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Southwestern Randolph Cougars

PG v Randleman softball April 2023

Prep Roundup: Cougars complete perfect PAC softball regular season

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Providence Grove’s Devon Kelly dives across the plate in front of Randleman’s Sarah Norton during last week’s Piedmont Athletic Conference softball game at Climax. Providence Grove won 4-0. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

Southwestern Randolph won its only softball game of the week but that meant a perfect regular season in Piedmont Athletic Conference play.

Maddie Strider hit a two-run homer as the Cougars topped host Uwharrie Carter Academy 13-1.

Southwestern Randolph (17-1 overall, 12-0 PAC) is the top seed for this week’s conference tournament.

** Eastern Randolph won 6-1 against visiting Providence Grove with winning Addie Flinchum homering. From the circle, Flinchum fired a one-hitter with 14 strikeouts and five walks.

Eastern Randolph rode Skylar Pugh’s four-inning no-hitter in a 17-0 romp past visiting Trinity.

** Providence Grove topped visiting Randleman 4-0 with Emma Mazzarone striking out 12 batters and Leela Von Der Hey with a double and a triple and driving in three runs.

** UCA was a 14-0 winner at Wheatmore with Kenzie Hill going 4-for-4 with a home run and double. Logan Zephir joined Hill with three runs batted in.

** Wheatmore’s Carmen Turgeon was the winning pitcher and had four runs batted in and three hits when the Warriors trounced host Trinity 16-2. Turgeon struck out 14.

Baseball

Even with 10-0 and 10-1 romps past Montgomery Central last week, Asheboro finished fourth in the Mid-Piedmont Conference.

Ben Luck homered and tripled while driving in four runs and Davis Gore homered in the first matchup, with Connor Adams throwing a five-inning four-hitter.

In the rematch, Gore and Chandler Macon combined on a no-hitter, though Gore issued five walks and surrendered the lone run.

Tanner Marsh scored three runs and Josh Meadows knocked in three runs for Asheboro (11-10, 4-6).

** Piedmont Athletic Conference regular-season champion Randleman claimed a 6-1 victory at Northern Guilford in non-conference play in its lone game last week. Seth Way, who had a two-run double, pitched six innings and Shawn Miller rapped three hits.

The Tigers have geared up for the postseason without knowing if junior left-hander Drake Purvis will make it to the mound following offseason elbow surgery.

“He’s not back as far as in the games go,” coach Jake Smith said Monday. “He’s back throwing.”

It’s possible that Purvis could be available during the state playoffs, Smith said.

** Uwharrie Charter Academy won against Southwestern Randolph on back-to-back nights with 10-2 and 13-9 outcomes to secure a share of second place in the PAC. Ben Medinger scored five runs across those two games for UCA.

** Trinity split two games with last-place Eastern Randolph to tie with UCA for second place. There was Trinity’s 9-7 victory behind Cade Hill’s pitching and Walker Parrish’s two RBI and two runs scored. Later in the week, Eastern Randolph won 4-1.

** Providence Grove and Wheatmore split, each winning home games.

Providence Grove’s 6-3 victory came with Andrew Thomas pitching six innings and Josh Ward driving in two runs. Wheatmore won 6-5 with Payton Mooney driving in two runs.

Girls’ soccer

In Wheatmore’s 10-0 victory against visiting Randleman, senior Summer Bowman became the school’s all-time leader in assists with 48.

** Southwestern Randolph defeated Trinity 2-1 on Lucy Griffin’s overtime goal.

** In the Mid-Piedmont Conference, Natalie Flores scored as Asheboro nipped visiting Montgomery Central 1-0 for its fourth victory in five games. Then came a 2-1 loss at Mid-Piedmont Conference co-leader Oak Grove.

Boys’ tennis

Three PAC teams were slotted for the dual-team state playoffs, led by regular-season champion Trinity.

The dual team playoffs were set to start Wednesday after pairings were released Monday. Winners will advance to resume play next week.

Meanwhile, individual regionals are scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

In the team competition, Trinity will open with visiting West Stokes in Class 2-A PAC runner-up Southwestern Randolph visits Shelby Burns.

In Class 1-A, UCA goes to Bishop McGuinness in the first round.

athleteky

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Ky Perdue

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Southwestern Randolph, softball

Perdue had hits in all three of the Cougars’ games last week.

Southwestern Randolph is rated as one of the top Class 2-A teams in the state. Already having secured the Piedmont Athletic Conference title, the Cougars will be aiming for postseason success beginning next week.

