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Team looks to stay the course for new coach

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

There’s a new Walker at the helm of the Sandy Creek program but the expectations for the Patriots haven’t changed. Chip Walker, son of former head coach Rodney Walker, is the new head coach and he states that the goal for the Patriots remains the same, win every football game.

“Some may think this will be a down year for us but our goal is to go 10-0 again and win another region title,” said Walker. “If you shoot for anything less you are cheating the kids.”

There may be some new faces on the field and there are some big shoes to fill, especially at running back, but the Patriots return some qualiy starters on offense and defense. In fact, the Sandy Creek defense may be the team’s greatest strength, especially as the offense gets up to full speed. The defense should get big boosts from players like Corbin Miles, Stephan Atrice and Rickey Nicholson among others. Miles will also join Brent Brewer and Tim Russell as part of an experienced wide receiver corps that will hope to give quarterback Jake Turing some big targets and relieve some pressure off the running game, which will feature Khiry Battle and Bradley Bush at tailback and Cody Green at fullback.

‘We may not be as explosive as we have been in the past with Reggie (Ellington) last year or Philip Hyde, but these gys have done a good job in practices,” said Walker.

Walker also has confidence in Turing who got a good amount of playing time behind Josh Haney last year. This will be the first year starting for the junior quarterback but Turing is used to running an offense. Walker added that Turing throws the ball well and possibly a little better than the team has been used to in the past.

In their first jamboree of the year, Walker was pleased with the defense’s intensity as well as how the team limited mistakes like offisdes and illegal substitutions. Those mistakes can add up and hurt a team and the Patriots know that to run the table in the regular season again and claim their third straight region title, they will need to play hard for all four quarters of every game and play smart.

In his first year as the head football coach, Walker says that the game hasn’t changed any but there are many more extra curricular activities he has to contend with now, like Booster Club meetings and making sure that everything runs smoothly. The Patriots are hoping to give their coach a good introduction into the halls of head coaching but if he does run into any snags, he also knows that some help is only a phone call away.