Red Devils look to improve in Ray’s 2nd season

RED SPRINGS — A common year in a coach’s tenure to make a big improvement is his second season at the school.

After a 1-9 campaign last year, the Red Springs program looks to be in a more comfortable place as it enters Tim Ray’s second season as head coach at his alma mater.

“Failure, in my eyes, is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently,” Ray said. “That’s what we’re doing now. … We know our system better, we know each other better, so as coaches we’re able to put guys into better situations because we know what their strengths are and what their weaknesses are.”

The Red Devils players, by their own admission, struggled to adjust to Ray’s system in his debut season last year. Now, that trust is much more solidified after another offseason together.

“Guys didn’t trust Coach Ray’s system last year, and now we’ve got more trust in him and he knows what he’s talking about,” senior offensive/defensive lineman Tim Hammonds said. “As long as we follow behind Coach Ray’s word, we’re going to be good.”

Paired with that added familiarity is an experienced roster; only four of last year’s seniors had significant playing time, leaving nearly the entire team back for this season, with 20 seniors on the roster.

“We’ve become a really close-knit group of guys,” Ray said. “Our core group is very close and we’re all able to hold each other accountable while having fun playing ball as well. That extra year, everybody has grown, and we look forward to the improvement this year.”

Red Springs’ lone win last season came in the finale, a 34-30 victory at Fairmont; that has given them momentum through the offseason, the team says, to continue the improvement shown by that win.

“Through the offseason, guys have been working and worked hard in the weight room and everything else, so we’re looking forward to a good year,” Hammonds said. “We can’t promise no wins or no losses, but we can promise 100% every night.”

The Red Devils showed flashes offensively last season, scoring 28 points or more on three occasions; Ray hopes the team can utilize some playmakers to become a more consistent offensive unit this season.

“We’ve got some really good playmakers,” Ray said. “We’ve just got to put ourselves into the best situation, getting the ball into their hands. We’ve got some guys that can make good plays for us, as long as our O-line is doing its job.”

“The run (is important), making sure we get them yards,” senior quarterback Scottie Locklear said. “Then we can develop the pass game.”

Locklear will facilitate, with junior Jakelsin Mack and seniors Curtis Wilson and Justice McMillan set to contribute out of the backfield; T.J. Ellerbe will be a key outside target, while the versatile Julian Evans Bowen will likely play most snaps at tight end, but can also be utilized elsewhere.

“They all have different strengths, so some nights might play into their strengths, and the next team might play into another guy’s strengths,” Ray said. “I like that about our team; we’re not a one-trick pony, we’ve got guys that can do different things.”

After allowing over 40 points per game last season defensively, Ray anticipates a more aggressive unit will take the field this fall on that side of the ball.

“I like to get after it and go get the ball,” Ray said. “I think this year our guys have really taken on that persona of a defense. I think we’re very aggressive up front, our linebackers, all of them are returning and they’re all really good linebackers, they’re all well-coached and very smart kids. In the defensive backfield, I think we understand what we’re doing better.”

Key players defensively will include Hammonds, Kamerion McBryde and Jerrick Thompson on the line, Tyvon Locklear, Jaydon Hammonds and Jaylen Rush in the linebacking core, and Ellerbe, Brennan Oxendine, Jasiah McRae and Jakesin Mack in the secondary; the versatile Raymond Blue will play both linebacker and defensive back.

As for the team’s goals, the Red Devils will simply look to “be greater” each day this fall, Ray said, and be the best version of themselves — and if they do, the results will follow, with Ray “willing to bet” they’ll be better than a one-win team in 2023.

“The goal is to have fun,” Tim Hammonds said. “That’s really the only thing we can do — have fun and make the community proud, and give 100%, that’s all we can do.”

Red Springs travels to Douglas Byrd in the Aug. 18 season opener before hosting Gray’s Creek on Aug. 25 and Purnell Swett on Sept. 1.