Perdue, a senior, has provided boosts throughout the season. She scored a run in each of the team’s victories in PAC games last week.

For the season, she entered this week among the Southwestern Randolph leaders in batting average (.358), on-base percentage (.433), runs (17), stolen bases (12) and doubles (3) in the first 17 games.

SWR softball Macie Crutchfield 2022 photo

Prep Softball: Cougars stay on target with more romps

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Macie Crutchfield has been stellar as Southwestern Randolph’s ace pitcher. (Randolph Record file photo)

Southwestern Randolph continued its dominance in softball with three more victories.

The biggest came against defending Piedmont Athletic Conference champion Providence Grove, which fell by 7-1 to the Cougars.

By week’s end, the Cougars held a 14-0 overall record and a 9-0 PAC mark, nearly wrapping up the regular-season title.

Macie Crutchfield struck out 14 Providence Grove batters with a four-hitter. She walked three. Maddie Strider scored two runs.

Southwestern Randolph then socked host Central Davidson 19-3 behind Madison Varner’s five runs batted in.

The Cougars capped the week with a 10-0 ripping of visiting Randleman as Caressa King rapped four hits.

** Providence Grove won 2-0 against visiting Union Pines on Thursday as senior pitcher Emma Mazzarone struck out 14. That increased her career strikeout total to 792.

SWR girls J George v. Trinity A Nance Feb2023

Prep Basketball: Southwestern Randolph teams reach PAC semifinal rounds

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Southwestern Randolph’s Jordin George shoots against Trinity’s Ava Nance on Monday night. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

ASHEBORO – Southwestern Randolph’s girls’ basketball team survived the only tight finish on the opening night of the Piedmont Athletic Conference postseason.

The Cougars prevailed 47-46 against visiting Trinity in the PAC Tournament quarterfinals Monday night. They needed a defensive stop on the game’s final possession.

Senior forward Maddie Small made the second of two free-throw chances to break a tie with 9.5 seconds left following an offensive rebound.

Jordin George posted 14 points for the third-seeded Cougars (18-7), who play in the semifinals Wednesday night at second-seeded Eastern Randolph.

For sixth-seeded Trinity (12-13), Kennedy Jackson racked up 16 points and Autumn Gentry and Kaelyn Whiteheart both had 13 points.

Eastern Randolph defeated seventh-seeded Providence Grove for the second time in five nights, winning 51-33 at home. Brecken Snotherly supplied 38 points and 15 rebounds for the Wildcats (16-6). Providence Grove is 6-18.

Fifth-seeded Uwharrie Charter Academy won 57-39 on the road against fourth-seeded Wheatmore (9-14).

UCA (11-14) has a date with regular-season champion Randleman (22-1), which received a bye, in the semifinals.

The girls’ tournament final is at 6 p.m. Friday at Eastern Randolph, where the boys’ final will follow.

PAC boys

Second-seeded Southwestern Randolph used Sean Adkins’ 14 points on the way to defeating seventh-seeded Wheatmore 58-38.

The Cougars (15-9), who also received 12 points from Landon Williamson and 11 points from Thomas Leal, are home against third-seeded Trinity on Wednesday night.

Wheatmore (5-18), which hasn’t won against a PAC opponent, had 12 points from Cooper Black.

Trinity’s Dominic Payne tallied 30 points in a 70-61 victory against visiting Providence Grove (7-18), the sixth seed. Dylan Hodges added 13 points and Brandon Campbell had 12 points for the Bulldogs (19-6).

There were big offensive outputs as fourth-seeded Randleman stopped fifth-seeded UCA 66-52. Tyshaun Goldston led the Tigers (15-10) with 28 points, Greg Price had 17 points and Christian Long added 14.

Those outings helped offset Ashton Troutman’s 35 points for UCA (7-18).

Randleman heads for Wednesday night’s semifinal at first-place Eastern Randolph, which had a quarterfinal bye.

SWR basketball Nathan Ellis vs ER 013123

Prep Basketball: PAC boys’ race extends to final games

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Southwestern Randolph’s Nathan Ellis goes up for a shot as Eastern Randolph players, left to right, Timothy Brower, Nicah Taylor, Davonte Brooks and Pierce Leonard look on. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

 

ASHEBORO – The big upset from last week came with Southwestern Randolph ending the Eastern Randolph boys’ basketball team’s winning streak at 19 games.

