Football practice going well

Football practice going well

By: Shirley Shuman
Of the 56 young men out for Eagles football, 38 are freshmen and sophomores, but that doesn’t worry head coach Sterling Beane. “We only have eight seniors,” Coach Beane stated, “but all eight are football players who will contribute to the team. The same holds true for our ten juniors so we have 18 experienced young men ready to play football.”
Beane continued to explain that some of the sophomores “can help, too.” He said, “A few sophomores may be starters, and we’ll be able to use several to give breaks to the starters without disrupting the pattern of our game.” Overall, he noted, “The team is a lot stronger than it was last year.”
One big difference that the coach sees between last year’s squad and this team is whole-team speed. “We have good team speed,” he said. “Since the first of March, we’ve worked on drills to improve the running, and I can see a lot of improvement.”
Another plus for the Eagles came with summer weightlifting. “We had a big percentage of the the sophomores and the seniors who came out everyday along with some from the other two classes,” Coach Beane explained, adding “Our summer weightlifting program was as good as any we’ve ever had, and the three-week practice went really well.” Looking at the whole picture, the coach feels, “Everything is looking much more positive.”
Asked about the heat, Beane agreed “The heat has been tough,” but he explained, “The kids seem to be in fairly good shape. After the first day, which was pretty bad, they stepped up and met the challenge. The point is, we have from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. for football practice, and we need to use that time as well as we can. I think the boys all understand that.”
The players donned pads Friday and Monday for non-contact work and began actual contact today.
The first scrimmage is at 10 a.m. at Liberty in Clarksburg on Saturday, Aug. 12.
On Aug. 19, Braxton will scrimmage Sissonville at 5 p.m. and Herbert Hoover at 6 p.m. at Herbert Hoover.
The season opens at home on August 26, when the Eagles will take on Lincoln. Come out and support the team.

Golf team has new coach

“We have eight golfers, and all but one are experienced,” first-year golf coach Josh Lunceford commented. Lunceford, who helped coach freshman basketball at the high school for two seasons, feels that his team will show definite improvement over last year. “I see us winning some matches. With a little guidance, the scores should come down,” he said.
Team experience comes from seniors L. J. Atkins and Kyle Ware, along with juniors D.C. Conant, Chase Duffield, John Facemire, Cody Hoover, and Ryan Rexroad. The lone newcomer is junior Kevin Skinner.
Braxton’s first match, played against Williamstown and Wirt at the Golf Club of West Virginia in Waverly, “didn’t go so well,” Coach Lunceford commented. He added, “I was missing two of my top five golfers.” The Eagles will face Wirt again on Friday.
Coach Lunceford, a Sissonville High School graduate, played college golf at Glenville State College. He works at Central Regional Jail and is also a substitute teacher.
Although the season has just begun, Lunceford has several individuals and business to thank. He explained that he definitely appreciates the help of Dave Heater of the Mountaintop Driving Range, Michael Motors, Nicholas County Golf Course, Sandy Brae Golf Course, and the parents.
“We depend on the parents for transportation,” he commented. Since the team has no home course, the problem of transportation could be a big one.