by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond
slewis@digitalsports.com
Deep Run is taking the special in special teams literally.
One adjective to describe them could be electric, making lightning strike more than once in one place.
The Wildcats have delivered seven punt or kick returns for scores this season, six in the past four games.
Deep Run has returned two punt and kick returns in the past two weeks. The guy doing the returning in that time frame, Antone Exum.
The 6-1, 200-pounder is super quick, fast and tough to tackle, especially when there are gaping running lanes being opened by his teammates.
“We practice everyday. It’s something that we dwell on,” said Tyler Benson, who sets up on the second line of the return team. “We all know our assignments and we try to open up the biggest holes possible for Tone to run through.”
Exum doesn’t need much room. Two weeks ago against Douglas Freeman, Exum returned two punts for touchdowns, one a 40-yarder and another for 60 yards. He has a 32-yarder against Atlee under his belt as well, earned in the season opener.
Last week, he got into the kick act, returning the Patrick Henry game’s opening kickoff 88 yards and bringing back the very next kick 82 yards. Patrick Henry coach Ray Long assured reporters the plan wasn’t to kick to Exum, who, believe it or not, started off as probably Deep Run opponents’ second option.
That’s because Jordan Love started off the season hot, with an 86-yard kickoff return against John Marshall in game four and a 50-yarder the next week against TJ. He hasn’t seen a ball since in Deep Run’s 7-0 campaign.
“I don’t know who they’re going to start kicking it to now,” Love, a Georgia commit, said. “They’ll probably just keep squibbing it.”
Who knows, maybe Deep Run sophomore Dallas Simmons will start getting some touches this week at Mills Godwin. He joins Exum and Love on the kickoff team’s back line.
“They’ll probably kick it to me this week,” Simmons said. “They’re not going to kick it to Jordan or Antone.”
The kickoff team’s coach is Ron Strine, a former Ron Axselle assistant at Mills Godwin for 15 years. He employs a strategy that his father used back in the 1960s. It still works.
“I’m going to give it to coach Strine there,” front line member Billy Skrobacz said, who is also one of the area’s best linebackers. “We work hard everyday. He tells us what to do, he tells us where to go. We just do it and make it happen.”
Front Line – Billy Skrobacz, Alex Loving, Chris Copeland, Patrick Gallagher, Cole Knapp
Second Line – Christian Norton, Holden Bass, Tyler Benson
Back Line – Antone Exum, Jordan Love, Dallas Simmons
Processing your request, Please wait....
