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By GENE MOTLEY

Sports Correspondent

WINDSOR – As is tradition, National Signing Day for high school athletes takes place in early February and for 2025 it fell on Wednesday, Feb. 5th.

Across the country and here in North Carolina multiple athletes took part in putting pen to paper by signing their National Letter of Intent to their selected schools, and that’s where the dream of glory at the next level begins.

At Bertie High School a pair of Falcon seniors, Zy’miere “Mere” Dempsey and Messiah White, both inked their NLI’s with two top NCAA Division II programs in separate sports at separate schools.

Two-sport star Dempsey will be headed to Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) member Winston-Salem State in the twin-cities, where he hopes to play football.

“I think they’re getting an awesome talent,” said Bertie football coach Ronald Pou, who himself played college ball at East Carolina. “He can play both sides (offense and defense) of the ball and he can be an incredible leader on the field.”

“He’s special for the way he just attacks the day,” said Bertie Athletic Director and varsity basketball coach Dee Frazier. “For his age he’s mature, he’s focused, and he’s locked in.”

These were powerful words from a coach who has just watched and coached Dempsey through four basketball games in six days.

“I’m looking forward to just getting better and hopefully making it to the League (NFL),” Dempsey declared, adding that WSSU was the right fit.

“It was just the environment, the vibe,” he noted. “They made me feel loved.”

Just this past senior year, Dempsey had 55 receptions for 890 yards and 10 touchdowns offensively at wide receiver with 29 tackles four interceptions and another score on defense courtesy of a pick-six. These efforts help lead the Falcons to a 5-7 record in the Four Rivers Conference and the school’s first first-round home playoff win in over a decade.

He plans to major in Business Administration in college and said early indications are that on the gridiron he will start out playing defense. The dual-threat player says he wants to do his best so he can one day repay his family for the sacrifices they’ve made for him to succeed.

“What they did means everything, literally,” he maintained. “Taking off from work, doing the little things. I want to make money so I can give back to my family.”

Meanwhile, fellow student-athlete Messiah White will be a bit closer to home as he has signed to play baseball with Conference Carolinas member, Chowan University.

White will close out his high school career this spring on the diamond where through three prep seasons he has a .274 batting average with 31 hits, 14 runs-batted-in, and 23 runs scored. He also capped last year’s effort with 12 stolen bases and 16 total for his career so far. He’s also versatile on the grass with his glove, able to play first or third base in addition to running down balls in the outfield.

“I like it’s close to home,” White said. “I feel like it’s where I could get the most playing time and help the team out over there; so, I feel it’s the right decision. They’re losing a lot of seniors so next year I might be able to start.”

White doesn’t hesitate when asked if his strength in the game is his bat or his glove.

“Probably my glove,” he surmised. “Sometimes I get in my own head and I can’t hit as much, but I’ll still do for the team as much as I’m supposed to.

“He’s done it all himself,” said Bertie baseball coach Brian Dail. “I can’t take credit for it; it’s been his work, his back, his sweat.”

The coach says while White entertained several offers farther away from home, he expects playing for the Hawks in nearby Murfreesboro will be a good experience for him at the next level.

“I think he’s got a good opportunity to go there,” Dail noted. “He’ll be around the house and he likes to be around home anyway. His decision make me proud I had a chance to coach him. He’s fast, he’s strong with the bat. When he gets on base he drives folks crazy and I think he’ll turn heads when he gets (to college).”

Like most young players White dreams of a big-league career in the future. But he’s also thinking beyond the diamond.

“I’d like to go to Major League Baseball,” he acknowledged. “But if that doesn’t work out I want to do something in computer engineering, or something to do with Sports Management to keep me around sports because I like sports a lot.”