Cross – Coming off a season that saw his team reach the Class A Lower State championship game, Cross High football coach Shaun Wright saw plenty of energy from his prospective 2023 team during spring practices.
Wright, the head coach at Cross since 2009, has a solid core returning to the fold this spring. He likes what he saw.
“They’ve been focused and intent on getting better,” Wright said. “We return a good number of players. We probably have 55 varsity and jayvee kids out. That’s good numbers for us. We’re just trying to coach them up and get everyone on the same page.”
Wright feels the potential strength of the 2023 team will along the trenches. That unit was dominant at times last season and loses only one major performer, all-stater Amonte MCCray, who has signed with South Carolina State.
Among the returners on the offensive line are Jayden Middleton, Ty Bryant, Jayden Smith and Caleb Cornell.
Same level of experience on the defensive line where again McCray was a key performer. Returning with starting experience are Devaughn Sumter and Michael Bennett, both sophomores this fall but with experience.
The most inexperience on the defense is at linebacker where three of the four starters are graduating.
“Those linebackers last year made a lot of players for us so we’ve got to bring some younger kids along and get them ready,” Wright said.
Karmello Jones is the most experienced linebacker but he also will be a key running back. A linebacker in the developmental stage is 6-4 freshman Caden Ramsey, who will likely work at safety as he grows into linebacker.
“He will be a really good player,” predicts Wright.
Quarterback Tyler Mungin returns as a starter offensively, as do several receivers who saw significant action in 2022.
“Honestly, we have a chance to be better offensively than we were last year,” Wright says. “We need to have a good summer, get stronger and learn more, but the potential is there for this group.”
Wright says this year’s team has plenty of motivation.
“Getting one step from playing for a state championship is a tough pill to swallow, but it also helps this group focus harder,” the coach said. “The goal is to get another shot and see if we can’t take another step.”
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