Motivated by near miss of playoffs, Eastern Guilford enters fall season with young squad, new leaders

What the Wildcats believed was a performance that made a clear statement turned out to be anything but, as confusion regarding conference standings and state playoff bids ensued.

Despite the result on the field, Southern Guilford received the Mid-Piedmont Conference’s second of two automatic bids to the state playoffs, while the Wildcats would be left out of the postseason. Southern Guilford finished with a 4-2 conference record (5-3 overall) and got the nod over the Wildcats due to conference win percentage. 

“They’re highly upset with what happened,” Eastern Guilford coach Tony Aguilar said. “The coaches are, as well. It was unfortunate. It was COVID; we’ll chalk it up to that. We felt like we should’ve been the team that got in, but we weren’t. So we’re not going to pout about it. We’re just going to work on trying to get better each day this year.

“That last game, I just sent a text message to them and then I talked to them, the ones that were in school. When we started the summer, we said, ‘Last year is last year. This is a different group. What happened is done,’ and we're just going to move forward. We're in a new conference. We got new teams we're playing. So it's all kind of fresh for everybody. It's kind of like starting over, so that’s good.”

Eastern Guilford went 3-2 in the league during the spring, playing one less conference game because a contest with Southwestern Randolph, the fifth-place team in the seven-team league, was called off due to COVID-19 issues in the Cougars program. The Wildcats attempted to reschedule the game with Southwestern Randolph, but ultimately it never happened, leaving Eastern Guilford's résumé compromised as one of the first teams out of the state playoff picture.

“I remember they had told us it was because of the game that we missed for COVID,” senior tight end / outside linebacker Elijah Petty said. “I was only angered so much because we didn't play that game. Now, if we beat ourselves and we lost and we didn't make it, so be it.”

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Feeling they got the short end of the stick, and not because of their own doing, the Wildcats say the playoff fiasco serves as a significant source of motivation heading into a new season.

“It motivates us a lot, especially since we let down those senior guys we had last year that we were really close with,” Petty said. “Some of us junior guys that played last year but had really good athletes to compete with, that didn't get as much time, we're real pumped to be out there and finally be the seniors and get to lead like we’re supposed to.”

Senior receiver / cornerback Jalen Graves said: “We want to prove a point because people, they’re kind of doubting us right now. We're gonna prove them wrong this year, for sure. They really cheated us last year. I felt like we should’ve been in (the playoffs). This is motivation. This is where we need to pick up where we left off.”

A young squad with just nine seniors, the Wildcats are searching for leaders after the departure of a talented 2021 senior class. Kamell Smith, now a freshman quarterback in college at Miami of Ohio, running back Hezekia Newby, who rushed for 233 yards per game as a senior, and leading receiver Damon Coleman all graduated after the spring season.

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A sweltering August heat and humidity presented itself as a challenge for the Wildcats during a practice last week. As the temperature rose, so too did some tempers, as frustration boiled over in the form of arguments for Eastern Guilford players.

“It’s a little hot. You feel sorry for yourself,” Aguilar said. “You gotta find quick what you got and how kids are going to respond. I think it was a good learning point for us. It’s the first time we had to deal with the heat, really, since early June.”

Petty addressed his teammates, offering words of encouragement while being stern in outlining expectations, both during and following that practice in an attempt to get everyone back on track.

“We’ve just got to focus up on the aspect of we’re together and we're not against each other,” Petty said. “Practice, it might get competitive, get hot, and everybody might get fatigued, and that that tends to make us break down and we get to arguing. The best thing to bounce back at this point is probably just going to be our teamwork and togetherness. We need better chemistry. Once we've got that, I don't think anybody's running with us.”

Petty said he’s comfortable in a leadership role, leaning on his own mistakes of the past to share valuable lessons with his teammates.

“I just feel maybe the team has been drawn to me,” Petty said. “I’m not sure because I haven't had the best junior year and I haven't had a perfect high school career, to be honest. From those mistakes and everything that I’ve learned, I just feel like I'm fit to be that. Really, I feel like everybody else agrees because nobody's had to say anything yet. It's kind of just unsaid, unspoken. I’m running with it.”

Junior Tyreik Boyd and sophomore Jackson Jones will likely split time at quarterback, Aguilar said.

“Those two rotated last year, every series, every other series (for the junior varsity team)," Aguilar said. "The plan is to probably do the same. They’ve got to grow up quick. They’re the key to our team. We’re going to look different.”

Both quarterbacks are more traditional pocket passers, so the offense will look different from the past several seasons when the athletic Smith often used his legs to escape pressure and make plays.

“We make (the scheme) to fit them," Aguilar said. "It’s not going to be pocket breaks down, Kamell makes a play. It’s going to be throw it away. They have no green light to run. It’s more light red. If they see a hole, they can run, but (generally) throw it away.”

At the running back position are junior Jaiden Evans and senior Jordan Payne, a transfer from Northeast Guilford, as the Wildcats look to replace Newby's prolific output from the spring.

“They’re not going to get 25 carries each," Aguilar said. It’s probably going to be 12 and 12. We’re just going to look a little different. Neither one of them quarterbacks can run a lick, but they’re accurate. They can sling it.”

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David Kehrli is a sports reporter at the Burlington Times-News and USA Today Network. You can reach him at david.kehrli@thetimesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidKehrliTN. Subscribe to the Burlington Times-News here.

This article originally appeared on Times-News: Motivated by near miss of playoffs, Eastern Guilford enters fall season with young squad, new leaders