The Cougars won 75-66 at home, so that likely will keep the suspense in the Piedmont Athletic Conference going until the final night of the regular season.

Nathan Ellis led the way with 21 points, while teammates Thomas Leal (14 points), Sean Adkins (12), Kearns Trotter (11) and Landon Williamson (10) all scored in double figures.

Second-place Southwestern Randolph remained just a half-game out of first place by topping visiting Wheatmore 54-34 as Adkins posted 16 points Friday night.

Eastern Randolph hadn’t lost since its opener Dec. 2 at Southwest Guilford.

The Wildcats got back on track by winning 89-76 at Uwharrie Charter Academy on Friday night with a boost from Davonte Brooks’ 24 points (after he had 20 in the Southwestern Randolph game). Pierce Leonard, playing against his former school, tacked on 18 points and Timothy Brower had 17 points. These outputs helped overcome 41 points from UCA’s Ashton Troutman.

Eastern Randolph could secure the outright regular-season title by beating visiting Trinity, which remains in contention, on Tuesday night and host Providence Grove on Thursday night. Southwestern Randolph’s lone game this week was set for Tuesday night at UCA, while Trinity is also home vs. Randleman on Thursday night.

** Trinity played just once last week with Dominic Payne and Dylan Hodges each scoring 23 points in a 68-51 victory at Providence Grove.

** Despite 24 points from Tyshaun Goldston, Randleman fell 64-60 at UCA. The Tigers received 22 points from Christian Long in an 82-41 pounding of visiting Providence Grove.

** In the Mid-Piedmont Conference, Asheboro moved closer to clinching a title by defeating visiting Central Davidson 50-47 and topping host North Davidson 55-48. Hakeeme Butler’s 18 points and 20 points, respectively, those games paced the Blue Comets.

Eastern Randolph’s Logan Beaver launches a shot over Uwharrie Charter Academy’s Blakeley Justus last week. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

Girls’ basketball

Randleman secured the outright PAC championship by defeating host UCA 56-33 as Gracyn Hall tallied 20 points.

The Tigers then won their regular-season home finale by 63-27 against Providence Grove.

** Eastern Randolph won twice, including a 43-34 road victory against host Southwestern Randolph as Brecken Snotherly rolled up 25 points and 11 rebounds. That result avenged a loss from early January.

Next, Snotherly poured in 30 points in Eastern Randolph’s 61-34 victory against UCA. That gave the Wildcats a four-game winning streak entering this week.

Eastern Randolph clinched at least a share of second place in the PAC.

SWR girls Caressa King v Tville in tourney Dec2022

Davidson-Randolph Christmas Classic recap: Cougars surprise Randleman girls for tourney title

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Caressa King, the eventual tournament Most Valuable Player from Southwestern Randolph, goes up for a shot against Thomasville in the Davidson-Randolph Christmas Classic at Providence Grove. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

 

CLIMAX – Southwestern Randolph’s three-game sweep of girls’ basketball games in the Davidson-Randolph Christmas Classic was far from ordinary.

The Cougars knocked off previously undefeated Randleman 48-47 in Thursday night’s championship game.

Caressa King scored 19 points on the way to being named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Randleman (12-1) lost a regular-season game for the first time since the abbreviated season in the 2020-21 school year. It was also the Tigers’ first loss to a Randolph County team since that season.

Southwestern Randolph avenged a 55-41 home loss from Dec. 16 in the Piedmont Athletic Conference. The teams are slated to meet again Jan. 27 at Randleman.

Maddie Strider and Jordin George were all-tournament picks for the Cougars (10-3).

Southwestern Randolph defeated Thomasville 66-9 in the first round. Next, the Cougars topped South Davidson 52-41 in the semifinals, when Maddie Small had 14 points and George posted 11 points.

Gracyn Hall of Randleman also made the all-tournament team.

Randleman received a first-round bye and then defeated North Davidson 56-49 in the semifinals with Elizabeth York scoring 16 points and Hall adding 15.

Asheboro’s girls went 1-2 with losses to West Davidson (by 51-48) and Providence Grove (66-46) sandwiched around a rout of Thomasville (by 56-5). Providence Grove lost to North Davidson by 59-49 before a bye and then the Asheboro game.

** At Ledford, host Ledford won the title by defeating Davie County 46-37 in the final.

Kennedy Jackson of Trinity was picked for the all-tournament team.

Lexington defeated Trinity 60-54 in the third-place game. Trinity began the tournament with a 43-31 victory against West Davidson as Autumn Gentry had 18 points. Then the Bulldogs lost 69-31 to Davie County.

