Cumberland Times-News
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CUMBERLAND — The Bishop Walsh Spartans host the Moorefield Yellow Jackets today, 1:30 p.m., at Brother Stephen F. Paul Spartan Stadium in the season-opener for both teams.
Both teams are coming off their second-straight winning seasons under third-year head coaches, the Spartans going 6-4 last season after opening 9-1 under Mike Page, and the Yellow Jackets going 7-4 both seasons under head man Josh See.
The Spartans are relying on an overall younger roster to extend the winning-season streak to three, while the Yellow Jackets are hoping a more intensive weight-training offseason and an experienced backfield can help carry them to their second straight Potomac Valley Conference title and to their third straight appearance in the West Virginia Class A playoffs.
“I think right now our backfield, our skill kids, are the best we’ve had since I’ve been the head coach,” said See. “It’s been better in the past, but this is the best I’ve had. It’s the most experience for sure, by far.
“I think we’ll win a couple of games just on having some of those skill kids back. The offensive line is a big part of it, of course, but these guys are big and strong and have game-changing capabilities. They can break runs, make big catches and big plays downfield.”
Senior Tanner Sherman will start the season at quarterback, while junior Louis Richardson is the fullback. The tailback is senior Brandon Cassell, the lone four-year starter on the team. He saw some action at wingback last season, but See is confident he can make the successful transition to tailback. This year’s wingback will be junior Zack Laughlin, who’s proven he can catch the ball with 12 interceptions last season as a sophomore.
Page has only five players who saw action as starters last season and only two of the projected starters are seniors.
“We have some very good players in the skill positions and that should be our strength,” said Page. “But we are very young, and I really don’t know what to expect. We’ll just have to go out and take it one play and one game at a time and see what happens.”
Heading the list of returnees is first-team Times-News All-Area wide receiver Quincy Redmon. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound sophomore had 26 receptions for 360 yards and a 13.8 average as a freshman. Seven of his catches went for touchdowns.
Greg Hendershot, a 6-1, 190-pound junior, moved in as the starting quarterback midway through the season and completed 35-of-67 passes (52.2 percent) for 479 yards. Four of his passes went for touchdowns and he only had two intercepted.
Redmon made his Bishop Walsh debut memorable last season in leading the Spartans to a 16-13 win at Moorefield as he caught two touchdown passes and was one of the Spartans’ top defensive players with his punting. Redmon caught four passes for 63 yards.
