Countdown to Kickoff | 2017

Your in-depth preview of Northern and Northwest Guilford High Schools’ fall 2017 football season

IN THIS ISSUE Meet the football teams and coaches 2017 game schedule 2016 season results Meet the cheerleaders and marching bands Get a sneak preview of the marching bands’ halftime performances

Keeping you connected to the action

CONSIDER THE GUILFORD COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Sheriff BJ Barnes and the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office wish Northern and Northwest Guilford High Schools continued success on the football field and in the classroom. May each student have a safe and memorable year!

Jennifer Holland, MS, PT; Brittany Rumley, PTA; Andy Michels, PT, MS and Maegan Tucker, PTA

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2017 GAME SCHEDULE 2016 RESULTS

Northwest Vikings

Northern Nighthawks

Northwest Guilford High School

Northern Guilford High School

5240 Northwest School Road, Greensboro

7101 Spencer Dixon Road, Greensboro

2017 GAME SCHEDULE

2017 GAME SCHEDULE

(all games start at 7:30 p.m.)

6

(all games start at 7:30 p.m.)

DATE OPPONENT LOCATION Aug. 18............Smith.....................................Away • 17-6 (W) Aug. 25...........Western Guilford................... Home • 53-26 (W) Aug. 31............Southeast Guilford..................Away • 13-28 (L) Sept. 8.............Northern Guilford...................Away Sept. 15...........Southwest Guilford................ Home Sept. 22...........Reidsville................................Away Sept. 29...........West Forsyth......................... Home Oct. 6..............High Point Central..................Away Oct. 13............Page..................................... Home Homecoming Oct. 20............Ragsdale................................Away Nov. 3..............Grimsley............................... Home Senior night

DATE OPPONENT LOCATION Aug. 18............Grimsley.................................Away • 16-15 (W) Aug. 25...........Page.......................................Away • 27-38 (L) Aug. 31............Statesville............................. Home • 27-13 (W) Sept. 8.............Northwest Guilford................ Home Sept. 22...........McMichael........................... Home Homecoming Sept. 29...........Northeast Guilford..................Away Oct. 6..............Eastern Alamance................. Home Oct. 13............Person....................................Away Oct. 20............Rockingham County...............Away Oct. 27............Morehead............................. Home Senior night Nov. 3..............Western Alamance..................Away

2016 SEASON RESULTS (7-5)

2016 SEASON RESULTS (4-8)

DATE OPPONENT SCORE Aug. 19............Smith...................................................... 44-26 (W) Aug. 26...........Western Guilford...................................... 62-0 (W) Sept. 2.............Northern Guilford.................................... 47-20 (W) Sept. 9.............Southeast Guilford................................... 13-14 (L) Sept. 23...........Grimsley.................................................. 34-14 (W) Sept. 30...........Reidsville................................................. 14-24 (L) Oct. 7..............Ragsdale................................................. 34-18 (W) Oct. 14............High Point Central................................... 31-23 (W) Oct. 21............Glenn...................................................... 45-47 (L) Oct. 28............Southwest Guilford................................... 23-6 (W) Nov. 4..............East Forsyth............................................. 15-58 (L) Nov. 18............Myers Park............................................... 27-42 (L)

DATE OPPONENT SCORE Aug. 26...........Page........................................................ 0-48 (L) Sept. 2.............Northwest Guilford................................... 20-47 (L) Sept. 9.............Williams................................................... 3-7 (L) Sept. 16...........Reidsville................................................. 28-45 (L) Sept. 23...........Western Alamance................................... 14-55 (L) Sept. 30...........Eastern Alamance.................................... 21-35 (L) Oct. 10............Rockingham County................................ 40-0 (W) Oct. 14............Eastern Guilford....................................... 0-28 (L) Oct. 21............Northeast Guilford................................... 35-27 (W) Oct. 28............McMichael.............................................. 34-28 (W) Nov. 4..............Northern Guilford.................................... 51-20 (W) Nov. 18............West Brunswick........................................ 21-35 (L)

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Northern Nighthawks 2017 VARSITY FOOTBALL TEAM ROSTER NO. NAME 2 Nye Welcher 3 Jaquan Ones 4 Chris Foster 5 Jakob Lenard 6 Cody Knight 7 Tyler Flippen 8 Ford Moser 9 Seth Ashley 10 Ricky Dormon 11 Jalen Graves 12 Christian Bass 13 Christian Herbin 14 Ramar Thomas 15 Michael Frogge 20 Davis Streuli 21 Ephraim Koonce 22 Austin Lambeth 23 Asa Mcmillian 24 Chad Turner 25 Addison Perry 30 Justin Julian 31 Cedrick Sedjro 32 Chuck Conaway 33 Walker Harris 34 Isahia Little 40 Bryce Johnson

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HEIGHT 6’2” 5’8” 5’9” 5’11” 5’11” 6’1” 6’0” 6’0” 5’10” 5’10” 6’1” 6’4” 6’0” 6’4” 6’1” 5’8” 5’8” 5’8” 5’7” 5’11” 5’10” 5’8” 6’0” 6’3” 5’8” 5’10”

WEIGHT 185 135 160 170 165 185 175 170 155 170 170 185 155 200 145 170 150 160 150 135 155 125 175 185 150 150

POSITION GRADE OLB/WR 12 RB/WR/DB 11 DB/WR 12 QB 11 OLB/WR/P 12 QB 11 WR/DB 11 WR/DB 11 DB 12 DB/WR 10 OLB/WR 11 DB/WR 12 WR/DB 11 LB/TE 10 WR/DB 12 RB/OLB 12 OLB 10 DB/WR/RB 10 WR/RB/DB 10 WR/DB 11 WR/DB 12 WR/DB 11 OLB/WR 10 DE/WR 11 WR/DB 11 DB/WR 11