Wheatmore won its last two games for fifth place after an opening 50-39 loss to Davie County. The Warriors stopped West Davidson 56-41 with Rian Perry registering 21 points and blasted East Davidson 54-31 with Bri Hill providing 16 points.

Uwharrie Charter Academy managed seventh place by decking West Davidson 57-35 behind Chloe Painter’s 15 points. Earlier, the Eagles lost to Lexington by 58-28 and to East Davison by 49-45 despite Ashara Spuill’s 21 points.

Boys’ basketball

At Climax, Thomasville won the tournament’s Providence Grove site championship by defeating Asheboro 72-56 in the final behind the play of tournament MVP Bryce McCoy.

It was Thomasville’s second victory against the Blue Comets in a 10-night span.

Jerquarius Stanback of Asheboro and James Ellis of Providence Grove were all-tournament selections.

Asheboro had a first-round bye and then defeated Providence Grove 80-62 behind 19 points from Stanback and 16 points apiece from Tanner Marsh and Camden Walker.

Providence Grove opened with a 55-43 victory against North Davidson as Ellis poured in 19 points. Ellis had 13 points in the Asheboro game. The Patriots recovered to capture third place with a 79-54 whipping of South Davidson.

Randleman fell 55-50 to South Davidson in its tournament opener and then knocked off Southwestern Randolph 58-52 in the consolation round. Greg Price had 19 points as Randleman won the fifth-place game by 62-49 against North Davidson.

Southwestern Randolph began with a 58-38 loss to Thomasville. The Cougars played just twice because of the seven-team bracket.

** At Ledford, Davie County defeated Ledford 50-46 in the title game.

Dominic Payne and Dylan Hodges of third-place Trinity were all-tournament choices.

Hodges had 20 points when Trinity won its first tournament game with a 75-37 whipping of West Davidson. The Bulldogs fell 64-38 to Davie County despite Hodges’ 19 points.

Trinity finished the tournament by handling Uwharrie Charter Academy 74-28 with Dominic Payne pumping in 31 points and Hodges notching 14 points.

UCA won 69-67 in the first round against Lexington, with Ashton Troutman pouring in 34 points. Troutman had 27 points in a 55-49 semifinal loss to Ledford.

Wheatmore lost 69-48 to Davie County and then defeated West Davidson 50-48 as Tristan Hammonds hit a winning 3-point shot. In the fifth-place game, the Warriors suffered a 60-57 defeat to Lexington despite Riley Strickland’s 22 points.

Asheboro logo

Blue Comets enter win column, but Providence Grove suffers first loss

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TRINITY – Every team in Randolph County has at least one victory after Friday night’s results.

There also is no longer an undefeated team among the seven football-playing schools in the county.

Asheboro entered the win column by securing an 18-13 road victory at Wheatmore.

Asheboro’s Tony McRae tries to pull away from Wheatmore’s Levi Johnson during Friday night’s game. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

The Blue Comets (1-3) won for the first time since August 2021, snapping a 12-game losing streak.

Josh Meadows scored on a 2-yard run with about four minutes to play for the winning points.

Michael Brady scored a first-half touchdown for Asheboro. Kai Matthews ran 18 yards for the Blue Comets’ second touchdown.

Wheatmore is 1-4.

Ledford 42, Providence Grove 21: At Thomasville, visiting Providence Grove suffered its first loss, hurt by three turnovers in the non-conference game.

Zane Cheek scored three touchdowns for the Patriots (4-1). He gained 147 rushing yards on 26 carries.

The game was tied at 21-21 after three quarters. Ledford (5-0) went ahead on the third play of the fourth quarter.

Trinity 18, Carrboro 13: At Carrboro, Dominic Payne’s pass to Brandon Campbell gave the visiting Bulldogs the winning points in the non-league game.

Trinity (4-1) has won two games in a row. Carrboro fell to 2-3.

Southwestern Randolph 20, Albemarle 7: At Albemarle, Easton Clapp ran for two touchdowns and 194 yards in the non-league road victory.

The Cougars (3-1), who were shutout victims a week earlier, bounced back. Adam Cole also scored on a run. Albemarle (1-4) failed to post a double-figure point total for the third game this season.

North Stanly 40, Randleman 34: At Randleman, North Stanly used a strong fourth quarter and then held on after the Tigers threatened late, recovering an onside kick to help clinch the outcome in non-conference play.

