By John DeCoste
jdecoste@kingscountynews.ca
www.kingscountynews.ca
High school football kicks off in Kings County this coming weekend.
Horton head coach Alec Hyndman said the Griffins have been low on numbers, but that is typical of August.
The Griffins “have been practicing well for only being at it a week and a half,” Hyndman said Aug. 30. “We look to have a tonne of team speed; we’re probably the fastest team we’ve had.”
He said the team is young, with only a handful of seniors in the starting lineup. Jacob Melanson and Cam Davidson are Grade 12 students playing offence; Melanson and Kirklyn Levy the only Grade 12 starters on defence. Davidson is an all-star calibre running back and can also catch the ball.
Grade 10 student Luke Oulton is probably the starting quarterback, with Melanson backing him up. Other returning players include offensive/defensive lineman Brock O’Brien and Duncan Hill, who is expected to see action at both linebacker and running back.
Oulton and Michael Ogilvie are potential impact newcomers.
“We could end up being pretty good,” Hyndman said. “but given all the young players, I’m expecting it could take us a week or two to get in the groove.”
Read about plans for West Kings' debut season here.
At Central Kings, head coach Larry Priestnall has had almost 30 playes out for training camp.
“This is the first year I can remember having this many kids out prior to the start of school. It’s hard to have your first game two days after school starts,” he said.
“We had a lot of Grade 10 and 11 players last year, and we look to have plenty of 10s and 11s again this year, as well as a few Grade 9s.”
Jacob Shepherd, currently nursing an ankle injury, is projected to be the starting quarterback,” Priestnall said. The running game, led by Ben Best and Matt Priestnall, should also be a team strength.
At Northeast Kings Education Centre, new head coach Reg Ogilvie, also head coach of the bantam Bulldogs, said he is pleased with the players he has out so far. Like the other coaches, he is anticipating an increase in numbers once school starts.
Given the size of the school, numbers at NKEC “are always a challenge,” he said, “but we have been growing steadily each practice and hope to have a roster of 30 once the season gets going.”
Ogilvie said football at the school “has been under considerable stress the past couple of seasons, so our first job is to stabilize the program and get it back on solid footing.
“We have a number of players returning,” he added, “and a few joining us from the Bulldogs, but experience is still at a premium and we’re always looking for more players to fill out our roster.”
View a slideshow of photos from the Aug. 30 high school football jamboree here.
Catch a game
Sept. 7
4:30 p.m. Central Kings at Northeast Kings
7 p.m. Sackville at Horton (Acadia’s Raymond Field)
Sept. 8
1 p.m. Lockview at West Kings
By John DeCoste
jdecoste@kingscountynews.ca
www.kingscountynews.ca
High school football kicks off in Kings County this coming weekend.
Horton head coach Alec Hyndman said the Griffins have been low on numbers, but that is typical of August.
The Griffins “have been practicing well for only being at it a week and a half,” Hyndman said Aug. 30. “We look to have a tonne of team speed; we’re probably the fastest team we’ve had.”
He said the team is young, with only a handful of seniors in the starting lineup. Jacob Melanson and Cam Davidson are Grade 12 students playing offence; Melanson and Kirklyn Levy the only Grade 12 starters on defence. Davidson is an all-star calibre running back and can also catch the ball.
Grade 10 student Luke Oulton is probably the starting quarterback, with Melanson backing him up. Other returning players include offensive/defensive lineman Brock O’Brien and Duncan Hill, who is expected to see action at both linebacker and running back.
Oulton and Michael Ogilvie are potential impact newcomers.
“We could end up being pretty good,” Hyndman said. “but given all the young players, I’m expecting it could take us a week or two to get in the groove.”
Read about plans for West Kings' debut season here.
At Central Kings, head coach Larry Priestnall has had almost 30 playes out for training camp.
“This is the first year I can remember having this many kids out prior to the start of school. It’s hard to have your first game two days after school starts,” he said.
“We had a lot of Grade 10 and 11 players last year, and we look to have plenty of 10s and 11s again this year, as well as a few Grade 9s.”
Jacob Shepherd, currently nursing an ankle injury, is projected to be the starting quarterback,” Priestnall said. The running game, led by Ben Best and Matt Priestnall, should also be a team strength.
At Northeast Kings Education Centre, new head coach Reg Ogilvie, also head coach of the bantam Bulldogs, said he is pleased with the players he has out so far. Like the other coaches, he is anticipating an increase in numbers once school starts.
Given the size of the school, numbers at NKEC “are always a challenge,” he said, “but we have been growing steadily each practice and hope to have a roster of 30 once the season gets going.”
Ogilvie said football at the school “has been under considerable stress the past couple of seasons, so our first job is to stabilize the program and get it back on solid footing.
“We have a number of players returning,” he added, “and a few joining us from the Bulldogs, but experience is still at a premium and we’re always looking for more players to fill out our roster.”
View a slideshow of photos from the Aug. 30 high school football jamboree here.
Catch a game
Sept. 7
4:30 p.m. Central Kings at Northeast Kings
7 p.m. Sackville at Horton (Acadia’s Raymond Field)
Sept. 8
1 p.m. Lockview at West Kings
