PREP FOOTBALL: Senior leadership starts in warm-ups at EW

By Aviel Smolka
Published in Sports on July 31, 2018 5:51 AM

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By AVIEL SMOLKA

asmolka@newsargus.com

The building process has been slow and steady during head coach Leander Oates' time at Eastern Wayne.

All that hard work is finally looking to pay off this season.

The Warriors finished 6-5 last year and made it to the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 3-A (small school) playoffs. Despite practice being interrupted by poor weather Monday morning, the excitement over the upcoming season is palpable.

"It's early, but for the most part the guys look ready." Oates said. "They're excited about the season. We have a good group of guys who committed themselves to getting better over the summer."

Before the coaches even took the field, the seniors were leading the team through warm-up drills and stretches.

"We have a good group of seniors who are doing a good job of being leaders and leading by example," Oates said. "It all comes from last year, wanting to do more. Everybody has the goal of wanting to get further in the playoffs, even getting to the championship game."

Oates motivated his players by taking them to various summer football camps and making sure they stayed in shape by hitting weight room.

"We went to N.C. State and ECU over the summer," Oates said. "The guys saw that I was trying to put them in position to push themselves further and to see what competitors looks like."

"These guys started showing up 5:30 waiting to get in the door, wanting to get stronger and faster."

Oates gets his first real live-game look at his Warriors when they play host to Wilson Hunt on August 17. It's the season opener for both teams.

"We are going to make mistakes here and there," Oates said. "We still have some young guys that are still learning, but for the most part what I want for these guys on field is to remember we're a family.

"We back each other up, we have each other's back and help one another making sure everyone is being accounted for."

Oates is quick to mention that skill positions cannot be successful without a good line blocking for them.

"Coaches everywhere talk about the skill position players, but my offensive and defensive lines are going to special this year," Oates said. "We are going to put guys in the best situations to help the team win."

One young Warrior for whom big things are expected is rising sophomore Quadrez Lassiter, a 6-foot-1, 280-pound defensive lineman.

"He's going to be a big pickup for me this year," Oates said.