WS Chronicle

Above: Glenn High School JV football coach Steve Herring (Photo by Craig T. Greenlee)

After starting the season in rapid-fire fashion with three consecutive wins, Glenn’s JV has gone in reverse and hasn’t been a pretty sight. The Bobcats have lost five games in a row.

“It’s not that we’re getting blown out,” said first-year coach Steve Herring of Glenn. “We just haven’t made enough plays on offense and defense to win ball games.”

That’s precisely what happened in Glenn’s most recent outing – which ended in a 28-18 loss to Northwest Guilford last week. Down by nine points in the fourth quarter, Jaden Sutton of the Bobcats scored on a 12-yard run to trim the Vikings lead to 21-18 with seven minutes left to play. Northwest Guilford responded with a time-consuming scoring drive, which put the game out of reach.

Glenn (3-5) got the ball back with only 55 seconds left to play. “Once we scored and were down by just three, we needed a stop to give ourselves a chance to win,” said Herring. “We didn’t get the stop and they kept the ball for almost five minutes. By the time our offense gets back on the field, it just wasn’t enough time for us to overcome a 10-point lead.”

A rash of injuries to key personnel hasn’t helped Glenn any. Over the course of the season, the Bobcats have had several starters who have been sidelined for varying lengths of time. In the meantime, Herring has been forced to move several players to different positions.

In the process, the offense has gone through a transformation. Earlier in the year, the passing game was an integral part of the attack. Because of the shortage of healthy bodies, Sutton (kick return specialist) and Tahliek Garnes (cornerback) have stepped up as the Bobcats primary ball carriers.

Over the past two weeks, Tavis Garlington has established himself as the starter at quarterback after being the back up for most of the season. Even though the Bobcats have become a run-first offense, Garlington has a talented group of receivers to work with in Jaquan Sanders, Jordan Ivester, Joshua Cranford and Christen Wilson.

“Tavis has had the hot hand lately,” said Herring. “Not only is he playing within the system, but he’s getting the ball out quickly and he’s getting better at reading the defense. But most importantly, he has avoided throwing interceptions and that’s been a huge help.”

The defense, which has carried Glenn all season, has endured some trying times. Due to the team’s problems with turnovers and the inability to sustain scoring drives, the Bobcats tend to wear down, especially in the fourth quarter. Even so, this unit has gotten stellar play from Alpascal Reaves, James McIntyre and Kalill Rogers, who split time between playing on the line and outside linebacker.

With two games left on the schedule (at home against High Point Central tonight and next week at Ragsdale), Herring is confident that Glenn can rediscover its collective groove. “It’s been a while since we’ve been able to put it all together from start to finish,” Herring said. “We’ll play two or three good quarters, but that’s just not good enough for us to get over the hump.

“We’re looking to end this skid and finish up on a positive note. We have some good times and some frustrating times. This team doesn’t always execute the way it should. Whether we win or lose, there’s one thing I can promise you about this group. Every one of our guys goes out and gives it all they have for 48 minutes.”