by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond
slewis@digitalsports.com
It is Roscoe Johnson‘s second year at the helm for Atlee. But he’s already got a new emphasis.
Physicality.
The Raiders were not strong enough at the point of attack offensively or defensively, and Johnson wants that changed this season.
Just watch practice and you can see the difference. The Raiders are hitting early and often.
“We’ve included this year interior half-line drills to get our offensive line and defensive line a little bit tougher,” Johnson said. “It’s a way to be able to hit and hit hard, but keep it under control.”
The Raiders have been under .500 for longer than they would like. The days of coach John Trott and Atlee legends like Billy Parker, Ty LaFlame and Zuriel Smith are history.
But history does repeat itself, as a young 2-8 Atlee squad returns much of 2007’s team looking to put their name in Atlee lore.
Start offensively where junior Dylan Garthright enters his second season as a starter. He is the undoubted leader of a promising offense, spurred by WR Jared Epps, a senior with terrific speed and mitts.
“We just hope to have a strong defense again,” said Epps, who plays cornerback. “Hopefully get our offense going better this year than we did last year.”
The backfield will be paced by Trevor Elie, who shined with his quickness and elusiveness as a freshman last season.
The line is led by Tyler White, a senior left tackle. Look out for big John Henley as well, another senior.
“A lot of schools are looking at him,” Johnson said of White. “Tough kid. Probably our toughest kid on this team. Coach Mitchell loves him because he doesn’t have another level. It’s just full speed all the time.”
Coach Mitchell is Howie Mitchell, one of the best offensive linemen this area has ever seen. Mitchell starred at Varina in the late 1990s and now has joined Atlee’s staff.
He’s added instant toughness to the Raiders, pushing them to be more physical at every level of offense and defense.
“Howie’s an asset to our program,” Johnson said. “He’s brought just a different mentality to our team.”
Johnson hopes that mentality will carry over throughout the whole team, especially defensively where Atlee has a strong player leading each level.
Epps is back in the defensive backfield at corner.
At LB, second-team all-district pick Josh Doggett returns. He’s a sophomore and a powerful tackler.
Watch out for junior Hunter Brooks beside him, who is also a standout discus thrower.
On the defensive line, senior James Anderson is back. He’s receiving plenty of college looks as well.
2007 record: 2-4 Capital District, 3-7
Overall
2008
season 2007 result
(all games at 7:30 p.m., unless noted. Click team for their
preview!)
Sept. 5 – at Deep Run
L, 0-43
Sept. 12 – Patrick Henry
L, 0-41
Sept. 19 – Douglas Freeman L, 14-26
Sept 26 – Varina L, 0-35
Oct. 3 – George Wythe W, 29-26
Oct. 10 – at Henrico
W, 17-6
Oct. 17 – Highland Springs L, 10-61
Oct. 24 – at Hanover L, 14-35
Oct. 31 – at Armstrong, 5 p.m.
W, 27-26
Nov. 7 – Lee-Davis
L, 11-36
Big
games: Patrick Henry, Hanover, Lee-Davis. Hanover and Patrick Henry are playoff contenders, and Lee-Davis has a revamped team. Atlee needs to play well against their county brethren.
Key players: Tyler White, OL/DL, Sr.; James Anderson, DL, Sr.; Jared Epps, WR/CB, Sr.; Dylan Garthright, QB, Jr.; Josh Doggett, LB/RB, So.; Trevor Elie, RB, So.; John Henley, OL, Sr.; T.J. Daneker, WR, Sr.
Key losses: Matt Pennington, P/K (Liberty); Derrick Wright, RB/DB; John Sparagna, LB/RB
The
skinny: The Raiders have an extremely tough schedule, starting with Colonial District teams Deep Run, Patrick Henry and Douglas Freeman before hosting Varina. The Raiders earned three wins last season, and will need to get a win or two out of that tough start to improve on last year’s record.
GALLERY!
CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE CENTRAL REGION FOOTBALL
PREVIEWS!
Processing your request, Please wait....
