FOOTBALL CAPSULE: Southern Wayne @ D.H. Conley

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on November 10, 2016 2:46 PM

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SOUTHERN WAYNE (1-8, 0-4)

at D.H. CONLEY (7-3, 4-1)

Last time out: Southern Wayne had a bye week; D.H. Conley defeated South Central 70-24.

Last meeting: 2015, D.H. Conley won 49-0.

Notable: Southern Wayne is experiencing its best offensive season (27.78 points/game) since 2003 when that team, led by former head coach Bob Warren, put 31.36 points on the board each outing. The Saints' Manny Walker has accounted for 1,714 yards of total offense and 19 touchdowns. DHC boasts the league's top-rated QB - Holton Ahlers, who has thrown for 3,144 yards and 36 touchdowns with just seven picks in 323 attempts. If the Vikings and Rampants both win their respective regular-season finales, they'll finish in a three-way tie with New Bern for the Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference championship.

What are your impressions of D.H. Conley? "They're a good-coached team. Their offense is pretty good. They strayed a little bit from the power game, but run it every now and then," SW head coach Ronnie McClary Jr. said. "Their quarterback is a pretty good athlete. If we can maintain their offense and establish the run game we need to beat them, we should be pretty good. Their offense makes plays and their defense is real good. Overall, I think they're pretty good."

How are you approaching this game with your kids? "For one thing, we want to play hard and have fun," McClary said. "Our chances of making the playoffs are slim to none since we lost against Eastern Wayne. But we want to play hard, play safe and go into the offseason on a high note hopefully with a win."

Where have you seen improvement and how will that help you build toward next season? "From the start of the season we've been talking about our mental capability for the game and our off-field activities. I really like we've gotten better at it. Are we to the point where we can win games where we come from behind, I don't think so ... as of yet. But we've made leaps and bounds from that part to be a better team on and off the field, and mentally getting prepared for the weight room and mentally prepared for a better season next year. I think we've made strides, but we've still got a long way to go."