NO. NAME 41 Wesley Halley 42 Joshua Dallape 43 Tyler Anderson 44 Jonah Messer 45 Christian Foxx 50 Jacob Barlow 52 Myles Edringston 53 Paul Kluttz 54 Trey Ruff 55 Justin Franklin 60 Gene Gibbs 61 Ethan Ryan 62 Andy Martinez 63 Brian Miller 64 Ryan Walton 65 Lavar Carter 70 Jack Garrison 75 Adam Lovelace 77 Dan Freeman 80 Nick Carter 81 Ben Bell 82 Jhibryl Hogan 83 Austin Chambers 84 Blake Lucas 86 Mortin Jalin 87 Slater Ward

HEIGHT 5’9” 5’11” 5’10” 5’11” 6’0” 6’0” 6’2” 5’10” 5’10” 5’10” 5’10” 6’3” 6’1” 6’2” 6’1” 6’2” 6’6” 6’2” 6’2” 5’8” 6’2” 5’9” 5’9” 6’6” 5’11” 6’1”

WEIGHT 185 180 190 200 200 205 240 273 205 180 228 200 226 215 225 210 280 220 216 165 180 119 160 205 165 150

POSITION GRADE LB/FB 11 OLB 12 LB/FB 10 DL/FB 12 LB/TE 12 OL/DL 10 OL 12 OL/DL 11 OL/DL 10 OL/DL 10 OL/DL 11 OL/DL 10 DL 11 OL/DL 11 OL/DL 12 DL 12 OL/DL 11 OL/DL 12 OL/DL 12 K 11 WR/DB 12 WR/DB 12 OLB/WR 11 TE/DL 11 OLB/RB 11 WR/K 9

Westberg eagerly dives into second season at Northern Guilford

“I’ve never had to coach effort here,” Westberg said. “That was already in place when I got here. Last year was an adjustment for everyone, but I thought things really started to click towards the end of the season. I’m seeing that again this season. I think it’s been easier for me and for the team that we’re a lot

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It wasn’t until Week 7 that Northern picked up its first win of the season last year, with a 40-0 thrashing against Rockingham County. The Nighthawks labored through a stacked schedule against teams that played in NCHSAA state championship games. Reidsville won the 2-A state title. Page (4-AA)

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The season-opening win a few weeks ago and the toughness the Nighthawks showed in hanging around in the Page game are positive signs for Westberg, who said he is confident the momentum the team built in the last part of his first season has carried over.

Offense: spread

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The Nighthawks opened their season by winning two of their first three games, posting wins against Grimsley 16-15 in the season-opener and a 27-13 win against Statesville last week. Northern hung tough against Page before falling 38-27 in Week 2.

Key players: Tyler Flippen (QB) C.J. Foxx (LB) Chris Foster (DB)

br i d

Signs are encouraging that the upward trend will continue.

But the Nighthawks won four of their last five regular-season games and earned a spot in the 3-AA playoffs before falling in the first round to No. 1 seed West Brunswick.

aw c o u r t e s y o f St r

Season No. 2 of Erik Westberg’s era at Northern Guilford has already started better than his inaugural campaign.

and Eastern Guilford (3-AA) lost in state championship games.

Breakout players: Christian Herbin (DB) J.J. Julian (WR)

P ho t o

by Marc Pruitt

Head coach: Erik Westberg (second year)

| E h rik o ac We s tb e r g, h e a d c

more familiar with each other now.

“I feel like I’ve got a better handle on everything now, too.

Anytime you go through something once, it helps you grow.

This year has been a smooth transition from winter workouts, to spring workouts, to camp, because I know everything that’s

Offensive coordinator: Tripp Honeycutt (first season) Defense: 3-4 Defensive coordinator: Mart Grinton (first season as coordinator)

coming down the pipe and what to expect, and so do they.”

Westberg has been encouraged by what’s he’s seen since off-season workouts began.

Continued on page 10

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Westberg will look to several players 11:53 AM to provide key leadership on 3/8/12 a young team – but not quite as young as last season, when the Nighthawks featured just seven seniors.

Junior Tyler Flippen has a year under his belt as the starting quarterback and has progressed well in Westberg’s system. Flippen was expected to miss the first few games this season after suffering a wrist injury over the summer on his throwing hand.

“Tyler was a sophomore trying to find his way last year and understand the offense,” Westberg said. “He got better and better as the season went on and you really saw his confidence soar.

He’s gained about 25 pounds since last year and added muscle. His added strength will make a huge difference when he’s ready to come back.

“We’ll ride Jakob Lenard at quarterback until Tyler’s ready, but as I told Jakob – ‘You make him earn it back when he does come back. We’re going to put the best 11 guys on the field.’”

Westberg is also expecting big contributions from receivers Ford Moser and J.J. Julian, and a bevy of players on defense to shore up a unit that allowed 31 points a game last season.

“J.J. missed seven games last year because of an injury, but really came back and contributed for us the last few games,” Westberg said. “Now that he’s healthy and has a year of learning the

system under his belt, we’re expecting big things from him.”

C.J. Foxx, a senior linebacker, will also see some reps as a tight end, and Christian Bass was one of the leading tacklers on the team the last two seasons.

“Pound for pound, C.J. is the strongest kid on the team,” Westberg said.

“He’s got long arms, can run pretty well, and plays really physical.”

Chris Foster will be counted on to be a lock-down member of the secondary and see some snaps on offense as a receiver.

