PITTSBORO — Two of Chatham County’s football teams gave an early look at their respective squads in the Jack Shaner Jamboree hosted by Northwood Friday.
Northwood and Chatham Central took the field alongside Graham, Southern Lee, Carrboro, Fuquay-Varina and East Chapel Hill in multiple partial-field scrimmages.
The scrimmages ran for 30 minutes and allowed each team 10 offensive plays before playing four-down possessions for the remainder of the time.
Northwood played against Carrboro (3A), Fuquay-Varina (4A) and Southern Lee while the Bears faced East Chapel Hill (4A) and Carrboro as well.
Here’s some takeaways for both Chatham County teams from what they showed in the scrimmages:
Northwood
Versatility in the receiving corps
Northwood has a deep skill group that can be effective in multiple spots on its offense. Even without key receivers Cam Fowler and Antoine Brewington suiting up for the Chargers Friday, Northwood still had plenty of playmakers go out and make plays, including tight end Beau Harvey and Raje Torres who lined up in the slot when he wasn’t at quarterback.
Harvey sometimes lined up as the No. 2 receiver and other times he’d be set as a wing. Against different defenses Friday, it didn’t matter where Harvey lined up. If he got the ball, he was getting as many yards as he could and turning short passes into larger gains with his running ability.
Northwood can also look to its bench and add receiver Hayes Burelson to the offense who also did some good things for the Chargers in the scrimmages. Burelson is another relatively tall target that can make matching up with Northwood difficult, especially with a tall deep threat in Isaiah Blair out wide.
Down-to-the-wire quarterback battle
Northwood’s quarterbacks Grayson Cox and Torres both took snaps as the leader of the Chargers’ offense Friday night. Cox, who came on the field first, did a solid job or finding open players and utilizing his running ability to avoid sacks. Torres also did well in the passing game, including a quick screen to Blair that ended in a decent gain. However, both have similar things to improve on, especially making the right reads, according to Brown.
“They’re both young, so a couple of those things I expected,” Brown said.
Brown said he expects to decide on the starter in Thursday’s walk-through before the season opener against Riverside-Durham.
Run game needs improvement on both sides
One of the most glaring weaknesses for the Chargers in Friday’s scrimmages were the struggles to establish the run. Despite the run game being a strength for Northwood last year, the Chargers struggled to move the ball on the ground with plays being met either behind or right at the line of scrimmage. The defense also gave up some long runs up the middle which stood out against the Chargers’ overall solid play in the pass game.
Chatham Central
Much improved defense
The Bears have taken a lot of steps toward having a better year than 2023, and their defense showed that Friday. With Nick Glover at the safety position and Brennen Oldham bringing physicality and size as a defensive end, Chatham Central looked more disruptive as a defensive unit. Glover closed and jumped a flat route for an interception and Oldham, who recorded multiple sacks Friday, even dropped back and got himself a pick, too. Oldham can help his teammates in the secondary a lot this season if he consistently gets in the backfield and makes quarterbacks uncomfortable.
“It makes us just so versatile,” Chatham Central coach Derrin Little said about the addition of Oldham. “He’s the type of guy with his length and his speed off the edge, it’s very hard to block him. And, in passing situations we can drop him to the flats.”
Running backs look to carry a crucial role
With a freshman quarterback in Reed Douglas still working through the growing pains of getting adjusted to varsity football, the Bears will likely need to turn to its run game often this year. Their three running backs, Brooks Albright, Bryson Alston and Eli Turner, showcased the ability to move the chains, especially when they got in space or were incorporated into the short passing game Friday. Albright, a freshman, had a long run against Carrboro that put Chatham Central in position to complete a touchdown pass to Luke Gaines in the red zone. That was an example of what a solid run game can do for the Bears’ offense while Little lets Douglas play loose and develop with confidence.
Offensive line needs improvement
The Bears had struggles with wild snaps and penalties, such as false starts and linemen downfield, throughout the scrimmages. With unforced turnovers and losses of yards, the Bears could struggle to find an offensive rhythm once the real games start next week.
“The biggest thing that we’ve got to figure out right now is who our starting five is going to be on the offensive line,” Little said.
