By CHRIS HOBBS
HobbsDailyReport.com
RAMSEY
West Caldwell High is learning the value of steady, experienced and dedicated assistant football coaches first-hand.
The Warriors’ new head coach, Devore Holman, has been away due to some complications related to a knee injury and associate head coach Neil Ramsey is guiding the ship (a story about the game posted earlier has been updated).
“Coach Ramsey has coached these kids (the seniors) since they were in the third grade,” West Caldwell athletic director Stephen McMasters said Sunday, two days after the Warriors opened the season with a 35-0 road win over East Burke. “It’s been a challenge for the kids… not having their head coach made it tough.
“But the community has rallied around it (the situation). Everybody had to pull together and step it up.”
McMasters said Holman — who was named a West assistant for July’s East-West games in Greensboro before taking the West Caldwell job — injured his knee while doing instruction drills with the players.
Holman was still in a Caldwell County hospital over the weekend and his injured knee has been swollen. He has been able to attend two practices since the season began, McMasters said.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” McMasters said.
The Warriors (1-0) are at home against Caldwell County rival Hibriten (1-0) at 7:30 p.m., and – at most – Holman might be another set of eyes in the pressbox, McMasters said.
“Our hopes are he can at least physically be present at Friday’s game,” McMasters said.
Hibriten has a 14-game win streak in the series, winning its last seven trips to West Caldwell. The Warriors’ last wins in the series came in 2000 (28-25 at Hibriten) and 2001 (26-17 at West Caldwell).
Red Tornadoes’ Phillips clears 4,000
Hickory quarterback Derrien Phillips cleared 4,000 passing yards and became the Red Tornadoes all-time leading passer on Friday against Statesville.
Although Statesville prevailed 27-26 in overtime, Phillips unofficially threw for 157 yards to clear 4K.
How much yardage he actually needed is unclear. Published reports said he needed 81 yards but HobbsDailyReport.com records had Phillips only 30 passing yards short of the mark going into the season opener.
In unofficial totals, Phillips threw for 81 yards as a freshman, 2,213 yards as a sophomore and 1,676 yards as a junior. He had 49 career touchdown throws.
He also cleared 5,000 yards of total offense with his yardage against the Greyhounds (5,073).
Behind center for a fourth straight season, Phillips is the first quarterback to play three or more seasons at HHS since Cole Kenworthy (2000-02).
Unofficially, Tim Swanson threw for 3,662 yards and 41 TDs in 1998 and 1999 while Kenworthy threw for 3,611 yards and 36 TDs as a three-year starter (see list). Kyle Johnson had 3,017 passing yards and 26 TDs in 2010 and 2011.
All of the other quarterbacks in the previous 15 seasons started for two seasons, and two quarterbacks who probably would have had a chance at school records for career passing transferred.
Ja’Quan Crawford had 2,513 yards and 24 TD passes in 2013 and 2014 before starting as a senior at Freedom, finishing at 3,516 yards with 31 TDs for his career.
After throwing for 855 yards and four TDs as a freshman starter at St. Stephens, Matt Williams was HHS’ starting quarterback in 2012 (1,588 yards, 12 TDs).
Williams, who signed to play at East Tennessee State, played his final two seasons at Fred T. Foard and ended up with 4,524 career passing yards and 35 TDs.
Hickory (0-1) is idle this week and is at home on Aug. 24 against Newton-Conover.
Panthers’ Eakin injured
Patton’s top rusher and passer from last season, Joe Eakin, left Friday’s game against Hunter Huss with an injury and the visiting Huskies beat the Panthers 49-20.
Eakin had rushed seven times for 78 yards and completed a pass for nine yards when he left the game.
Ty Causby is Patton’s backup quarterback.
Eakin had an explosive junior year, rushing for 2,104 yards and 29 TDs in 12 games (he missed a game with an injury) and completing 18 passes for 259 yards and no TDs.
Patton (0-1), which won eight games last season, is at home Friday at 7:30 p.m to face R-S Central 1-0).
THE RED TORNADOES’ ARMS
A look at the unofficial passing totals for Hickory High quarterbacks who started at least two seasons since the 1997 season (all totals are unofficial):
Player Years Yds. TDs
*Derrien Phillips 2015-2017 4,127 49
Tim Swanson 1998-99 3,662 41
Cole Kenworthy 2000-02 3,611 36
Kyle Johnson 2010-11 3,017 26
Kevin Shelton 2007-08 2,528 26
Ja’Quan Crawford 2013-14 2,513 24
Patrick Shelton 2004-05 2,097 17
*active, also played in one varsity game in 2014.
Note: Matt Williams was the 2012 starter before transferring to Fred T. Foard for his last two seasons… single-season starters since 1998 were Chris Rogers (2003) and Jordan Wilson (2006).
SOURCE: HobbsDailyReport.com files