Myles Edringston and Ryan Walton will anchor the offensive line.

One thing that could prove to be a stumbling block for the Nighthawks is the number of players playing both offense and defense.

“We’ve got a lot of younger guys we’re plugging into spots and we already had some issues during the first game with guys cramping up,” Westberg said. “Everyone has to earn their spots and we will see who steps up for us.

With a lot of guys going both ways, we’ll manage that the best we can. We did a pretty good job of that last year by keeping them fresh, and we’ll find a way to do that again.”

Westberg sees Western Alamance and Eastern Alamance as the favorites in the Mid-State 3-A, and Person County has joined the league after dropping down from a 4-A classification in the latest realignment in the NCHSAA. “There won’t be any ‘gimmes’ in the league, that’s for sure,” Westberg said.

“Everyone will be much improved. We have some new coaches who bring their own dynamic and there are a ton of great players in our league. We feel like we’ll definitely be able to compete at a high level in the conference this season and get back to the playoffs and make a deeper run.”

Catch the Northwest vs. Northern Guilford game at Northern Guilford on Friday, Sept. 8. For the entire season schedule, see p. 6.

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Northwest Vikings 2017 VARSITY FOOTBALL TEAM ROSTER NO. NAME 1 Caleb Andrews 2 Cameron Cloud 3 Tre’ Turner 4 Ronnie Donnell 5 Jacob Leonard 6 Evan Hoff 7 Robert Dix 8 Andre’ Donnell 9 Dontrey King 10 Cody Creed 11 Jo Trevisan 12 Shane Mai 13 Mason Wilfong 14 Gavin Sweeney 16 Ethan Godfrey 17 Bryce Ward 18 Johnny Pagano 19 Danell Stewart 20 Jacob Hardy 21 Nicholas Schiavone 22 Jacob Harris 23 Victor Washington 24 Walker Ramsey

12

HEIGHT 5’9” 5’9” 6’4” 5’10” 6’1” 5’10” 5’10” 5’6” 5’8” 5’10” 5’5” 5’9” 6’5” 5’11” 6’1” 6’0” 5’10” 6’1” 5’7” 5’8” 5’10” 5’9” 5’7”

WEIGHT 215 175 190 160 175 200 160 155 135 175 130 165 210 165 190 195 160 180 185 145 170 140 140

POSITION RB/LB WR/DB WR/DB DB/WR QB LB WR WR/DB DB K/P DB/WR WR DE/TE DB TE/DL DE/TE QB/WR/DB LB RB DB LB DB/WR DB

GRADE 11 11 12 12 12 12 11 11 11 12 11 11 12 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11

NO. NAME 25 Zachary Morris 26 Harrison Burns 28 Will Sigmon 32 Jordan Freshwater 33 Peter Hennigan 34 Ethan Smith 44 Jordan Harrison 45 Mason Houghtby 50 Jacob Scheponik 51 Will Hampton 52 Chris Jenkins 58 Tristan Kilgannon 60 Trevor Hartman 61 David Stasch 70 Adam Marshall 71 Isaiah Ashley 73 Stanley Cornelius 75 Taylor Riddleberger 78 Kylar Gilliam 80 Bradon Thomas 84 Alex Cecil 85 Kevin Eichlin 90 Logan Thompson

HEIGHT 5’10” 6’6” 5’8” 5’6” 5’11” 6’1” 5’7” 5’7” 5’11” 6’0” 5’8” 5’10” 5’10” 5’7” 6’2” 6’4” 6’4” 5’10” 5’8” 6’3” 6’3” 5’8” 5’8”

WEIGHT 150 200 140 140 175 150 235 145 205 180 220 260 215 200 270 280 260 270 240 160 205 150 185

POSITION DB DL/OL DB DB LB/RB DB/WR DL LB LB/OL TE/LB OL DL OL OL OL/DL OL DL/OL OL OL WR DL/OL OL/DL OL/DL

GRADE 11 12 11 11 11 9 12 11 11 11 12 12 12 11 12 12 11 12 11 10 11 11 11

New coach, new conference for Northwest Guilford this season

by Marc Pruitt

Wallace, who was the offensive coordinator at former Piedmont-Triad 4-A conference rival Glenn High School the last three seasons, didn’t have a bare cupboard when he arrived.

This season begins a new era for the Northwest Guilford football team.

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Kevin Wallace was hired as the new head coach in June, and the With key skills Vikings have joined r te a position players such sy he of the Metro 4-A Cone, L if e c as wide receiver Tre’ a l to u c l h | Kev in W a ference after the North Turner, a senior who has Carolina High School Athletic committed to Virginia Tech, Association’s latest realignment. quarterback Jacob Leonard, running After finishing 7-5 last season, losback/slot receiver Cameron Cloud, kicking in the first round of the 4-A playoffs er/punter Cody Creed, a senior who has and having 28 seniors graduate, one verbally committed to walk on at Apmight think this will be a rebuilding palachian State, four returning starters year at Northwest. on the offensive line and what Wallace Not so. deems a “solid” front seven on defense,

the Vikings have plenty of pieces for a successful season.

This is the first head coaching job for Wallace, who brings plenty of experience as an assistant coach in the college ranks.

“Building a new culture and developing relationships and trust with them was the first thing I wanted to get in place,” Wallace said.

“They don’t care about how much I know until they find out how much I care, so we’ve been building up that trust factor since I got here.”

Besides establishing a new culture, there’s also the business of teaching a new system on offense and defense, and new terminology. Wallace said he has been encouraged on all fronts.

