Vance County football returns after two-week hiatus
Sep. 23—HENDERSON — Vance County High School's football team is set to play its first game in three weeks after COVID-19 issues forced the program to go into quarantine following their win over Riverside-Durham on Sept. 3.
Head coach Wilbur Pender said the month of September has gone by slowly for him and his players, who all stayed connected with one another through virtual meetings while football activities were suspended.
"We turned our focus towards checking in on the guys and making sure they were staying in shape to the best of their ability at home," Pender said. "During that two-week period, we were all just sitting on our hands, and we wanted to get back at it."
Once Vance County's quarantine period came to an end on Friday, Pender and his staff held practice on Monday with the goal of getting the team re-acclimated to the system he introduced at the beginning of the year.
Pender was not expecting the transition back into live practices to be a smooth one, and wanted to spend this week focusing on the fundamentals while simultaneously formulating a proper game plan for Northern Durham.
He said the energy in practice this week has been a pleasant development, and gives him some optimism heading into Friday's matchup despite being away from the football field for two weeks.
"For a team coming out of quarantine, practice has been pretty good," Pender said. "We had to shift our focus back to the way it was during camp. Emphasis was put on conditioning, and we also had some high-tempo practices with a lot of running. I think that high energy has really made a difference."
COVID-19 issues were the last thing Pender wanted to experience to open up his first season as Vance County's coach, as he believed the break stymied the momentum he had built with his players over the opening three games.
During those first games, offense was a strength for Vance County. Other than a 35-0 loss to Roanoke Rapids, the Vipers found an equal amount of success running and throwing the ball, putting up more than 30 points each against Warren County and Riverside-Durham.
Junior quarterback Nazir Garrett has tallied eight passing touchdowns with just one interception to start the year, while senior running back duo Carl Stephens III and Davion Vines-Holder have gained 289 and 218 rushing yards, respectively.
Pender hopes the Vipers defense will complement the offensive firepower over their remaining games. He said surrendering an average of 35 points a game is not going to yield victories for his players as they battle tougher competition.
Despite the struggles, Pender believed the defense shined in practice this week alongside the offense, and he is ready to see how those improvements carry over against a Northern Durham program that's currently 1-3.
Defense dominated Vance County's most recent matchup with Northern Durham back in 2019. A prolific Vance County offense that had scored 30 or more points in seven of their eight games up to that week failed to move the ball down the field and ended up absorbing a 13-6 loss.
Pender does not want Vance County to underestimate Northern Durham's strengths. Although the Vipers are freshly removed from quarantine, he believes they will have a shot at the victory as long as they shut down Northern Durham's offense and put together a complete game.
Northern "is a very good team even though their record doesn't show it," Pender said. "They played some really solid teams in Wakefield and Knightdale, so they haven't lost to any slouches. Northern Durham is battle-tested and this is going to be a good test for us to see how much we've improved since the Corinth Holders scrimmage."
Regardless of how Friday night turns out, Pender admitted that he is happy to just be back on the sidelines again with Vance County and is looking forward to seeing an exuberant home crowd for the football program's return.
Vance County and Northern Durham will kick off their final non-conference game of the 2021 season at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Contact Brandon White at bwhite@hendersondispatch.com or by phone at 252-436-2840
Contact Brandon White at bwhite@hendersondispatch.com or by phone at 252-436-2840
