GASTON – Youth, inexperience and a difficult schedule.

Those are the issues third-year Northampton County High School – West head football coach Diego Hasty will be facing during the 2004 campaign.

The most successful team in the Roanoke-Chowan area last season when they advanced to the second round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state playoffs, the Hurricanes will face a schedule that gives them only four games in the friendly confines of Gaston.

Add to that a host of youth and inexperience and you’ll understand why Hasty is taking things one step at a time.

&uot;We’ve spent the last couple of days in a mini-camp,&uot; Hasty said. &uot;We’ve lifted weights, worked on fundamentals, just getting ready.

&uot;We’ve got a lot of youth this year,&uot; he said. &uot;Some of them can play, but it will take some time. They want to play and a lot of them will have that chance.&uot;

Hasty said he didn’t realize just how young his team would be until the mini-camp started, but that he felt like his team would eventually be okay.

&uot;We’ve got some young people back that were backups last year,&uot; Hasty said. &uot;They will get their chance this year.&uot;

The biggest concern the coach said he has about the 2004 campaign is that youth.

&uot;My biggest concern? Our inexperience,&uot; he said. &uot;I’m concerned about how we do while we’re getting our feet wet. We’ll use our non-conference schedule to get some experience and hopefully, we’ll be ready for the conference.&uot;

Hasty said his team will also be on the road this season.

Thanks to First Flight High School joining the Northeastern Coastal Conference, West lost their date with Edenton when the Aces had to make room on their schedule for First Flight.

While the Hurricanes will add First Flight to their schedule, they will be traveling to Kill Devil Hills for the contest.

&uot;We’re going to have to be road warriors,&uot; he insisted. &uot;That’s what I’ve told them already.&uot;

While one of the starting back positions will have returning All-Roanoke-Chowan performer Andre Williams slated to start, Hasty is looking for a new fullback and a new quarterback because of graduation.

&uot;My first two years here, I’ve had senior quarterbacks, but this year there’s a junior and a sophomore competing for the starting nod,&uot; he said.

West will start their schedule on August 20 when they host Southeast Halifax High School in a North Carolina High School Athletic Association Endowment contest.