with both of them. Millbrook should be a tremendous team offensively. We’ll have to play better against them defensively than we did last year. Thank goodness Jamal Williams graduated, I think he only had about 1,000 yards against us last year.
As for Wake Forest-Rolesville, you know that they have some offensive firepower at both quarterback and running back and that they are going to be very strong defensively. We will have to mix things up offensively to move the ball on them, and, as with Millbrook, we’ll have to play physical defense to stay in the game with them. We’ve had 4 great games with WFR the past two seasons, and we’re looking forward to maybe a couple more this year.
We know those two teams will be very good. We’ll approach them like we’ve approached every team we’ve played the last few years—we’ll respect them, we’ll prepare for them, but we will expect to win every time we take the field.
VYPE: In your career as a football coach, what has been your biggest lesson you have learned?
Coach Green: You’d better be prepared for anything and everything. If you let somebody else outwork and out prepare you, they will outplay you as well.
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