“The way I look at it is, we’re getting better every day,” he said. “We hit the ground running given the timing of my hiring. My main objective was getting

Head coach: Kevin Wallace (first season) Breakout players: Evan Hoff (LB) Caleb Andrews (RB) Key players: Tre’ Turner (WR/DB) Jacob Leonard (QB) Cody Creed (K/P) Cameron Cloud (WR/RB) Most anticipated conference game: Page (Oct. 13) Offense: Air raid spread Offensive coordinator: Wallace Defense: 4-4 Defensive coordinator: Pat Neal

both units to be consistent. I’m liking how we have progressed. The kids have learned a lot, we’ve thrown a lot at them and we continue to evolve. They have

Continued on page 14

Continued on page 13

13

Northwest football ...continued from p. 13

responded great to all the new terminology. It’s all concept-based, so we use words for everything.

“It’s like learning a new language.

The only way you get good at it is by repping (doing repetitions) it and getting them to the point where first they can regurgitate it, second, they can do it, and third, they can teach it. We want to get to the point where they can teach it.

And they’ve picked up on it when they notice similarities to what they did last year. They’ll let each other know ‘Hey, we called that play this’ last year and it helps them pick it up faster.”

Wallace said having most of the assistant coaches from last season back on staff has also been a huge help in the transition.

“I’ve got a great support system here, great administration, great involve-

ment from the parents, and some of my assistants have been head coaches,” he said. “They understand all the administrative tasks you have to do with the paperwork, and eligibility – things I never had to do as an assistant coach. That’s been a great benefit.”

The Vikings won their first two games of the season, 17-6 against Smith and 53-26 against Western Guilford before falling to Southeast Guilford 28-13 last week. The remaining schedule has some interesting elements as the Vikings seek another playoff berth. There’s the crosstown rivalry game against Northern, whose coach Erik Westberg is one of Wallace’s best friends. There’s West Forsyth on Sept. 29, where Wallace was set to be the offensive coordinator this season before he took the job at Northwest. And there’s new conference rival Page, which will come to Billings Stadium on Oct. 13 under the leadership of former Northwest head coach Jared Rolfes.

“It’s a very solid, challenging schedule from the top down,” Wallace said.

“We’re in a new conference. My philosophy has always been to take them one day at a time, one game at a time. Every team you play every year, you’ve got to respect everyone. We can’t take anyone lightly and we can’t let complacency set in. We’ve been preaching that from the get-go.

“You can’t just go out there and assume you’re going to win.

Our goal is to try and be 1-0 at the end of every week. We can’t look ahead and we certainly don’t want to look behind. You learn from your mistakes and you move forward. Each week has got to be better. If we’re playing the same football in week 11 that we did in week 1, I haven’t done my job as a coach. We have to progress each week.”

Wallace said he took a healthy dose of ribbing from some of the players when he took the job at Northwest because of his former position at Glenn, which beat Northwest on a last-second touchdown play last season. He assured his players that his loyalty was now with the Vikings.

“If I’m going to tell them to forget about the past, then I’ve got to forget about the past too,” he said. “I told them all on Day 1 that I didn’t care how things were done before, whether what we’re doing now is the same, different, or whether you like it, this is how we’re going to do it. I don’t want to hear about the past. We’re going to worry about the present and the future. We’re focused on now. Everyone gets a clean slate and we go from there.”

Catch the Northwest vs. Northern Guilford game at Northern Guilford on Friday, Sept. 8. For the entire season schedule, see p. 6.

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GO NORTHERN NIGHTHAWKS & NORTHWEST VIKINGS!

Football, coaching provides lasting bond for Wallace, Westberg

by Marc Pruitt

“Sports is life with the volume up… The friendships in sports are fused more tightly than in most other places…”

How do a “Jersey boy” from Atlantic City and a Yankees fan from Long Island take their friendship to Greensboro and become football coaches at rival high schools in Guilford County?

How did the game help them form a bond, and how does coaching football help them sustain it?

And what happens when their respective teams square off against each other on Sept. 8?

Erik Westberg and Kevin Wallace are every bit as comfortable giving each other a hard time as they are at developing game plans and calling plays on Friday nights.

Whether it’s determining who will pick the other up to go out to eat because of who won or lost the night before, or debating whether better bagels are made in New York or New Jersey, one thing is for certain – Westberg and Wallace have formed a lasting connection through football and their chosen profession.

Westberg, in his second season at Northern Guilford, and Wallace, in his first season at Northwest, became fast friends during their brief stint together as assistant coaches at The Apprentice School in Newport News, Virginia.

“We probably would have never met otherwise because we were just from two different corners,” Wallace said.

“At that point in our careers, I don’t think we had any mutual friends.”

Wallace was hired at Apprentice in the spring of 2010 as the offensive line and strength and conditioning coordinator. Westberg got hired about a week later as the defensive line coach and special teams coordinator.

“Our office was in a trailer and we were both early morning people,” Wallace said. “We had these little cubicles.

His was right by the door when you walked in, mine was over to the right and we just started off ripping on each other because of the New York-New Jersey thing, just constantly messing with each other. We were just two guys from the Northeast with thick skin, taking shots at one another all the time.

We also lived in the same apartment building, so when we weren’t in the office or at the field, we’d go out to eat together all the time.”

“We built up a really fun relationship for the six, seven months we were together at Apprentice,” Westberg said. “We started calling each other ‘Chief,’ and the nickname stuck with him. My wife calls him that now, his wife calls him that. A lot of the guys we used to coach with still call him that. It just grew. We didn’t win a lot of games, but we had a lot of fun. It was a tough place to coach. The students there worked 40 hours a week building ships for the Navy, went to class part of the time, and then played football when they were done.”

With Wallace as the offensive line coach and Westberg as the defensive line coach, their units were always matched up against each other during practice.

