Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 2, 1993 TAG: 9308310318
SECTION: NEW RIVER VALLEY PREP FOOTBALL PAGE: PF-22 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BRIAN DeVIDO STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RINER LENGTH: Medium
As a high school and college football player, Wright earned postseason honors as an offensive lineman despite playing underweight.
He was first-team All-Timesland in 1975 as a senior center for Blacksburg High School. In 1979, he was second-team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference as an offensive guard for Emory & Henry College. Of course, all of this was done while tipping the scales at a gargantuan weight.
"I weighed a whopping 185 pounds," Wright said with a grin.
The same challenge awaits the Group A Mountain Empire District school he's coaching for the first year. Auburn's offensive and defensive lines average 170 pounds. But that's not the only number Auburn lacks. There's also a shortage of players - only 23 on the squad.
"We have enough in practice to have 11-on-11, and one sub," Wright said. "We're going to have to stay healthy. We're depending on a lot of kids to go both ways."
The trick this year is to make the most with the limited size and number of players on the team. Wright said that fits in fine with his coaching philosophy, which he fine-tuned while a head junior-varsity coach at Christiansburg High School. In his last three years, he posted a 15-9-1 record, which included two New River District junior-varsity titles.
"I want to use quickness, speed and deception," he said. "I want to carry out fakes and be unpredictable. We're not going to try to run over people. I'm a risk taker."
The offense will run a pro-set, different from the I-formation that Wright used most of the time while at Christiansburg.
"We had a good blocking back at Christiansburg," he said. "This team has some quicker backs, so we'll take advantage of that with our pro set."
The offense will be led by senior quarterback Danny Dickerson, who passed for 900 yards in eight games last year. He also was one of the top punters in the New River Valley.
"He's going to possibly run some option," Wright said. "At Christiansburg, we used the quarterback to run quite a bit. We expect Danny to be not only a threat to pass, but a threat to run."
Senior wide receiver V.J. Lumia, an All-Mountain Empire District Selection last year, is back. He caught for nearly 400 yards last year.
Sophomore running back David Hughes likely will be one of two starters in the offensive backfield. "He doesn't know but one speed, and that's full speed," Wright said. Junior Bobby Bonds is the other likely starting running back.
Leading the offensive line is senior tight end Randy Bonds, who at 6-4, 240 pounds, is by far the team's biggest lineman. He'll be a receiving threat as well and will start at defensive tackle, too. Junior offensive guard Mike Stiles, who moved from last year's fullback position, also will see time as a linebacker.
The Eagles will play a 5-2 monster defense, which concentrates on stopping the run. That should help in the run-happy Mountain Empire District. Lumia, Bonds and Stiles head up what should be a strong secondary, but the lack of size on his squad will force Wright to try a variety of things.
"We're going to try to do stunts," he said. "We'll be an attack-type defense. We may have to take some risks."
by CNB