Area football standouts sign letters of intent

By Steve Roush
Published in Sports on February 25, 2007 2:17 AM

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From staff reports

Eastern Wayne's Darius Canida and Greene Central's J.J. Thompson are the latest area football players to sign national letters-of-intent.

Canida, a two-year starter at defensive back for the Warriors, has signed to play football at Louisburg College. Thompson, two-way starter at fullback and linebacker for the Rams, will play at Winston-Salem State.

On offense, Thompson rushed for 1,044 yards and 16 touchdowns on 169 carries this past season. At linebacker, he finished with 92 tackles -- including 19 for loss -- seven sacks, two fumble recoveries and one interception for 9-3 Greene Central.

Canida, a 5-foot-10, 167-pound senior, made 72 tackles and had two interceptions last season at Eastern Wayne, which finished the year 7-5 and 3-2 in the Eastern Carolina Conference under head coach Jeff Price. After the season, Canida was named 2006 Eastern Wayne Football Outstanding Defensive Back.

Canada is the fourth Warrior to sign a letter-of-intent to play football this winter, following Kendrick Best, Andrew Blevins and Alvino Daniels.

Best, a senior defensive back, running back, wide receiver and kickoff returner, signed with Gardner-Webb. The 6-foot-0, 178-pound two-year starter picked off seven passes last season, returned three of those interceptions for touchdowns, and made 58 tackles. On offense, Best ran for 644 yards on 81 carries and scored eight touchdowns. That included a season-ending game against Kinston that saw Best rack up 324 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries. He also took two punts back for touchdowns and was named team MVP, won all-conference accolades and was a News-Argus Player of the Week..

Blevins, a 5-foot-7, 172-pound running back, will play for Campbell University. He ran for 911 yards and eight touchdowns in nine games last year before he broke his leg late in the season. He was named honorable mention All-ECC and was a News-Argus Player of the Week.

Alvino Daniels, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound defensive end, signed with Methodist College. Daniels, a two-year starter, had 60 tackles and a sack for the Warriors in 2006. He was the 2006 Eastern Wayne Football Outstanding Defensive Lineman and was honorable mention All-ECC.