Gameday Poll #11: Can Stallions Make A Run?
Green Run coach Shawn Wilson gears his men up for their battle this weekend with Cox. The Stallions fell to Bayside in their season opener last Friday.
Before this year's football season even started, Green Run had quite a few incentives to put some entries in its win column right off the bat - or, in this case, the placekick. Run wanted to move up to Ocean Lakes and others near the top, to show that the Stallions might live up to their nickname and be the dark horse in the Beach District this season.
But a week into the season, the squad's got a new reason to hurry up a win; they suffered a close opening day loss to Bayside last weekend, and lost starting quarterback Brandon Waters to a concussion. With Waters on the sideline until next week at the least, Run needs a strong performance against Cox this weekend - if not, they could be at the start of a long season (though Run beat Cox last year, the Falcons turned in a strong offensive performance last weekend in a defeat of Kellam).
With Tequan Mayfield filling in for Waters, Dejor Simmons looks to take in enough handoffs to start the trek towards his second straight All-District selection.
"I feel like I have to be a leader and step up," said the senior Stallion. "Our line is getting better, and everybody's getting their confidence up. We've got to keep our heads and come out tough."
The line was one place that stayed intact after last year's graduating class, said third-year coach Shawn Wilson.
"Most of our line's back, and we've got good running backs," he said. "We've got some guys who can make some plays. Our defense gave up some big plays (last week), but we'll try to pop back up this week.
Simmons will be sharing rushing duties with Zack Dunston for the time being.
"(Mayfield) is a real threat as well," said Dunstion. "He knows the offense pretty well."
He and Jamal Wallace, named one of the district's top defensive ends last year, want to be stepping outside the Beach long before the season ends.
"I want to go to state and win!" said Wallace, who recently committed to continue his football career at Duke University. "We get on everybody in practice so everybody can get on their responsibilities."