“I had all seniors and he had all

Continued on page 28

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Northwest Vikings marching band Brian McMath, Northwest band director

by Marc Pruitt Brian McMath enjoys the challenge of packing as much as he can into a frantic 15-minute window during halftime of home football games. He also enjoys the national competitions the Northwest Guilford marching band participates in.

This year is no different for the Vikings, as the band will be performing another ambitious production.

“The Lost Boy” has a Peter Pan-like feel to it, complete with an interactive 50-foot pirate ship, a massive garden structure that looks like something

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you would find in Neverland, and rock formations and screens that help formulate the concept of the show.

“The music is kind of inspired by Peter Pan, but that’s not really what it is,” McMath said. “The color guard is our ‘Lost Boys’, and they are all chasing Peter Pan’s shadow. We’re using the Ruth B. song ‘Lost Boy’ that has been really popular, which talks about the interactions of Peter and his shadow. At the end of the show, if we’ve done it right, every Lost Boy will have captured their shadow Pan. That is the concept of the show.”

This is McMath’s 14th year at Northwest and his

21st year of teaching. Besides performing at halftime at all of the home football games, he has the Vikings signed up to participate in seven weekends of competition throughout North Carolina and Virginia, culminating on Nov. 4 at the Bands of America Southeast Regional at BB&T Stadium in Winston-Salem.

“Yes, it’s a massive undertaking,” McMath said. “It’s 150 band members and the best band parents on God’s green earth all doing their parts to make it work. If it wasn’t for everyone’s dedication, we wouldn’t be able to do this on this scale.

“We started building props over the

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McMath said he feels things are a little behind this year because he was having trouble finding a program that he thought was suitable.

“Usually, I start in December,” he said. “I started in February this year because nothing was speaking to me. We let the parents and kids know about things last April and started some of the work in May. We probably won’t perform the full show during games until later in September, when we’ve had time to practice with all of the props. But I’m excited to see where this program can take us.”

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summer, every Saturday for several hours,” McMath said. “You only get 15 minutes to get on the field and get off with all of our props, so there are a lot of moving parts. It’s an exhilarating logistical challenge.”

Collin Flick, Northwest drum major

by Marc Pruitt Music has enveloped Collin Flick’s world since he first started playing trumpet in sixth grade. Two years later, as an eighth-grader, he joined the marching band at Northwest High School.

Now a senior, Flick is enjoying being one of the band’s two drum majors.

“I love being able to perform and watching the reactions from people listening to the music,” he said. “From eighth grade to now, I’ve really matured and grown musically because of this program. It’s helped me out a lot. It’s safe to say that I’ve found myself through music.”

Flick is the second member of his family to be a drum major at Northwest.

His brother Shawn held the same role when Collin was in middle school.

“He was a big inspiration for me to become a drum major,” Flick said. “He showed me the way.”

Flick considers himself somewhat of a “Renaissance Man” because of his love for the classics. One of his favorite memories as a member of the school’s jazz ensemble dates back to his freshman year, when the North Carolina Symphony invited the ensemble to play outside its music hall.

“We got free seats to watch them

perform (George) Gershwin songs,” he said. “That was a great experience.”

As for transitioning from playing an instrument during performances to being a drum major, Flick admitted, “It’s a bit overwhelming at first to go from performing on the field to being the head honcho. I’m still adjusting. But we’ve got a great group to work with and we are all learning the performances and our parts. We are excited to bring it to everyone on Friday nights and at our competitions. As drum majors, we are responsible for the band as a whole.

We are responsible for our school colors.

It’s a great responsibility to have.”

Flick hopes to study music education at Western Carolina next year, and to one day become a high school band director.

On a side note, we asked Flick these three questions: Q: Where would you go on your dream vacation?

A: “Germany” Q: What three people, living or dead, would you invite to dinner?

A: “George Gershwin, Michael Jackson, John Williams (composer)” Q: What’s your favorite musical piece to perform?

A: “Rhapsody in Blue” (George Gershwin)

Christine Villanueva, Northwest drum major

by Marc Pruitt Senior Christine Villanueva got a head start with Northwest Guilford High School’s marching band. Her experience began in eighth grade, when she was still in middle school.

Villanueva’s older sister, who was a sophomore at the time, was already a band member.

“I loved going to practices and being around her friends and

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some of the older people,” said Villanueva, who played clarinet. “I loved that I had older friends and we had all these things in common. It was a lot of fun.

“I had never experienced teamwork before because I never participated in sports, but the activity of marching band is athletic, Continued on page 26

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Northern Nighthawk marching band Michael Courey, Northern band director

by Marc Pruitt Michael Courey hopes the Northern Guilford community will experience a transformational musical “journey” this football season – both literally and figuratively.

In his second full season as the Nighthawks’ band director, Courey has selected a musical arrangement for halftime performances that should definitely be popular with fans of rock music from the ‘80s.

“Our marching band show this year will feature music from the band Journey, with mash-ups of the songs ‘Any Way You Want it,’ ‘Loving, Touching, Squeezing,’ and ‘Open Arms,’ which is a beautiful piece that will feature one of our trumpet players,” Courey said. “It’s

really a great piece of music and arranged beautifully.

“Journey came to Greensboro for a concert last year and I thought it would be a lot of fun to play their music,” Courey continued. “It is still very fresh around here, and the music is very solid. Journey’s orchestration is like the gold standard for pop music. The arrangements are so good, we’ll have a great marching band sound with beautiful orchestration, and our fans will be in for a real treat!”

This year’s band and color guard has 60 members, which is an increase of about 15 members from last year.

