PREP FOOTBALL: McClary Jr. ready to make head coaching debut in Dudley

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on August 19, 2016 1:49 PM

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DUDLEY -- Southern Wayne enters tonight's season opener against perennial 1-A juggernaut James Kenan with a new leader on the sideline.

Ronnie McClary Jr. was named the Saints' varsity head football coach earlier this week when David Lee opted to step down into an assistant role. He will continue to serve as athletics director.

"It was a decision that I prayed over for a long while and the Lord led me to this decision," Lee said. "I still enjoy working with kids, and I still love Southern Wayne football. Ronnie has my full support.

"Ultimately I want to see this program and our athletes grow and succeed."

McClary becomes the Saints' fourth head varsity coach since 1992, according to records kept by CarolinaPreps.com.

The promotion surprised the Goldsboro High alum.

"It doesn't change much because of how the staff works together," McClary said. "Coach Lee put us in a position to facilitate practice. The only thing that changed for me was the title and certain responsibilities. It was a shocker, a little bit.

"I figured it was something that I wanted to do whether it be here one or somewhere else. I've had good training over the years."

McClary played for Elvin James and Goldsboro-Dillard Athletics Hall of Fame enshrinee Charles Lane. He worked as an assistant under Eric Reid and headed to the southern part of the county five years ago.

Southern Wayne returns eight starters from last season -- a group that is eager to end the program's 3 1/2-year skid on the sideline. Three are projected to play both ways, but two -- Manny Walker and Quentin Carlton -- will get a breather, at times, on the defensive side of the ball.

Lee said the team's preseason work ethic to get bigger, stronger and faster could pay dividends against a challenging non-conference schedule and a brutal Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference slate of opponents.

James Kenan played for the last three 1-AA (large-school) eastern regional championships. Also on the 10-game docket is Kinston, which lost in the 2-A state final a year ago.

ECC mates New Bern won the 2014 state 4-A title and J.H. Rose emerged as the 2015 state 4-A runner-up. County rival Eastern Wayne appeared in the 2013 and 2014 eastern regional 3-A championship game.

A confident mentality has been the Saints' primary adversary.

"Coach James, when I played for him at Elizabeth City State, said 'if you can get a kid to believe in you, they'll run through a wall for you'," McClary said. "Like Coach Lee and I talked about, if we can change the mentality of not just us believing in the kids, but them believing in themselves, then we're capable of playing with and beating anybody."

Step one is tonight.