PEMBROKE — Playing against top-notch talent is nothing new for this year’s Purnell Swett team, with seniors having faced off with some of the best in the area and the state the last few seasons.
The season-opening opponent is the same caliber as Purnell Swett begins the season at home against Pine Forest with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. The Trojans fell victim to Scotland in the East Regional finals to end their season last year and return a large portion of their playmakers.
“We just want to get that first one under our belt and have a good showing,” Purnell Swett interim coach Robbie Brown said. “They are run-heavy and have a lot of outside stuff because they’ve got guys that can run. They throw when they need to, but they make it count when they do. It complements their running game.”
Purnell Swett missed out on the playoffs last season after earning a bid in 2017. That playoff season, the current seniors were sophomores with limited roles, and now want to start their final prep football season on the right foot.
The senior-laden defense faces a tough task on Friday in trying to slow down UNC commit D.J. Jones at running back for Pine Forest. Jones posted nearly 1,200 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns on the ground, as well as 307 yards and five touchdowns through the air.
“We’re going to have to contain on the outside. If he gets outside, we are going to be some trouble,” senior defensive end Austin Chavis said. “If we force him inside, the backers should be to make the play. He’s fast.”
Brown compares the Rams’ offense to Pine Forest’s as it finds ways to get its top offensive threats the ball in space. Jones will be the primary benefactor of that system.
“They’re tailoring the offense around him to get him in holes that he can use his talent to get yardage and score,” Brown said. “We have to play assignment football, go where we are supposed to go and fit what gap we are supposed to fit and tackle.”
Pine Forest has turnover at quarterbacks, but five of the top six receivers from last year returns, as well as its top tackler in senior linebacker Bernard Flerlage coming off a 100-plus tackle season in 2018.
That defense will go against the Rams’ seasoned backfield, led by senior quarterback Micah Carter, and a pair of junior running backs P.J. Christian and Zeke Snell.
“I want to see us be consistent on both sides of the ball. I want to see us move the ball well on offense, to throw it and run it to get a balanced offense,” Brown said. “I want to set the edge on defense against those jet sweeps and not let them get outside on us.”
Last year, Pine Forest topped Purnell Swett 35-14 in Fayetteville.
“We beat them two years ago here and lost to them last year there, so it’s kind of like a seesaw with them since I’ve been there,” Brown said. “Nothing against Pine Forest, but it doesn’t get any easier after this.”
Red Springs at North Johnston
The Red Devils open the season on the road in Kenly against North Johnston, a team coming off a 3-8 season that included no home wins for the Panthers.
Both teams have a veteran presence with Red Springs’ roster full of two- and three-year starters taking on the Panthers that return their leading passer and rusher from a year ago. The backfield of quarterback Camden Aycock and Cameron Privitte accounted for 20 of the 22 offensive touchdowns last year, with Aycock passing for 10 and rushing for 14, and Privitte adding six others on the ground.
Privitte rushed for 1,027 yards and Aycock threw for 1,004 yards in 2018, but the leading returning receiver for North Johnston had three catches last year.
Red Springs had to reload in the trenches, but most of its skill positions return, as well as the back two layers of its defense. Friday’s game will also be the first football game that running back Lee McLean will participate in since the end of the 2017 season.
St. Pauls at North Edgecombe
The Bulldogs take the longest trip of any team in the county in the opening week going to the football hotbed of Edgecombe County. Taking on a North Edgecombe team that went two rounds deep in the 1A state playoffs a year ago, St. Pauls will be tested by a balanced offense based around a wishbone power run scheme. Leading the group of Warriors returning is Devonte Barnes, a three-year starter in the backfield. Barnes had over 1,500 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns last season, and with a wealth of receivers the Warriors will go vertical at times.
St. Pauls’ offense takes on a defense that surrendered more than 25 points a game to opponents last season. Along with the rushing attack of Marqueise Coleman, the Bulldogs will look to stretch the field with is long and experienced receiving corps.
Fairmont at Forest Hills
After pass protecting for Corey Smith during his time as a UNCP offensive lineman, Fairmont coach Kevin Inman will be across the field from his college quarterback when the Golden Tornadoes go to Forest Hills to open the season. Smith enters his fourth season with the Yellow Jackets, and is coming off back-to-back three-win seasons.
The Yellow Jackets have massive turnover on offense to work through with its leading passer, rusher and top two receivers graduating. On defense however, the group returns several of its leading tacklers from a season ago.
Fairmont is working with new personnel this season as well with many South Robeson players joining the team late in the summer and earning starting positions on both sides of the ball to mesh with an experienced group of Golden Tornadoes that return.