Courey is excited about continuing the pre-game show, which was added last year.

“A lot of colleges and universities do it, and I thought it would be something really cool we can bring to this community,” Courey said.

“This year, we’ve also added some neat drill features that the fans will be able to see.

“The students have been on fire,” he said. “Our pre-game show is six and a half minutes of music and drill that we’ll march to before games. They’re hungry for more.”

Since most of the band members have been around Courey for the better part of three years now, he said they know what to expect.

“It’s been nice, and it’s nice to have two returning drum majors as well,” Courey said. “I’m doing things that I

think will enhance the great tradition that Mr. Kimbrough established here and the kids are latching on beautifully.

We’re still rocking and rolling, and a large part of that is due to him.

“I genuinely look forward to waking up and coming to work every day because of these kids.

The whole environment has been very positive. It’s palpable, and you can sense it.”

Courey said he looks forward to seeing the finished product all season.

“I’m a performer at heart,” he said.

“When I see the kids out there and know the work they put in to making it all come together, it’s just the satisfaction for the unique teaching experience of seeing the kids be so happy and involved in something that we did as a whole.”

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Lindsey Oldt, Northern drum major

by Marc Pruitt Lindsey Oldt started her marching band experience at Northern Guilford as a member of the drumline and will finish it this year as one of two drum majors.

A senior, Oldt is leading the band on Friday nights for the second straight year. This is the third time she has been a drum major – the first was as an eighth-grader at Northern Middle school.

“I kind of got recruited for that,” Oldt said. “Our instructor told us good drum majors really need to know how to keep the beat, and I was intrigued by that.

I thought it would expand my musical knowledge. Now, it’s bigger and there is a lot more pressure. Football is a big deal around here and is part of our school culture. I feel like we need to put on a good show because everyone comes out here to have a good time, and we are part of that overall experience for them.”

ing at games this season, Oldt said, “I think Journey will be appreciated by a lot of people and we are going to have some fun with it. It’s been a little more of a musical education for me since these songs were really popular in the 80’s, but I know people still love them today.

“We’re ready. Friday nights are a big rush for us before we perform. You march around and see everyone in the stadium. It’s pretty crazy. Everyone is cheering and it’s a great feeling.

“I love band so much and want to make sure everyone has a positive experience like I have had,” she said. “This has been a big part of my life during high school.”

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Q: Where would you go on your dream vacation?

“I like to try new things and I fell in love with it right away,” she said. “You can express whatever you want through music.”

A: “Mr. Andrews, in fifth grade at Northern Elementary”

Q: Who’s the best teacher you’ve had?

Q: What’s your favorite sound?

A: “Water flowing”

Hannah O’Kelley, Northern drum major

by Marc Pruitt

on the task at hand.

Hannah O’Kelley brings a lot of valuable learning lessons to her second year as a drum major for Northern Guilford’s marching band.

“I’m a lot better at handling more situations and helping everyone as best I can,” O’Kelley said. “I’ve learned a lot about myself by being the drum major and because of music and the connection you can have with people. Meeting new freshmen was my favorite part last year. I loved showing them how fun marching band is. I loved getting to know all of them as people, rather than people

All kidding aside, O’Kelley said her experience from last year has certainly helped her become more focused

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On a side note, we asked Oldt these three questions:

A: “Hawaii”

“I definitely have a bigger yelling voice now,” O’Kelley said.

“It’s still pretty shrill and high-pitched. I’m not a very good yeller, but I’ve gotten better.”

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Oldt wants to major in pre-law and Spanish in college and one day become an immigration attorney.

Oldt got her start in music in sixth grade, playing the flute.

As for the program the band is perform-

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Northern Nighthawk cheerleaders

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by Marc Pruitt The Northern Guilford cheerleaders are ready to kick their competitive spirit into overdrive this season with a new coach – but a familiar face.

After spending the last two years as the junior varsity coach, Beth Truong has taken over as head coach of the varsity cheerleaders.

Truong helped the squad last season in its first year of competition at the state level, which is something the cheerleaders are already preparing for this year.

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“The state competition is held in Raleigh every year with all the classifications,” Truong said. “We were in the small division of our classification (3-A schools) last season and came up just short of getting a bid to the National tournament, with only eight girls participating – I make it voluntary for them because I know it’s a long season and they are all involved in so many other things.”

This year’s state competition, which is sanctioned by the NCHSAA, will be held in late November or early December.

Continued on page 25

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Northwest Viking cheerleaders

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Photo courtesy of Lifetouch | Front Row: (L-R) Sarah Brown, Claire Riffle, Melody Wheeler, Mackenna Myers, Karlee Rottweiler, Taylor Bolejack; Middle Row: Maddie Cassetty, Jona Tillman, Alexzandria Robinson, Mya Hulse, Jalisa Williams, Shaylee Johnstun, Cassidy Davis; Back Row: Coach Pennington, Alivia Hicks, Kaitlyn Crews, Maya Scott, Catherine Spiker, Kinlie Rackard

by Marc Pruitt The Northwest Guilford varsity cheerleaders are ready to enhance school spirit this year and they expect it to be a thrilling ride.

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“We’ve gone through mid-March the last two years cheering for the football team and the basketball teams,” Coach Autumn Pennington said. “And with the girls basketball team playing in the state championship game the last two years, we expect to go full force again this year

until the spring. We’re looking forward to a great year for our teams.”

This is Pennington’s third season with the cheerleading squad, which has 18 members. Eight are returning varsity cheerleaders, eight have moved up from the junior varsity team, and two are newcomers.

