By Randy Capps
Before he became a defensive coordinator, and later, took charge of his own program, Jermaine Harper was a linebacker at Fayetteville State.
So you can understand the excitement for the seventh-year West Johnston head coach when he talks about the talent coming back on that side of the football.
“(That’s) going to be our strong point this season,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of guys coming back that I expect to be playmakers for us.”
Some of those players include seniors Tanner Roof (65 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 INT), Cooper Smith (52 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 2 sacks), Kaden Trotter (87 tackles, 17 TFL, 6 sacks) and Jayden Evans (89 tackles, 2 INT). All-conference junior corner Chrystian Coakley (66 tackles, 3 INT) and first-time player — and West Johnston basketballer — Julian Geddie add to an impressive array of talented defensive players for the Wildcats, who are coming off a 6-5 season.
“We’ve got a lot of pieces,” Harper said. “And we’ve got some guys who were on varsity last year that will be stepping into roles for us defensively.”
Where the defense features plenty of known quantities, the offense is more uncertain.
The good news is that four of the five top receivers return, and running back Koby Mayle (516 yards, 3 TD) brings some experience to the backfield.
“I’m really excited to see what he’ll do this year,” Harper said. “He’s gotten strong in the weight room, put on a couple of pounds. So I’m excited to see what his durability will be for us this year.”
Braeden Baker and William Nunnery add stability to the offensive line, but the quarterback position is a little less nailed down.
Connor McLawhorn was thrust into the starting role for the playoff loss at Currituck County due to an injury to Josiah Wells and appeared in four other games last fall, throwing for 71 yards and a score.
He and transfer Case Holland are still competing for the job.
“They’re kind of going back and forth to see who’s going to be taking the reins for us on a Friday night,” Harper said.
The winner will lead the Wildcats into the Carolina Pines 6A, where they’ll share a league with South Johnston, Harnett Central, Lee County, Southern Lee, Triton, Union Pines and Western Harnett.
It’s a league full of teams that Harper and his squad already know, and the difference in success and failure might be found in the smallest details.
“We’ve got to be able to capitalize, man,” he said. “It’s pretty much the same every year. Last year defensively, man, we just couldn’t get off the field on third downs and we gave up big plays. I think those big plays will really hurt us late in the games because … I can bring up three games where we had an opportunity to win in the fourth quarter.
“We want to limit those things. You know, make sure that we’re solid on defense with schematics and things like that. Offensively, we just need to be able to keep our defense off the field. Being able to maintain drives, I think it’s going to be important.”
