October 14, 2024

Dragon Esdelsur

Home Sweet Home

C. JEMAL HORTON COLUMN: From humble beginnings, Bulldogs ready to bring home title amid the bright lights | Latest Headlines

All the starters, except Jackson, were members of Jay M. Robinson’s conference-title-winning football team last fall. Hobbs, a tight end/defensive lineman, has schools from the SEC and ACC, among others, interested in him. Hughes, an electrifying defensive back/receiver, has signed to play at Johnson C. Smith, and reserve 6-4 forward Andrew Jordan III will play on the defensive line at Appalachian State.

Transfer that gridiron mentality to the speed and skill on the basketball court, not to mention Batts’ infectious tenacity from the bench, and you’ve got yourself a scary state semifinalist.

But North Surry, with its 23-4 record, won’t be a pushover.

Like the Bulldogs, the Greyhounds won their conference with an undefeated mark. But unlike balanced Jay M. Robinson, the Greyhounds are led by two big scorers in 6-2 junior Jahreece Lynch (21.9 points per game), who has his own

Division I football offers, and 6-0 junior James McCreary (19.1 points). They, too, have grittiness, as they’re two of the team’s top rebounders.

“They’re a really good team, they’re very disciplined, and they play hard and smart,” Batts said of the Greyhounds. “I think we’re going to have to control the tempo. I think, like a lot of these other teams, they want to slow us down. I’ve got to try to manage it and make sure that doesn’t happen.”