By By KEVIN TRAVIS
Sports Editor
Washington coach Sport Sawyer will get a good look at his team tonight during the Pam Pack’s football jamboree. Meanwhile, Northside coach Keith Boyd will see his team face off against a couple different opponents when the Panthers scrimmage tonight at North Pitt.
Washington’s jamboree will begin at 6 p.m. at J.G. “Choppy” Wagner Stadium. Admission is $5.
Plymouth and Pamlico will join Washington at tonight’s jamboree.
Sawyer is hoping he’ll see plenty of players ready to step up and fill some holes.
“If you’re looking at Washington’s roster right now compared to last year, on the offensive side the only guys returning are Kashief Foreman, Dakuan Spencer and Tony Turnage,” Sawyer said. “We have eight new guys.
“On the defensive side, the whole front line is new. We have about seven or eight new guys on the defensive side as well. What we’re looking at is, who’s our players.”
Teams will run 10 offensive plays against an opponent for the first hour. The next 90 minutes will be game-type situations.
Turnage said he’s anxious to go up against a different team.
“It’s going to tell us how strong we are, and where our weak links are at,” Turnage said. “It will tell us what we need to work on before the season starts.
“I’m ready to play somebody else other than our own team.”
Sawyer said he’s anxious to see how his team does in its first live action against a different opponent.
“We’re looking to see who steps up and plays,” Sawyer said. “We want to see who’s going to be aggressive and who is going to back down.
“Right now, we have a whole lot of question marks. We have some good things happening, but we also have some question marks.”
The sixth-year head coach, 32-29 over the first five seasons, is also hoping to see some players emerge as leaders.
“The team is trying to find its identity,” Sawyer said. “Losing all those seniors from last year, guys like Austin Thompson, David Tyson, Chase Tripp and Mike Moore, and there’s a bunch of players to replace, this team is trying to find itself.”
Washington kicks off its regular season Aug. 21 at home against North Pitt.
PRACTICE WITH THE PACK
The team will hold a “Practice with the Pack” Friday. The practice will go from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m.
Kids ages 5 to 12 can practice with the Pam Pack players.
PANTHERS TO SCRIMMAGE
The Northside Panthers will head to North Pitt for tonight’s scrimmage. Northside will be joined by host North Pitt, Perquimans and South Central.
The scrimmage will begin at 6 p.m.
Fourth-year coach Keith Boyd said he’s anxious to see how his Panthers do against the opposition.
“We’re going to look at it like a practice,” said Boyd, 7-27 over the first three seasons. “We’re going to see who can play and who can help us in certain situations.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to find some depth.”
Northside will also scrimmage Saturday at Southside High School, which will begin at 10 a.m. Joining the Panthers and host Seahawks will be Manteo and South Central.
GAME CHANGE
Northside was slated to start the season Aug. 21 at Mattamuskeet. However, the Lakers aren’t able to field a full team at this point.
Therefore, Northside will now kick off the 2009 season at home Aug. 21 against Creswell.
“It’s good to get that extra home game,” Boyd said. “With the economy, any chance to earn some extra money at the concession stand is good.”
Boyd is glad Creswell was able to step in for Mattamuskeet.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” Boyd said. “They had a really good year last year. We’re definitely not taking them lightly.”
SEAHAWKS SCRIMMAGE
Coach David Hines and his Southside Seahawks will square off against East Carteret tonight. The event, at Southside High School, will go from 7-9 p.m.
“Our guys are just ready to see somebody else,” Hines said. “We want to work out some kinks against a different team. I think it will do our guys some good.”
Hines said the scrimmage will also help the coaches.
“It will benefit the coaching staff to scheme against somebody else,” Hines said. “The first game is a week-and-a-half way so we’re ready to get going.”
Southside will also host a scrimmage Saturday at 10 a.m. Northside, South Central and Manteo will join the Seahawks.