Sports - November 2003

Wolves meet Vikings in first round

 By JOHN MARK BROOKS, Staff Writer

————————————

The Lincolnton Wolves have put a disheartening 21-14 loss to East Rutherford behind as they head into their first round playoff match-up against the Avery County Vikings.

“Friday was a heartbreaker, but the two practices we’ve had this week have been as good as any we’ve had in last two or three weeks,” said Coach Scott Cloninger. They’ve put the losses in the past and they are looking forward,” he said.

Cloninger believes that the loss will fade from memory.

“Down the road, years from now, they will remember losing out on the championship, but in these playoffs they can have a good run and make them forget about that,” he said.

OFFENSIVELY

With the Wolves throwing less than eight times against the Cavaliers, Cloninger said they are going to put the football in the air more this week.

“We’re gonna run the football, but we are probably going to throw the football a little bit more just to open it up some,” he said.

The Vikings play a four or five man defensive front and then shade the defensive lineman to one side or another depending on which way they think the play will go.

Lincolnton fans will remember the shade 50 defense from former Wolves’ defensive coordinator Mike Briggs.

Cloninger and his staff are still looking for ways to exploit the defensive set.

“Against every defense you try to find out what they are weak in and we’re still searching for that, but by Friday I believe we’ll have a good game plan,” he said.

The Lincolnton coach promise that there will be a few personnel shake-ups and a couple of new wrinkles to their offensive scheme.

DEFENSIVELY

The Vikings are led by Ricky Spradling, a 6’1” 175 junior quarterback with 14 passing touchdowns on the season.

According to Cloninger Spradling ‘throws the ball real well.’ His favorite target is Josh Johnson, a 6’3” 175 sophomore wideout. “He’s a good athlete with soft hands and runs good routes,” Cloninger said.

Spradling’ penchant for throwing interceptions could play a role. He has 14 on the year.

However, Cloninger’s main concern is 6’1” 187 pound running back Daniel Bare, who has 927 yards and 15 touchdowns on the season.

“He’s the man that really makes them go, No. 27, he reminds me of J.P. Killian from Bunker Hill because he’s a big strong running back and is hard to bring down. 

His main escort in the Viking backfield is fullback 5’11” 185 pound Jonathan Coppen.

“He’s the one that is going to open up those holes behind that huge offensive line. He does a good job finding his assignment and clearing the way for Bare,” Cloninger said.

Cloninger feels that the Wolves’ defense is going to need to take advantage of their quickness against a huge offensive line.

“They’re going to have to use that to get through and slow them down. I’m expecting a huge night out of Eric Wilson, Mauricio Sing and Alex Mullen. The defensive front needs to have a big night and I really expect that out of all of them.”

X-FACTOR

Cloninger is excited about this first meeting between the Vikings and the Wolves. “We look forward to playing a new school,”he said.

With a two hour trip via charter bus Cloninger hopes his team responds well when they arrive in a different  than usual atmosphere.

“I’m just hoping they handle the trip up the mountain well and don’t have a tough time adjusting to the higher elevation and cooler temperatures,” he said.

The coach urges Lincolnton supporters to make the trek to cheer his football team on, in hopes that it will balance the playing field some.

“They’re going to have a ton of fans. We’re going into hostile territory and home field is always worth something because of the fans and the atmosphere so we need our supporters to come out,” he said.

 —————

Statistics provided by I-high.com.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

Terms and Conditions