By Tom Ham
Senior Staff Writer WILSON DAILY TIMES
In a season of precedents, the Community Christian School eight-player football team seeks still another when it plays host to Halifax Academy on Friday night in the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A semifinals.
Game time is 7 p.m. Admission will be $10 for students and adults.
The Cyclones of third-year head coach Andy Jackson have clinched their first winning season and the six wins to date is a record.
Next, CCS bids for its first playoff win after losing in the semifinals last season and finishing with a 5-6 record. The Cyclones did not a win a game their first varsity year that followed two years of junior varsity competition.
Both CCS, the No. 2 seed, and No. 3 Halifax enter with 6-4 records. The teams will be colliding for the second straight week. The Cyclones celebrated Homecoming with a 36-30 victory last week.
Friday night’s other semifinal matches No. 1 Bethel Christian of Kinston against No. 4 Wayne Christian.
The NCISAA 1-A ranks number seven schools and the top four advance into the playoffs.
“We had the exact same situation last year, but we lost to Southampton (Virginia) Academy,” Jackson explained. “We thought we had enough talent to be here, and we are excited to be able to make a run. As you can tell by last week’s score, it’s definitely not going to be easy.”
The Cyclones prevailed last week when junior tailback Avery Winstead tossed a touchdown pass to senior quarterback Grant Webb with slightly over three minutes left. Halifax then drove inside CCS’s 20-yard line before being stopped on downs the waning seconds.
“It’s challenging,” Jackson expressed. “They’re going to fix what they did wrong and we’re going to try to fix what we did wrong. By getting the win, we should have confidence. But they were playing their third game in eight days, and they should feel better about being back to a normal week.”
The Cyclones will start Webb at quarterback, Winstead at tailback, junior Emmanuel Lassiter at fullback-slotback, junior Mason Neal at center, juniors Matt Harris and Javen Pender at guards and junior Austin Conway and sophomore Chandler Conway at tight ends.
The defensive alignment lists Winstead and sophomore Jordan Allen at ends, Webb and Lassiter at linebackers, Austin Conway and senior Zyyarye Williams at tackles, and juniors Bryson Scott and Dominique Evans at cornerbacks.
Completing the roster are seniors Bobby Webb and Jarrett Benton, junior Trent Allen, sophomores Jordan Tyner, Dylan Manning and Barry Radford and the injured duo of junior Dylan Neal and sophomore Josh Hollandsworth.
Winstead has rushed for 1,232 yards and 13 touchdowns. Webb has piled up 754 rushing yards and 14 TDs, while passing for 1,010 yards and 12 TDs. Lassiter has amassed 426 rushing yards.
Leading receivers are Evans with 367 yards, Austin Conway with 242 yards and seven TDs and Scott with 192 yards.
In last week’s win, the Cyclones overcame interceptions their first two possessions. Critical, said Jackson, are avoiding turnovers and defending Halifax’s screen passes.
“We’ve got weapons,” Jackson declared. “I feel like we can score more.”
Senior Staff Writer WILSON DAILY TIMES
In a season of precedents, the Community Christian School eight-player football team seeks still another when it plays host to Halifax Academy on Friday night in the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A semifinals.
Game time is 7 p.m. Admission will be $10 for students and adults.
The Cyclones of third-year head coach Andy Jackson have clinched their first winning season and the six wins to date is a record.
Next, CCS bids for its first playoff win after losing in the semifinals last season and finishing with a 5-6 record. The Cyclones did not a win a game their first varsity year that followed two years of junior varsity competition.
Both CCS, the No. 2 seed, and No. 3 Halifax enter with 6-4 records. The teams will be colliding for the second straight week. The Cyclones celebrated Homecoming with a 36-30 victory last week.
Friday night’s other semifinal matches No. 1 Bethel Christian of Kinston against No. 4 Wayne Christian.
The NCISAA 1-A ranks number seven schools and the top four advance into the playoffs.
“We had the exact same situation last year, but we lost to Southampton (Virginia) Academy,” Jackson explained. “We thought we had enough talent to be here, and we are excited to be able to make a run. As you can tell by last week’s score, it’s definitely not going to be easy.”
The Cyclones prevailed last week when junior tailback Avery Winstead tossed a touchdown pass to senior quarterback Grant Webb with slightly over three minutes left. Halifax then drove inside CCS’s 20-yard line before being stopped on downs the waning seconds.
“It’s challenging,” Jackson expressed. “They’re going to fix what they did wrong and we’re going to try to fix what we did wrong. By getting the win, we should have confidence. But they were playing their third game in eight days, and they should feel better about being back to a normal week.”
The Cyclones will start Webb at quarterback, Winstead at tailback, junior Emmanuel Lassiter at fullback-slotback, junior Mason Neal at center, juniors Matt Harris and Javen Pender at guards and junior Austin Conway and sophomore Chandler Conway at tight ends.
The defensive alignment lists Winstead and sophomore Jordan Allen at ends, Webb and Lassiter at linebackers, Austin Conway and senior Zyyarye Williams at tackles, and juniors Bryson Scott and Dominique Evans at cornerbacks.
Completing the roster are seniors Bobby Webb and Jarrett Benton, junior Trent Allen, sophomores Jordan Tyner, Dylan Manning and Barry Radford and the injured duo of junior Dylan Neal and sophomore Josh Hollandsworth.
Winstead has rushed for 1,232 yards and 13 touchdowns. Webb has piled up 754 rushing yards and 14 TDs, while passing for 1,010 yards and 12 TDs. Lassiter has amassed 426 rushing yards.
Leading receivers are Evans with 367 yards, Austin Conway with 242 yards and seven TDs and Scott with 192 yards.
In last week’s win, the Cyclones overcame interceptions their first two possessions. Critical, said Jackson, are avoiding turnovers and defending Halifax’s screen passes.
“We’ve got weapons,” Jackson declared. “I feel like we can score more.”
