ECC 2A preseason poll: Cougars picked 4th

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on August 7, 2014 1:48 PM

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SNOW HILL -- Eastern Carolina 2-A Conference football coaches expect to see plenty of parity this fall.

And they agree Ayden-Grifton is the team to beat.

Despite graduating 17 seniors, the Chargers drew three first-place votes and edged Greene Central 32-29 points in the 2014 preseason poll conducted by the Kinston Free Press and News-Argus on Wednesday morning.

"Until you knock Ayden-Grifton off the perch, you have to say they're the favorites," second-year GC head coach Allen Wooten said. "Everybody is clawing to get up there and take over. Hopefully we'll be in that conversation by the end of the season."

Greene Central also earned three first-place votes.

Coaches tabbed Kinston (24 points) to finish third, followed by Goldsboro (21), South Lenoir (11) and North Lenoir (9). Kinston had the lone winning record (7-6) of any team last season, while Ayden-Grifton ended up 7-7 after a third-round playoff loss at Northeastern.

The Chargers return just nine starters and have a small senior class. Head coach Paul Cornwell, who has guided the program to conference titles in two of the past three years, has been searching for team leaders during the preseason.

"I think the whole conference is going to be better this year," Cornwell said. "I expect to see a lot of close games, a lot of hardfought games all the way. There could be more parity and I see some teams who struggled last year that should be better this year."

Kinston graduated an eye-popping 21 seniors and returns eight starters, including three on defense. The Vikings don't have a "star" player on this year's squad, which prompted second-year head coach Ryan Gieselman to say his players must follow their coaches' instructions to the letter this fall.

Goldsboro wound up an uncharacteristic 4-7 in 2013 and missed the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons. The Cougars won three regular-season championships during their four-year stint in the Carolina 1-A Conference, and first-year head coach Bennett Johnson wants to re-establish that tradition.

First, the team must adjust to a new scheme and staff, and develop an identity.

"We're still learning our players and figuring out our program," said Johnson, who was the Cougars' offensive coordinator in 2012.

"You know, this is a first-class conference. I tell our kids you can beat any team that lines up in front of you, but you can lose to any team that lines up in front of you. That's how it's going to be in this conference."

South Lenoir logged a 1-10 worksheet and finished winless in league play a year ago. However, the Blue Devils were 15 points away from posting a 3-2 mark and advancing to the postseason for the first time in school history according to N.C. High School Athletic Association records.

First-year head coach Fred Kennedy, who has been on the SL staff for 11 years, thinks there could be some separation. However, he contends spots two through six could be "tight" with the possibility of some tie-breaking procedures coming into play.

North Lenoir head coach and alum Calvin Sutton continues to get snakebit in Wheat Swamp. The Hawks lost four players to academic issues and three transferred to other county schools in the offseason.

A team that could conceivably "ball on any Friday night" will -- once again -- rely on underclassmen this fall. Nine starters are back, but Sutton lacks quality skill players.

"If we had things like we're supposed to have, the program would be in good shape and we could go out there and compete," Sutton said. "The situation we're in right now, we're going to take it slow, take it easy until they mature. By the time we hit conference, we'll see what they've been able to do."