“We’ve been working on revamping and reinventing the culture of the team,” Pennington said. “Since they dropped the leadership class at Northwest this

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year, one of our goals is to take on the task of doing more to promote school spirit. Most of the girls on the team were looking forward to participating in leadership class anyway, so this gives us a chance to build the school community a little more.”

Pennington said the cheerleaders will be at all home and away football games and they plan to be even more active, especially during home games.

“It’s just an opportunity for us to be even more visible,” she said, adding that she hopes the increased visibility will go a long way in promoting support for the cheerleaders’ major fundraiser this season, the “Little Vikings” cheer camp.

The team plans to hold two camps, one during football season and one during basketball season.

“We’ve had 20 to 25 girls come since I’ve been involved with the camp; it’s such a huge deal to them and our

Northern cheer

girls love it, too,” Pennington said.

“Once they complete camp, they come and cheer with us on the track during a football game, and then also with us on the basketball court. We always have a lot of fun doing these. It’s a big fundraiser for us and it gets everyone who may be interested in cheerleading to come and learn and have fun.”

The team will not be participating in any competitions this year, but Pennington said she has been looking to get the cheerleaders involved in more community service projects.

“I know a lot of the girls are already active with community service through other clubs and their churches, but we are looking at doing some things as a team,” Pennington said. “All of the girls are well-rounded and take AP (Advanced Placement) and Honors classes.

We’re got a great group of girls and we are looking forward to having a great time this year.”

...continued from p. 22

“We hope we can find a choreographer to help us this year and we will practice on Saturdays until we are competition-ready,” Truong said.

The team will also be focused on ramping up school spirit during all the football games as well as performing some fundraisers in the community to promote cheerleading.

One fundraiser, which will be a joint effort with the Northern Guilford Youth Football Association, will help cover the cost of putting on clinics for younger cheerleaders.

“Everyone who participates will get to perform with us during the first half of a home football game,” Truong said. “We’ll also do one in the winter for basketball with Summerfield Recreation Association, and the participants will perform with us during halftime of one of our basketball games.”

Truong also hopes to get her team involved with the cheerleading festivities during the pre-game of the ACC Foot-

Wishing our patients an outstanding and healthy school year!

ball Championship at Bank of America Stadium in December.

“Our plan is to have lots of fun and cheer on our teams and continue to build a strong bond,” Truong said. “Our main goal is to keep the student section pumped up.”

The cheerleading squad will also be involved with other community service projects throughout the year and has already participated in “Backpack Buddies,” which helped collect almost 2,100 cans of food for the Northern Guilford Food Pantry on Aug. 20.

Truong, who is the job coach at Northern High School, hopes to find more things the team can help with.

“I’d really like to find something involving special needs kids too,” she said.

“A lot of the girls do community service through their service clubs and churches as well. I know a lot of them helped with Habitat for Humanity over the summer.”

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Northwest band

...continued from p. 19

social and musical. It’s so complex and exciting. The friendships I’ve made will last a lifetime.”

Since first playing music in sixth grade at Northwest Middle, Villanueva said she grew to love everything about it.

“And my love for it has grown since I got to high school,” she added.

Villanueva first auditioned to be the drum major during her sophomore year.

“It was a good experience to learn how the process worked,” she said. “I didn’t get it then, and I didn’t try out at all my junior year because I was too busy with other things.”

But for her senior year, Villanueva knew she wanted to be one of the band’s drum majors.

“The process was similar to what I did my sophomore year,” she said. “All the band members vote on the drum majors and section leaders, with the ultimate

decision being left to Mr. McMath.”

Regarding the adjustment to being a drum major, Villanueva said, “It was a little awkward at first. I did miss being part of the band and following orders.

Now, I have to give orders and know what everyone is doing all of the time; that took some getting used to. I just have been helping people the best way I know how.”

Besides band, Villanueva is involved with Biology Olympiad, Key Club, Battle of the Books and Girls for a Change. She wants to study psychology in college.

On a side note, we asked Villanueva these three questions: Q: Where would you go on your dream vacation?

A. “Italy” Q: What’s on your bucket list?

A. “Travel to the Philippines (I have family there)” Q: Who is one of the best teachers you’ve had?

A. “Mrs. Melanie Huynh-Duc (11th grade English)”

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Northern band

...continued from p. 21 who just play instruments.”

O’Kelley started playing the piano when she was young, but said she gave that up pretty early and has since graduated to the euphonium, trumpet, and ukulele, among others.

It was as a sixth-grader that she said she had an epiphany.

“I saw the marching band in action in middle school and thought ‘yeah, that’s what I want to do,’” O’Kelley said.

She was the drum major at Northern Middle in eighth grade and during her sophomore year at Northern High she auditioned to be a drum major.

“I remembered how fun it was to be a leader, how much fun I had meeting new people,” she said. “I loved being able to lead the band and bring everyone together.”

For her audition, she had to conduct the band in the “Star-Spangled Banner” and answer lots of questions about

GO VIKINGS!

leadership and responsibility. She got the job, but had to audition again to be the drum major this year.

“I appreciated that because I don’t take it for granted,” O’Kelley said. “I’ve loved my experience as drum major and loved being a part of the marching band here all four years.”

O’Kelley hopes to attend UNC Chapel Hill, N.C. State or South Carolina next year and wants to do something related to science or education.

“My ultimate goal is to just be happy,” she said.

On a side note, we asked O’Kelley these three questions: Q: What three people, living, dead, or fictional, would you invite to dinner?

A: “Betty Friedan (author), Ryan Reynolds, Kim Possible” Q: Who’s the best teacher you’ve had?