Randleman quarterback Christian Long scored on three 1-yard runs and a 2-yard run. Amarion Moton, who finished with 114 rushing yards on 15 attempts, opened the scoring for the Tigers with a 12-yard run. Tyshaun Goldston racked up 133 receiving yards on seven catches.

Randleman held 14-point leads twice in the first half.

Both teams are 3-2.

SWR Grant Little v South Stanly

Prep football: Wildcats trounce Asheboro; Providence Grove, SWR cruise

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Southwestern Randolph’s Grant Little heads for a big gain against South Stanly on Friday night. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

RAMSEUR – Ervodd Cassady scored on four touchdown runs as Eastern Randolph bashed visiting Asheboro 69-7 in Friday night’s non-conference football game

The Wildcats improved to 1-1 to maintain dominance in the series under veteran coach Burton Cates.

Eastern Randolph scored 28 points in each of the first and second quarters to build a 56-0 lead by halftime. Stratton Barwick threw for two touchdowns and ran for another.

Nicah Taylor returned an interception for a touchdown, marking one of the three pick-offs for Eastern Randolph’s defense. He also made a touchdown reception.

Asheboro dropped to 0-2.

Providence Grove 42, Southern Guilford 0: At Climax, Andrew Canter threw two touchdown passes and Zane Cheek ran for two touchdowns for the host Patriots (2-0).

Providence Grove benefitted from six Southern Guilford turnovers. Brady Collins, Chase Whitaker, Zach Lohr and Karson Bowman had interceptions.

Lemuel Coltrane and JC Cruz caught touchdown passes. Zander Cheek and Whitaker also scored on touchdown runs.

Southern Guilford is 0-2.

Southwestern Randolph 49, South Stanly 13: At Norwood, Adam Cole scored four touchdowns and Easton Clapp threw for three scores and ran for two more as the Cougars won their road opener.

Cole scored on two receptions, a rushing play and a punt return. Sean Adkins caught the other touchdown throw from Clapp.

Clapp racked up 177 rushing yards and threw for 87 yards.

“Defensively, we did a great job flying around the ball,” Southwestern Randolph coach Seth Baxter said.

South Stanly fell to 0-2.

Central Davidson 46, Randleman 21: At Lexington, the visiting Tigers surrendered nearly 500 rushing yards in the setback.

Central Davidson (2-0) led 35-7 at halftime. Amarion Moton had a 12-yard touchdown run in the first quarter for Randleman (1-1), while Tyshaun Goldston caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Christian Long to open the second-half scoring. Long finished 13-for-21 for 201 yards with an interception. Goldston gained 60 yards on four carries.

Trinity 45, Forbush 21: At Trinity, the Bulldogs are 2-0 after topping visiting Forbush (1-1) behind a strong performance from Dylan Hodges.

Hodges had 216 return yards, 109 receiving yards and 75 rushing yards. Quarterback Dominic Payne ran for 154 yards and threw for 126.

East Davidson 41, Wheatmore 0: At Thomasville, the Warriors were blanked as their record dropped to 0-2. East Davidson is 1-1.

Asheboro HS soccer goalkeeper v SWR Aug2022

Prep Roundup: Cougars begin strong in volleyball: Blue Comets kick in gear in soccer

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Asheboro goalkeeper David Agudelo makes a stop against Southwestern Randolph’s Fernando Hernandez during last week’s game. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record).

Here’s how some area teams fared at the beginning of the new school year:

Volleyball

Reigning Class 2-A state champion Southwestern Randolph began the season with a sweep of host Asheboro in a non-conference match last Wednesday. The Cougars won 25-14, 25-15, 25-8.

Southwestern Randolph received 14 kills from Madelyn Smith, while Gracie Hodgin added nine kills and six aces. Raegan LeRoy provided 21 assists and four digs.

Ellen Long of Asheboro spikes the ball against Trinity’s Karrington Batten during last week’s season-opening match won by Asheboro at North Asheboro Middle School. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

The Cougars capped the week by playing in a two-day tournament at East Chapel Hill.

Southwestern Randolph began with a five-set victory against Western Guilford. The Cougars followed that by losing to Carrboro in four sets and then churning out four-set victories against East Chapel Hill and Southern Alamance.

Boys’ soccer

Southwestern Randolph won in its opener under coach Jimmy Walker, who returned to that role after a hiatus of several seasons.

The start of the season for the Cougars was delayed one day because of a postponement before they defeated host Central Davidson 3-2.

