THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 28, 1994 TAG: 9408250173
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: I08 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Football Special '94
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
Find a high school team that can control the ball on offense and stop people on defense and you'll also find one happy head coach.
There aren't too many coaches happier than Deep Creek's Jerry Carter these days.
The Hornets enter the season with perhaps the area's most versatile corps of running backs and an experienced offensive line.
On defense, a traditional Deep Creek strength, the Hornets appear poised for another season of holding opponents to 10 or fewer points a game.
If Deep Creek played in another district, the Hornets would be a no-brainer as the favorite. It's not that easy in the powerful Southeastern. But with a group like this, Carter's looking forward to taking his chances.
``We're a lot farther along than we were at this time last year,'' Carter said of the Hornets, who finished with a 7-3 mark last year. ``We've got a lot of kids back who know what they're doing.''
Much of the cause for Carter's optimism stems from the Hornets' posse of quality running backs.
For power, the Hornets can unleash 230-pound junior Deon Dyer, who if healthy could be the area's best runner between the tackles. Dyer will be backed up by 245-pound Dumeka Haskett.
And for getting around the corners, the Hornets can rely on seniors Lawrence Claiborne (151 yards in limited carries last year) and Cedric Williams, who closed with a flourish by racking up 217 yards in the season finale against Western Branch.
Dyer is the key. His inability to stay healthy played a significant role in the Hornets' disappointing fade after a 4-0 start. An ankle injury caused the big fullback to miss three games, and he played sparingly in two others.
Dyer ran track in the spring and spent the summer rehabilitating the ankle, and according to Carter, is 100 percent. That's important news for Hornet fans, because to succeed in a league as tough as the Southeastern, Deep Creek will need Deon to be ``Prime Time'' all the time.
A smallish but veteran offensive line will be springing these backs, led by Bryan Wingate (210 pounds), Chris Little (240), Zollie Russell (205), Dontrel Parker and Tiernan Hughes (230).
Carter said the Hornets will run between 60-70 percent of the time. Whether that percentage is on the high or low end depends on the development of sophomore quarterbacks Chad Sorrell and Arnie Powell, who will take over for the departed Keion Smith.
Carter is high on both, particularly Powell, who he called ``as good a young quarterback as we've ever had.'' Powell attempted only nine passes a year ago as Smith's back-up.
The young quarterbacks will benefit from the presence of tight end Kendall Watson, the team's leading receiver from a year ago, and newcomer Shelton Davis, a wide receiver best known as a member of Deep Creek's basketball team.
``We're not going to be just a ground-it-out team,'' Carter said.
The Hornets lost a few more key players on defense, but will figure to have a quick, ball-hawking unit typical of past Deep Creek squads. Vernon Boone, Marquis Hicks and Kenny Manning spearhead the defensive front, while Haskett should be a stalwart at linebacker.
The secondary should be the defense's strong suit, with returners Tory Wilson, Deodus Harrell and Darryl Huskey. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by L. TODD SPENCER
Jason Waters, left, will continue to be a stopper in Deep Creek's
defensive scheme this season.
Photos
Deon Dyer
Dangerous if he's healthy
Chris Little
Moving people off line
Torrey Wilson
Cog in strong secondary
Head coach Jerry Carter
Cedric Williams
L. Claiborne
Chart
AT A GLANCE
Includes:
1994 Schedule
Team data
1993 Results
Year by year
For copy of chart, see microfilm
by CNB