GRANITE QUARRY— Forget about Mustang Mania at East Rowan. It’s Hambone Mania from now on.
That’s the new offense brought in by new coach Tommy Eanes. Fans keep asking what it is and Eanes keeps replying, “You spread the field and run the option.”
Ask the players and they keep replying, “It’s fun. We like it.”
Eanes took a page out of the Georgia Southern playbook and installed it when he was at East Surry two years ago. It worked immediately. There’s no reason it can’t work again.
“It’s kinda related to the wishbone that I ran as a freshman at West Rowan,” said senior quarterback Raymondo Brady. “I like it. It’s gonna be fun to run.”
Eanes said when he came in, he was worrying about everything under the sun. He had to convince a team and a community that the Hambone was for real. He had the answer: film of his first team at East Surry.
“He had highlight tapes and they were successful,” said Brady. “We think we can do it as well.”
Blake Abernathy, another senior, plays defense and thinks it will work at East because he’s tried — many times unsuccessfully — to defend it.
“I think it’s hard. There’s so many possibilities of where the ball is going.”
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COMEBACK: Brady is coming back from an ACL injury suffered early last season.
“I didn’t get to play any sports and it was real tough,” the senior said.
But he rehabbed at UNC-Chapel hill this summer and said he felt good.
“He seems to be coming around,” said Eanes, noting the quarterbacks have the hardest chore of learning the Hambone. “They have so much to look at and read. It has been hard on them.”
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LEGION GUYS: During Photo Day Tuesday, there was a huge contingent of players and coaches — but there was one key figure missing — last year’s quarterback Drew Davis.
“You don’t know how to figure the Davis kid in,” said Eanes. He has five days of conditioning but all I’ve got on him is old film.”
Brady and Matt Belk are currently fighting for the quarterback position, along with Eanes’ son, Drew.
Like Davis, Cal Hayes was another who got a late start due to Rowan’s Legion baseball team going to the state finals.
“Cal hasn’t been out here much,” said Eanes, “so we don’t know what he can do.”
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ALOHA: Chris Faavesi was already penciled in as all-county, all-conference, all-everything for East this season.
The hulk of a fullback and linebacker was expected to be a true force.
But Faavesi went to Hawaii to visit his relatives and stayed.
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COACHES AND MORE COACHES: Eanes has a whopping number of assistants helping him — 16 to be exact. They come from Lexington and Pilot Mountain, Livingstone and Catawba. And, of course, the holdovers from last year in Mitch Medlin, Leland Peacock, C.J. Johnson, Robbie Linder and Ed Bowles.
“You can never have enough coaches,” said Eanes.
“It’s good,” Brady said. “You have a lot of perspectives, different opinions and different experiences to look at.”
Abernathy echoed those words. “I like ‘em a lot. “they push us hard and it will pay off in the end.”
Those coming down from East Surry’s home, Pilot Mountain each day include offensive coordinator Mark Snow, offensive line coach Roy Burge (a former Catawba player in the 70’s) and Randy Pugh.
Jamie Ledbetter and Rowland Fowler (a former Clemson player) have joined the staff. Danny Thompson and Cookie Foreman come from Lexington and Kevin Ennis is a former North Rowan guy. Ray Barger is a former head coach at West Wilkes. And Corey Brooks should be a familiar name to Livingstone fans. He played on Rudy Abrams’ championship teams a couple of years ago.
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HOW ABOUT ME? Hunter Kepley’s dad picked up the paper recently and read aloud the South Rowan report, where kicker Robbie Basinger said his biggest competition was Davie’s David Wooldridge.
“It made me mad,” said Kepley, who then booted a few 40-yard field goals straight and true through the goalposts. He has boomed a couple of 50-yarders in practice.
Kepley was in the hunt for all-county early last year but didn’t get many field goal opportunities after the first few games.
“(Eanes) told me I would get my chance this year,” he smiled.
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LEADERS: New coaches look for leaders and Eanes found at least three good ones in Mark Misenheimer, Adam Lambert and Abernathy.
“Mark is one of those guys with natural leadership,” said Eanes.
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RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY: East has had trouble getting a full practice in because of the cloudbursts.
“I thought we lived in a tropical rain forest,” he said. “The kids said the farmers loved me. They haven’t had this much rain in years.”
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INJURIES: The only injury right now is Matt Butler’s hand. “But we expect him to play,” said Eanes. He’s a good-sized fella.”
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HOOPS STAR: East basketball star Taylor Weber decided to spend the fall of his senior year on the football field instead of in the gym. When asked what his reason was, he gave the perfect answer.
“Why not?”
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BIG SHOES TO FILL:And finally, Abernathy was asked how the team will replace graduated seniors like Danny Misenheimer and Henry Faavesi.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” said Abernathy, who along with two other teammates, sport a menacing tribal band tattoo. “Everybody has to step up and give more than they ever have.”
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FIRST TESTS:East opens at South Rowan on Aug. 18. The Mustangs scrimmage at Albemarle Saturday.
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