A: “Ms. Maggie Cox (kindergarten teacher at Laughlin Elementary)” Q: If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

A: “Shape-shifting or mind-reading”

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Best Frenemies ...continued from p. 15 freshmen,” Westberg said. “And we just beat their butts every day. And he used to get so mad because of it. He’d throw his hat, his visor, his pen – whatever he had with him usually ended up on the ground. It was so awesome.”

In January 2011 Westberg accepted a job at Greensboro College as the defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator. His wife, Susanna, was still living in Greensboro when he was at The Apprentice School and he had been commuting four hours each way during the off-season, leaving on Fridays to head home for the weekend.

“I told our head coach in Greensboro when I got the job that if there were ever any offensive openings, I knew a guy who would be interested,” Westberg said. “And when we had a receivers coach position open, he had Kevin come down to interview and he got the job. Eventually, he became the offensive line coach. The truth is, he followed me down here like a little puppy dog.”

“The laughter is louder, the jokes funnier, the pain sharper, the nights later, the highs higher, and the lows lower…”

Wallace came to interview at Greensboro College on May 5 – Cinco de Mayo – and stayed at the Westbergs’ house. Little did he know what was in store.

“I went in for my interview, and it was the toughest interview I ever had,” Wallace said. “I spent 3 ½ hours with one of the coaches alone. So, when I got back to (Westberg’s house) he asked me how it went, then just started laughing.”

It turns out Westberg had told the coaching staff to make sure they were especially hard on his friend.

“I told them to really let him have it, put him through the wringer,” Westberg said. “We’re basically like brothers when you look at it. We pick on each other all the time like brothers would. But they offered him the job and we really just picked up right where we left off from Apprentice.”

Wallace was promoted to offensive coordinator and Westberg was moved to quarterback coach after their first season at Greensboro, meaning the two were working side-by-side instead of opposing each other during practices.

“We ended up working three years together on the offense,” Westberg said. “And we kind of followed our same patterns as before when we were in Virginia. We drove to practices together because we were practicing off-site, and hung out after practice.

When we were out recruiting, if he saw a kid for my position or I saw one for his, we’d immediately let the other one know about it.“ “Chief” even had his mail delivered to Westberg’s home when he first moved to Greensboro.

“I had given their address as my address at first, so anytime I went to their house, they had this bin there that said ‘Chief’s Mail’,” Wallace said.

“I got to know his family really well, and he got to know mine.”

Because of a coaching change at Greensboro College, Wallace left to become the offensive coordinator at Glenn High School in Kernersville. The next year, Westberg became the head coach at Northern. The two still made it a point to stay connected, going to each other’s games on Fridays and Saturdays.

“We’d talk on the phone every day, sometimes two, three times,” Westberg said. “We still do. Our wives refuse to go out with us because they say we dominate the conversation. They get on us about that.”

When Wallace got married over the summer, Westberg was one of his groomsmen.

“My wife had eight bridesmaids and I only had a solid six groomsmen, so I had to figure something out,” Wallace joked. “In all seriousness, he was the only guy from down here who I asked to do that. Everyone else was from back up North.”

And when Wallace interviewed for the job at Northwest on the same day he left for his honeymoon in Spain, Westberg knew he was going to get it.

“It figures it had to be our rival that finally gave him a job!” Westberg said.

“My thing with Kevin is, he had been in the mix for a few jobs before and I wondered how he hadn’t gotten one yet. He’s just a phenomenal coach. So I was happy for him, but him being at Northwest is just typical of our relationship. And nothing about it will change our relationship. He runs some of the stuff I use, and I run some of the stuff he does. We still bounce ideas off each other daily. We’re not hiding anything.

And so many of our staffs played for us when we were at Greensboro, and they all hang out together too.”

Wallace said he and Westberg both understand the strong bond between coaches because of the appreciation they all have for the work they do.

“Everyone knows what you go through,” Wallace said. “It’s the long hours, the sacrifice – everyone who

coaches gets it. You’re with guys all the time, practicing together, at games together, or you’re going out to eat together. You really get to know people with all the time you spend together.

You develop a healthy respect for each other because of the knowledge they have about the game and the time they put into it.”

“Athletics teach us that life, although unpredictable, is something we can deal with.

An athlete smiles when he wins, nods when he loses, yet wakes up to a new and different game every day.”

When Wallace and Westberg’s teams square off against each other on Friday, Sept. 8, they’ll both be ready for the lively atmosphere.

“Last year when we played, that was the loudest game I’ve ever coached in,” Westberg said. “It was a great atmosphere for a high school football game. I didn’t fully understand the rivalry until I experienced it.

And this year, if they beat us, I know we’ve lost to a great team with a great coach.

“That’s the bottom line. We can be rivals and we can be friends, and regardless what the outcome is, I’m sure we’ll go out to dinner afterwards like we usually would do.”

Wallace is looking forward to his Photo by Marc Pruitt/NWO Northwest Head Coach Kevin Wallace (left) and Northern Head Coach Erik Westberg

first experience as Northwest’s coach facing its No. 1 rival, Northern.

“Anyone with a heartbeat in this area understands the rivalry and how important it is to the kids and the community,” Wallace said. “I don’t truly know it yet. I know what other people say about it, and I know what I’ve heard about it. I’m sure it will be a loud and energetic atmosphere and I’m looking forward to experiencing it. I know our kids look forward to this game every year.”

Writer’s note: The quotes in this story (all three are actually part of one quote) were something I heard an emcee for an AAU national basketball tournament I attended in 1992 say at our opening ceremonies. I thought it was pretty powerful then and it’s stuck with me all these years. I apologize that I couldn’t locate the name of the emcee so that I could give him credit for the quote.

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About ½ mile south of the Hwy 150 intersection