Asheboro turned in a 3-0 week by winning games on three consecutive nights. The Blue Comets defeated Trinity 6-0, Southwestern Randolph 8-1 and Jordan-Matthews 2-1.

In those games, Cristian Cruz recorded three goals and four assists, while Cristian Ortiz racked up four goals and one assist. Diego Bustamonte had two goals in the opener and an assist in the third game. Daniel Gutierrez notched two goals.

Girls’ golf

Asheboro had a couple of notable events, including an under-par score for one of its golfers in the season opener.

Salem Lee posted a 1-under-par 35 in a match against Union Pines and Oak Grove at Country Club of Whispering Pines’ River Course.

On the next day, the Blue Comets were the host team for a seven-team invitational at Pinewood Country Club. This 18-hole competition was dubbed by Asheboro coach Heather Norris as one of the top girls’ golf events in the state based on the field.

Lee shot 4-over 76 to finish in eighth place. Asheboro placed sixth in the team competition.

Cross country

At Thomasville, Wheatmore’s boys finished last among five teams in East Davidson’s Bobby Schilly Invitational despite a strong performance from junior Zach Hazelwood.

Hazelwood posted a personal-best time of 17 minutes, 33 seconds across the 3.1-mile course to place third. The winner was Ethan Byerly of South Davidson in 17:31.

On the girls’ side, Wheatmore was last among four scoring teams. Olivia Hildreth placed 14th in 24:20. Asheboro Hybrid Academy entrants McKenna Voncannon (23:08, 7th) and Arabella Shortridge (24:03, 12th) were in the top 12.

SWR Easton Clapp vs ER in 2021

Southwestern Randolph Cougars find more roles for Clapp

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Even in a new position, Easton Clapp should have ample chances to carry the ball for Southwestern Randolph. (File photo)

After record season, Southwestern Randolph seeks to keep it going

ASHEBORO – Trying to follow the best season in school history, Southwestern Randolph has moved one of its best players to another position.

Makes good sense to the Cougars.

They enter this season with Easton Clapp, the hard-running ball carrier, taking snaps at quarterback.

Don’t worry, his mentality hasn’t changed.

“I knew I was going to have to play quarterback this year,” said Clapp, who had been a running back. “I like it. But I also like running the ball, too. Running over people, I like that.”

Most of all, Southwestern Randolph liked many of the results a year ago. The Cougars produced an 8-3 mark, setting a school record for wins and playing a home game in the state playoffs for the first time.

“I think we just need to keep practicing hard, keep our heads focused,” tight end and backup defensive end Eli Gravely said. “Our confidence is very high this year.”

Part of that comes because despite quarterback Keaton Reed gone via graduation, there’s plenty to be excited about.

Record-setting slot back Adam Cole figures to be a huge part of the offense and defensive secondary.

Easton Clapp will handle quarterback duties this season for Southwestern Randolph. (Bob Sutton/Randolph Record)

Clapp, who’s up 20 pounds from a year ago to 185, will have the ball in his hands regularly as the quarterback. He has played that position since middle school.

“Easton had done that before,” coach Seth Baxter said. “In our scheme, our quarterback runs the ball anyway.”

His teammates endorse the move.

“He can make things happen,” Gravely said of Clapp.

“He’s got a cannon,” Cole said. “Almost as shifty as Keaton.”

Clapp likes to emphasize the rushing part.

“I’m going to be running the rock,” he said. “Adam will be running the rock. We’re going to have a strong running game.”

Along with Cole, there’s Colton Law as a receiver or slotback and a couple of newcomers at the skill spots with basketball players Sean Adkins and Marcus Robertson joining the team.

“Skill-wise, as a collective group, it’s the best we’ve had,” Baxter said.

The Cougars might look thinner along the line of scrimmage. Two-way lineman Jake Gallimore and sophomore Jose Flores could make those units sturdier.

For seniors such as Cole and Clapp who helped the program take steps toward prominence, now is no time to backtrack.

“We’ve also gained a lot of key guys,” Cole said. “They’re really stepping it up. We’ve got talent. Everybody thinks we lost everything and underestimates us, but we’re going to have a good season this year. We’re going to be a tough matchup for everybody. I don’t think anybody really knows what we have this year.”

Clapp also will be in a role as a linebacker by the time PAC games arrive on the schedule.

With 70 players in the program, Baxter said there’s a good trend with the Cougars.

“Success brings confidence and confidence brings success,” he said. “They expect to be successful. They understand now people know who they are.”

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