High school football: Falcons expect to get better – Salisbury Post

West’s Evan Kennedy, photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post

By Mike London
[email protected]

Second part of a series of high school football previews…

MOUNT ULLA – West Rowan football head coach Louis Kraft has had a bad taste in his mouth for nine months and can’t wait for opening night here.

“It’s a bad taste in the mouth because we just didn’t have a particularly good year,” Kraft said. “Definitely not a good year by West Rowan’s high standards.”

The bottom line was a 5-6 streak for West, ending a proud streak of undefeated seasons for the program that began in 1999. There was a COVID-shortened 4-4 streak and a couple of 6-6 streaks, but in 2023, West ultimately lost more games than it won.

West still finished 5-2 in the South Piedmont Conference, good for third place, by defeating Carson, South Rowan, Central Cabarrus, Concord and East Rowan, but the gap between the Falcons and the top of the SPC was huge. League roughnecks Robinson and Northwest Cabarrus crushed West three times. Northwest’s 52-21 victory over the Falcons in the first round of the 3A playoffs ended the season. West lost to Robinson by 52 and to Northwest by 40 in the regular season.

When the smoke cleared and the dust settled, West had decent individual offensive statistics, averaging four touchdowns per game, but the defensive numbers were not pretty. West allowed 60 points against Davie and 48 against Mooresville, allowing 37 points per game on the season. That was a significantly negative school record – an increase of nearly 16 points per game from the previous season.

“Our non-conference schedule is the same, it’s still Murder’s Row,” Kraft said. “AL Brown, Davie, Mooresville. Those are talented 4As. But we’re going to take it and fight. I think we’re in a much better position right now to handle it than we were this time last year. With the work our guys did during the offseason, we’ve put ourselves in a position where we can be successful in 2024. As far as the SPC goes, we can compete. The goal is to have a seat at the table when the championship is decided.”

Mount Ulla still remembers the Falcons’ glory days. There were some solid seasons – Kraft coached a strong 9-3 team in 2022, for example – but Mount Ulla hasn’t hoisted a championship banner at even the conference level since 2011.

Quarterback Brant Graham, still only in his third year, is a returning starter and will have a chance to lead a resurgence of the young men in Columbia Blue. Graham threw for 1,550 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2023 and added three rushing TDs.

“He’s got as much arm strength as you could ask for, and he’s got some quick twitch as well,” Kraft said. “I don’t know if he’s going to have a lot of rushing yards, but this year he’s going to be able to turn some of those minus-7 games into positive years. He’s going to keep more games alive. He’s going to make more big plays.”

Graham is a three-sport athlete who played baseball with the American Legion in the summer, but he never missed a football practice. They were held in the mornings.

Graham will have an excellent target in Evan Kennedy, a versatile athlete who is adept as a runner, receiver or returner. Kennedy had 57 catches for 975 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2023. He ran for 463 yards and five TDs.

“I can tell you, Evans’ goal for 2024 is 1,000 and 1,000,” Kraft said. “He’s a very special player, one of the best in the county and in the conference. We’re confident that we’ll have success in every game he plays.”

Kennedy has rushed for nearly 2,900 yards in his career as a receiver/rusher and has reached the end zone 33 times.

Jaylen Neely, West’s best runner, also returns, although Kraft said Neely, a workhorse who caused a sensation with 1,234 rushing yards and 16 TDs, is dealing with back problems.

There is no such thing as a minor back issue, but the Falcons are hoping it is just a short-term complication for one of their key players.

With Neely in the backfield and Kennedy at receiver, the Falcons are at their most dangerous. However, if Neely is not healthy, Kennedy will have to step into the running back role.

“We don’t expect Neely to be 100 percent for the first few games, but hopefully he’ll be back to full strength for the conference games,” Kraft said. “He was great for us last year, and we just have to be smart and get him healthy.”

After excelling with the Jayvees, Cooper Martin will join the Falcons.

Kaden Feaster is a veteran receiver who returns to the team. He showed explosive moments last season, collecting nearly 300 yards in receptions and two TDs.

Brennon Stevenson, a tall athlete with long strides – the 400 meters was his best event – could turn out to be a top receiver. He was the star of the Jayvees.

Jacob Kirk made some important catches for the varsity team last season. Ja’miah Tucker has moved from defense to offense and is expected to play a key role.

Max Brown doesn’t have the size of a typical tight end, but he brings a lot of intelligence to the position. Sloan Stewart, a former linebacker, has moved to tight end and will be another option.

The kicking game is in the hands of Carter Durant.

“The ball bounces off his foot, just sounds different than last year,” Kraft said. “He’s going to make some punts in the spotlight.”

West’s offensive line will consist of returning starters Addison Hunt, Myles Howell and Max Kalinowski. The plan is for those three to man the interior positions. They will be joined by sophomore tackles Marcus Bailey and Caleb Jones. Clayton Bumgarner will be an important piece of the O-line puzzle.

“We believe we will put together a solid line,” Kraft said.

End Kevin Toomer, who already has numerous sacks, is expected to play a key role in an improved defensive unit.

“We like to call him our 17-year veteran,” Kraft said. “He’s been around a long time and has been really productive.”

Trent Gaines, an athlete who transferred from West Cabarrus, is expected to man the end zone on the other side of Toomer. Harry Hartwell, who took over some of West’s jayvee games last season, will also be in the mix to tackle opposing quarterbacks.

The central defense positions were up for grabs. Zitayvion Rucker could be a standout player. Also fighting for a spot are Xavier Gray, Luke Ponczka, Dakota Athey and the impressive newcomers Bryson Ellis and Kaden Weeks.

Cameron Martin, who was a pick-6 last season, returns to strengthen the inside linebacker group along with Tallon Blaclwell.

Camden Moten, who missed last season due to injury, could be an influential player at outside linebacker. Jeffrey Huffman and Kaden Sanders are also expected to play.

Kraft has a good feeling about cornerbacks Israel Ford, who he believes has college talent, and Kendrick Cornelius, who missed most of last season with a turf toe injury.

Free safety Lucas Watts became the starter about halfway through last season.

“He’s one of those guys with a knack for football,” Kraft said. “Always around. He intercepts a lot of balls.”

The young strong safety Avion Casey impressed the coaches right from the start of training.

“I was still learning the names of the new guys, and he was already standing out,” Kraft said. “Everyone was thinking, ‘Man, who is this kid?'”

Ty Martin and Karieem Harrison will also be key players in the secondary.

“This is an improved group, but it’s also the group that has the most to prove,” Kraft said. “Last year there were a few games where we got beat.”

The new staff includes former Falcons Patrick Hampton (wide receiver) and Devin Turner (defensive line). Jason Stanley, a former South Rowan player who served as defensive coordinator at Carson, will coach the outside linebackers and safeties.

The large staff includes Skip Kraft (assistant coach), Joe Robinson (quarterbacks), Tim Pangburn (offensive line), Shaun Perry and Wesley Beckham (running backs), Justin Shepps (wide receivers), Tim Dixon (defensive backs), Kevin Parks (linebackers) and Durwood Bynum (special teams).

If Neely gets healthy again and the Falcons have better luck with injuries than they did a year ago, they can be a very good team. That’s always the plan in Mount Ulla, of course.