Good Sport: A football brawl to begin the fall

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by Jeff Laughlin

My job at this paper ruled. I mean, I got to write sparse, poetic articles about sporting events. It was a bit of a dream scenario.

Then the summer came. There’s very little going on in a Triad sports summer — some scattered baseball amongst little-league tournaments and minor-league play. Just as scattered are the events at the larger venues. Hunting around for live events gets rough when the weather warms. As people head to vacation spots and leagues dissipate, those searching for the exhilaration of live sports peck at old wounds and, ugh, “personal columns.”

Then, it happens: fall. The colleges begin their practices and the high schools buzz about their prized players. And, best of all, these teams need press. Ah, neediness: my time to shine.

I planned to write this column about the best teams in the Triad that you may not know. And during that research, I stumbled upon Winston-Salem State’s football team.

Uh, these guys are good. Thusly, they get their own damn column.

In a recent press release, the Division II CIAA released their predictions for their two conferences and the preseason players of the year at each division. In both, the Rams were predicted to dominate.

They earned the prediction to win their division and the outright CIAA crown.

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They also had seven players — yes, that’s a lot — on the All-CIAA list: QB Rudy Johnson, WR Chase Powell, OL Michael Sabb, OL Justin Kee, DL Casey Davenport, FS Danny Bunn and FS Everett Proctor.

Johnson and Powell won awards last year — Johnson being the quarterback selection for the All-CIAA end of year team and Powell as Rookie of the Year in the conference. Powell caught 64 passes for 770 yards in his freshman year. Johnson, now a rising senior, threw for 2,401 yards and ran for 487. He combined those totals to produce 31 touchdowns. Oh, and Powell returned kicks too. Why not?

They did all of this with eligibility to burn. This will be their second year together — time together commonly benefits quarterback-wide receiver duos — and they have playoff experience from which to draw.

While Division I tinkers with the format the rest of the world decided to use decades ago, Division II has had a playoff system for awhile. The Rams have made at least the second round the last three years and return 23 seniors to their preseason camp.

That’s only the beginning of their dominance.

Last year, they went 10-2 with both losses coming out-of-conference to Division II playoff teams. In-conference, they went 7-0, stretching their CIAA winning streak to 24. Yes, it has been three-plus seasons since they lost an in-conference game.

The Southern Conference of the CIAA has Elizabeth City State University — perennial contenders themselves — and not a whole lot else in the way of challenges for this year’s schedule. Football seems to always surprise the fans, but with that many talented players returning and a team that hasn’t been tested too much, you’d expect a cakewalk.

Yet, the Rams face what could be their biggest challenge of the season in their opener. Week One gives them a chance to avenge their only regular-season loss, a 25-21 heartbreaker against UNC-Pembroke. The Braves boasted a similar record at 9-2 last year and lost in the same second round that squelched a chance for the two teams to meet deep in the playoffs. The Braves have a new head coach in Shane Richardson, their defensive coordinator for the past seven years.

Stability marks both programs perennially, and the Sept. 6 game will have familiar matchups. For Winston-Salem State, it could be the beginning of a deep push in the playoffs, the only form of dominance that has escaped them for the last few seasons.

With a deep roster, the talent and experience lie on their side. This veteran group only has to prove that they belong in the upper echelon of their division.

Unfortunately, that happens to be the hardest part.