WS Chronicle

BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY 

THE CHRONICLE

The Atkins Camels Junior Varsity football team looks to bounce back from last week’s loss to West Wilkes as they take on North Surry High in tonight’s (Sept. 15) matchup.  North Surry is hoping to continue their winning ways as they defeated Mt. Airy last week bringing their record to 3-1. Atkins is seeking their first victory of the year.

Camels JV head coach David Hamlin said he thinks his team has played well for the most part and their mistakes have hurt them but they are fixable.

When speaking about tonight’s game, he said, “I think that they will compete for the most part.  We have a lot of first time players and they listen very well and continue to get an understanding.”

North Surry head coach Tyler Hyatt has been impressed with the tenacity of his players and says his team is playing the best football of the season right now.  He says their performance against Mt. Airy, their county rival, was a very big and will set them up nicely for conference play.

“The main thing is we want to build off of our last game.  If we can put four quarters together I think that we can be a strong team,” says Hyatt.  “I don’t know what Atkins has coming back but last year was a nail biter and I expect a good game.  We have to continue to build off of our last game and I was pretty pleased with their play.”

Hyatt says there are a few players that have played very well this year and made an impact on the team.  Quarterback Chase Swartz, running back Chandler Hawks, offensive lineman Noah Holder and outside linebacker Kaleb Hunter are just a few players he spoke about.

Atkins has only played one game thus far this season and the game against Glenn High will be made up on Oct. 26. Hamlin says that alignments, responsibilities and knowing the plays are areas of improvement for his team.  He said game experience will eventually bring that to them.

Hyatt says some areas of concern for his team are being able to put four quarters together and eliminating penalties.

“The main thing is to get better at what we do.  We make adjustments to each team and we run our defense. We have to go out and have a good week of practice and get ready to finish up before conference play starts,” Hyatt continued.

Hyatt says he knows they have some tough opponents in conference play but says the championship is “up for grabs.”  He thinks if his players stay healthy, they have a great chance to compete for the championship.