As the new high school football season draws near, the T.C. Williams Titans would like nothing better than for their imminent future to resemble their distinguished past.
During the past months, former head coach Greg Sullivan stepped down and Dennis Randolph was chosen to succeed him. Sullivan (a G.C. Marshall H.S. alumnus) led the Titans to records of 1-9, 4-6, 4-6 and 4-6 the past four seasons. Randolph (a St. Bernards H.S., Montville, Conn. Alumnus who played basketball and baseball at George Mason University in the 70s) has extensive coaching experience in the Northern Region.
According to Randolph, We have good athletes here at T.C. Williams. They have put in a lot of time over the summer [at a variety of camps]. Ive been impressed with the kids with the way that they work. We have a good number [of bodies] and we have good team speed.
Randolph is the lone head coach in Northern Region history that has led both Edison and South Lakes to the Northern Region Playoffs. While at Edison in the late 80s and early/mid 90s – Randolph led the Eagles to the playoffs in both 88 and 89. While at South Lakes after leaving Edison, Randolph led the Seahawks to the playoffs in 1999.
Who to look for
As for the current prospects for this years Titans, both senior right handed Jamal Ford and junior right handed Zachary Goehler are battling for the starting quarterback job. Ford quarterbacked the Titans during three games in 06 – before getting injured. He subsequently returned to action later in the 06 season and played running back.
Said the 5,11 Ford regarding the upcoming campaign, Everybody is more dedicated this year. There have been nearly 60-70 guys in the weight room.We will run a multiple offense this season. We will probably have a little more passing this season and a little less option.
Goehler is a transfer student from Wausau Wisconsin. According to the 6,3 Goehler, It is a great honor to play for the Titans. There is a lot of history at this school and the school has a lot of pride.
Some of the key running back prospects for the this year will include senior tailback Craig Wade and junior tailback/fullback Dominique Copeland.
On the receiving end of either Fords or Goehlers passes will be senior wide receiver Antoine Payne, junior wide receiver Marcus Via and junior tight end Brandon Burke.
The offensive line may very well be one of the most proficient units on the entire squad and will be anchored by senior center Ronald Hildago, senior guard Carlos Canales and senior guard Quintas McCorkle.
As for the defense, both Canales and McCorkle will play defensive tackle. In addition, senior quad-captain Ethan Stein will be a key performer at inside linebacker (Jamal Ford, Carlos Canales and Quintas McCorkle are the other three quad-captains). Outside linebacker, senior Petey Jones and senior Aaron Wilson will strap it up.
Some of the best all-around athletes at TCW will see action at defensive back including Jamal Ford, Craig Wade, senior Earl Via (Marcuss brother) and junior Antonio Richardson. The defensive strategy, according to Coach Randolph, Well probably be playing a 4-4. Well probably bring 5-6 players most every play in order to apply pressure to teams so that they cant tee off on us and hopefully my hair wont turn too gray. We will attempt to keep the other team off-balanced.
The opposition
Looking at the Patriot District, Randolph said that Annandale, South County and West Potomac all look pretty good. Realistically, we cant approach this season as though all were doing is shooting for a .500 season. We have to approach this season as though we can be right up there with anybody in the Patriot District. After an Aug. 17 scrimmage against Stuart and an Aug. 24 scrimmage vs. Ireton, the Titans will play their first three games on the road to commence the 07 campaign – at Mount Vernon (Aug. 31), at Centreville (Sept. 7) and at Oakton (Sept. 14).
The Titans 07 brain-trust also includes defensive coordinator/defensive tackle coach Kenny Gaskins (an 80 TCW alumnus); special teams coordinator/inside linebackers coach Ratcliff Thomas (a 92 TCW alumnus); outside linebackers coach Mike Gamble; defensive ends coach John Agurs; defensive backs coach Stacey Durham (an 80 TCW alumnus); offensive line coach Rodney Johnson (a 97 TCW alumnus); wide receivers coach Mike Taylor; running backs coach Ed Bonds and also freshman defensive coordinator Jason Perkins.
Football-Varsity
