Brandt’s Corner

I got to experience my first-ever Sampson County Football Jamboree this weekend, and wow, what a thing that was!

While my little section of this world in Northeast Ohio loves their football, it is an entirely different ball game down here. We have nothing like the jamboree up there, so this was an exciting change of pace for me.

I had the honor and pleasure of attending the luncheon on Friday afternoon, sponsored by the Robert Hill family, Dr. Alex Huff, and the Sampson County Sports Club, which was hosted at the Railroad Street Steakhouse in Roseboro.

Opening remarks by James Lewis, the Sampson County Athletic Director, were followed by a speech and invocation from CHS alum Leonard Henry, and a meal was provided. Following the meal, the football coach of each public school in Sampson County gave their own words in regards to their team, including the strengths and weaknesses.

During this, I fired a quick text to my dad, telling him that “football is a lot different down here,” and followed it up with “it’s a night and day difference.” And I truly meant that.

While Wayne County, Ohio has had their share of football glory, it pales in comparison to here. They don’t have a jamboree. It isn’t the lifeblood of the towns. It simply is not North Carolina football.

After the luncheon, and a quick lull in my day, I got to experience Southern football for the first time.

Hard-hitting, smash-mouth, run-until-you-can’t, is how I would describe what I saw. Don’t get me wrong, there was still passing-a-plenty, especially from Hobbton’s “we’re always a pass-first” team, as coach Joe Salas put it, but the footballs in Sampson County see more travel on the ground than a Greyhound bus.

To me, that is the glory of Friday nights. I love high-scoring games as much as the next person, but there is something about hard-nosed, run-up-the-gut football. And the sport has gotten away from it.

It took me back to all of the “King of the Hill” drills, the “hamburger” drills as we called them, and counting the cuts, scrapes, and bruises on Saturday mornings. I’m sure that those drills are still in play, and players are still admiring their battle scars over the weekend, but much less often with the popularity of the spread and air raid offenses.

Many schools across the country have seen the end of the famed 4-4 defense that most of us grew up on. The outside linebacker was replaced by the edge rusher. The 46 Bear defense is only taught in history books. The Power-I, Wing-T, and Pro/Con offenses are something that kids today never learn. Except in Sampson County.

I hope this style of football stays here forever, but I don’t know that it will. With an emphasis on safety at all levels, and an influx of scoring, teams and players are trying to capitalize on the future. And I don’t blame them.

However, scoring isn’t just done through the air, as evidenced by the Hobbton vs. Pender game last season. The record-setting 106-83 shootout saw a combined 1,230 yards rushing versus 403 yards passing.

What the future holds, I don’t know. But I do know that the present is a lot of fun for me to watch and cover, because of the principles of football here.

Fun fact of the week: The most rushing yards by a single player in a high school game is 754, set by John Giannantonio of New Jersey in 1950, according NFHS.org.