Bears host ‘Pack
Published 12:00 am Thursday, September 1, 2005
AHOSKIE – Each team is undefeated. Solid quarterbacks lead them both.
When Hertford County welcomes Washington for their home opener Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Bear Stadium, both squads will be looking to utilize their athletic talent.
The two teams would have been expected to be complete opposites.
Washington has struggled in recent years while the Bears went to the eastern finals in 2004.
As they enter Friday’s contest, however, both teams are 2-0. The Pam Pack took an opening-week victory over North Pitt by a count of 49-13 before edging Tarboro 34-33 in overtime last week.
During Friday night’s contest, Washington quarterback Mat Tanner passed for 187 with three touchdowns and ran for another score. Calvin Daniels caught nine passes for 123 yards and all three aerial scores.
As Bears mentor Greg Watford prepares for the Pam Pack’s invasion of Ahoskie, he is well aware of the problems Tanner and Daniels present.
&uot;Tanner is a good athlete who is certainly on par with the two quarterbacks we’ve played against,&uot; Watford said. &uot;Daniels is a good end who had a standout game last week.&uot;
Watford said he was also concerned about Washington running backs Jamont Jones and Travis Daniels.
Defensively, Champ Hardison, Patrick Jones, Cody Cunningham, Marcus Graham and Gerald Lawrence lead the Pam Pack.
While he is focusing on defending the Pam Pack, Watford is pleased with what he has seen from his team in the first two weeks.
&uot;We have shown improvement in our first two games,&uot; he said. &uot;The defense played well in the second half at Fike, allowing no points and only 10 yards of total offense.&uot;
Leading the way for the Bears in the early going this season is junior quarterback Danny Dembry who has rushed for 262 yards on just 13 carries and has four touchdowns. He has also thrown a touchdown pass.
Senior running back LaMarcus Bond has 157 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries.
The Bears come in averaging 51 points per games after knocking off R.L. Fike 62-18 last week.
&uot;We are excited about our home opener,&uot; Watford said. &uot;We are looking forward to playing in a packed stadium Friday night. That will gives us energy.
&uot;We had a good effort in our first two games,&uot; he added. &uot;We need the support because we are expecting a tough game.&uot;
Washington comes calling at 7:30 p.m. Friday evening.