HP Andrews struggles in win

Raiders stress positives in win over Cedar Ridge
By Will Sullivan, High Point Enterprise Staff Sports Writer 08/17/2003

High Point Andrews' 28-7 season-opening victory at Cedar Ridge Friday night wasn't the rout most everyone expected. But it was a win, and officially, that's one more than the Red Raiders tallied all of last year.

"They're probably a little disappointed by their initial performance," said first-year Andrews head coach Derek Anderson. "But it was important for these kids to get out and get a win and have some success early."

Was it ever. All the success the Raiders enjoyed last year - a school-record 13 wins, a second-straight Mid-State 2A Conference championship, a trip to the state semifinals - was stripped away following the countywide attendance investigation. For Anderson, putting those bad memories in the rear-view mirror meant just as much as getting a win Friday.

"Moving past all that was something that was important to me," said Anderson, a longtime assistant from Ragsdale who was tapped to replace former Raider coach Dave Mizell. "School couldn't start soon enough. We really wanted to get their minds off that and get involved in football."

Judging from Friday's underwhelming performance - Cedar Ridge outgained its guests in total yardage and trailed by just a touchdown before the Raiders recorded two late scores - Andrews will be hard-pressed to duplicate last year's pre-forfeit achievements. But Anderson said Friday was a good starting point.

"They know they have some things to build on," he said. "It's about us learning how to be together. We have a coaching staff that's new to them and we're new to one another. We've got offensive and defensive systems that are new to them. As we get a little more comfortable and gain some experience, we can only get better."

The Raiders' run defense needs to get better in a hurry. Andrews allowed workhorse Cedar Ridge tailback Devon Moore to rumble for 183 yards on 39 carries. The Raiders' pass coverage bailed out the defense, intecepting three balls, one which Justin Amos returned 40 yards for a touchdown. Chris Noel and Troy Robinson had the other picks for Andrews.

"We know we need to go to practice, work hard, and be better for Smith," said Robinson, who will help lead the Raiders against Smith in Friday's home opener at Simeon Stadium.

Anderson said he expects much improvement from his team and himself.

"If I had to give myself a grade right now, I'd probably give myself a D or C+," he said. "We're a work in progress."

 

JUST MAKE SURE YALL BEAT SMITH...!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Dude, Cedar Ridge is in Hillsborough. The school opened last year. Mizell (my neighbor) is the defensive coordinator over at Kernersville Glenn under Dickie Cline (who I'm sure you remember has been at Ragdale, SW Guilford, Ledford). Adeline Payne, the defensive line coach also went there. Quinten Cotton, #2 ranked prospect in NC, transferred from Andrews to Glenn as did 4 other Andrews players. FYI, in the mess of all the stuff at Andrews, 8 of the 9 coaches are gone from there. Most did it as a show of support to Dave. A lot of the businesses in HP have withheld support to the school due to the poor handling of the situation. Dave was too nice to fight the school system. There were no less than 9 coaching positions available in Guilford County listed on the internet and on the school system TV channel. He had simply been told he could no longer teach/coach at Andrews. When he went to see the personnel director, they told him none of those jobs were available, which of course was a lie. The truth will come out sometime, they're trying to push a $300 million bond referendum through in October and the people in HP aren't going to buy into it.

As for the Enterprise site, I only had to register once so I don't know what went wrong.

I'm sure they'll play a decent game against Smith.

As CharlotteDude knows, I've been a Red Raider for way too many years, since the school opened in 1968. I was in the band, have been to countless games and events at the school over the years. However, the stuff that occurred last year with the testing and attendance problems (which have been proven not to have been the teachers' faults) turned me off. Right now I'm just mildly following my son's high school teams, Southwest Guilford. They're not much in football but have strong programs in boys' basketball and soccer and girls' soccer. (They have some of the best homemade hot dogs around at the concession stand!)

 

so HP are you coming to Jamestown Friday night to watch Ragsdale put a whuppin' on those Cowboys?

 

wossa, I have a church officers' retreat in Brown Summit Friday night and all day Saturday so I can't. I wish I could.