RAEFORD — For the second year in a row, Richmond was voted as the preseason favorite by the coaches and media to win the Sandhills Athletic Conference football title this fall following the conference’s media day hosted at Bayonet Golf Course at Puppy Creek on Sunday.
Richmond and Scotland were first and second in both polls, and are the teams that have been among the best in the region and in the state the last few seasons. Getting the chance to play against the likes of those teams and the rest of the tough Sandhills Athletic Conference is what players and coaches from Purnell Swett and Lumberton spoke about at the media day.
“I just think these kids that I’ve got look back on it, regardless of the record, they can say, ‘At least I played against so and so from Scotland or so and so from Hoke or Lumberton,’” Purnell Swett interim coach Robbie Brown said. “The biggest thing we are trying to do is make our kids competitive.”
Purnell Swett was voted No. 7 by the media, and eighth by the coaches, while Lumberton was voted eighth by the media and a tie for sixth in the coaches poll.
Both teams finished in a tie with Hoke for the bottom spot in the league last year with one conference win apiece.
The Rams welcome a large group of upperclassmen that played in key spots last year, and look to use their experience of playing in the tough league to prepare themselves and their underclassmen for week after week taking on stout competition.
“We’ve got a good amount of returning seniors and people that were first-year varsity players. I believe they’ve got the hang of it and this year they will know what to expect,” Chavis said.
Micah Carter joined Chavis at the media day, and enters his second year at quarterback for Purnell Swett. The senior is hoping that tough tests early in the non-conference will pay dividends for the team.
“Playing against them is going to give us some exposure. If we can just get a few wins against them and some wins in conference from playing against those types of teams, we can maybe make the playoffs,” Carter said. “It’s the best conference in the state. Having a year under my belt against this conference is going to make it easier for me.”
Purnell Swett’s non-conference schedule features Pine Forest, Dillon, South View and Hoggard, all of which are coming off playoff appearances last year.
Lumberton sent Michael Todd and Tavian Pratt to the media day on Sunday, and represented all of the defensive returners on the team. Both defensive linemen mentioned how the new feel of the team as far as their collective attitude gives it positive vibes heading into the season.
“Everybody is in it, everybody is together and everybody is participating. We are all excited and ready to go,” Pratt said.
Much like their rivals, Lumberton is in the same situation with Terry Sanford, Pine Forest, Laney and Cape Fear as primers before conference play.
“Three of the four teams we are playing made it to the playoffs so it’s going to show us how tough we really are for our conference,” Todd said. “We learned that we’ve got to be strong just like them, and the teams are tough so we’ve got to be tough.”
Lumberton defeated rival Purnell Swett for its lone conference win last year, and both players learned where the team needs to be to compete in the Sandhills.
“Playing in this league it sets the standard of how we need to be to hang,” Pratt said. “We want to prove that we have gotten better and stronger.”
Lumberton assistant Adam Deese said the coaching staff shares the same eagerness to get back on the field with the group.
“We’re ready to see the kids put on the pads and go in a full tilt scrimmage,” he said. “As far as work ethic, it’s been night and day. They’re buying in and working together and we are going to have a much hungrier group this year.”
