Preston Worley, right, begins his second season as head football coach at West Bladen.
Sonny Jones / Bladen Journal
West Bladen hasn’t won more than three games in a football season in seven years. That streak could end this season.
The Knights, who were 2-7 last season, return eight starters on offense and eight on defense as second-year head coach Preston Worley implements his program.
“We had a lot of juniors and seniors last year having to learn a whole new offense,” Worley said. “It took some time. I feel a lot better about this year, just having a full offseason. We feel very confident this year on the offensive and defensive sides of the football.”
So far, so good, according to Worley, as West Bladen prepares for its season opener Friday against Pender at The Castle.
“Through these first two weeks of practice and our scrimmage I’ve been fairly pleased with our offensive line and defensive line,” said Worley, the former West Columbus defensive coordinator and South Columbus High graduate. “It’s gotten much better over the course of the preseason.
“We got to work on improving our toughness. We’ve got to keep getting better in the trenches. I’ve also been very pleased with the blocking in our backfield and how hard they’ve been running the football.”
Offensively, the most noticeable difference will be behind center. Sophomore Devan Haire moves into the quarterback position while last year’s quarterback, senior Hunter Hester, moves to tight end on offense and linebacker on defense.
(Hunter) “is 6-2, 230 and can catch. He’ll help us out a lot more offensively and defensively there than he would have at quarterback,” Worley said.
Haire, according to Worley, “is a tough kid, runs the ball hard and is a smart kid, which is why he’s under center. He’s a good option for us at quarterback and I feel like he’s going to do a very good job for us.”
Seniors Ahmarie White and Justin Spaulding return to the backfield and will be joined by sophomore Sincere McKinley, junior John McDowell and senior Isaiah Robinson.
Senior Wendell Way is “one of the better pulling guards,” Worley said, and senior tackle Weston Hilburn, who is “probably the most physical lineman we have and high energy,” will lead an offensive line. The center will be senior Jamius Owens, who played football as a sophomore but did not play last season. Junior Alvin Lacewell returns to play guard. The other tackle position still is being contested.
Hester and Robinson will be key to the defense from their linebacker positions. Sophomore Dawan Carter, junior Kendall Lesane, Way and Hilburn will play along the defensive front.
The secondary will include McKinley, McDowell and Spaulding.
The Knights, now a class 3A school, are members of the revamped Southeastern 3A/4A/5A Conference. Other 3A members are South Columbus and Whiteville. Fairmont and Red Springs are 4A. South Brunswick is 5A.
“It’s going to be a tough conference,” Worley said. “It’s going to provide some challenges for us throughout the season.”
Here is the West Bladen schedule:
August 22 – Pender; 29 – at East Bladen
September 5 – West Columbus; 12 – at Heide Trask; 19 – Union
October 3 – at Whiteville; 10 – Fairmont; 17 – at Red Springs; 24 – South Columbus; 31 – at South Brunswick
Sonny Jones can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @FOSonnyJones.