WORTON — Kent County High School kicks off its football season tonight up the road at Bohemia Manor, with a new head coach for the varsity-only program and a lot of new faces.
Paul Tue, who was an assistant here last year, succeeds KCHS graduate Harold Somerville as head coach.
Acknowledging the challenging preseason that included legitimate concerns that the program — with a storied history that includes back-to-back state championships in 1989 and ’90 and a state semifinal appearance as recently as 2016 — might fold, Tue said he is less concerned about wins and losses and more focused on growth and establishing a culture of accountability and discipline.
“I’m looking to do it the right way,” he told The Evening Enterprise in an interview Wednesday.
Already, there are signs that things are looking up.
Only nine players showed up for the first practice on Aug. 13.
That number has since more than doubled, and the count on Thursday was 28.
The most recent additions are veterans R.J. Peterson (receiver, corner, safety), Scottie Ford (middle linebacker), Dwan Harris (quarterback) and Dylan Hurtt (wide receiver, special teams), who for various reasons did not come out for the team until this week. They will not play in tonight’s opener, according to Tue.
Senior Zayvion Brown gets the starting nod at QB, and will line up under center Daniel Poore.
Also across the offensive front are JeLen Wilson and Hunter Hawn at guard and Finn Dierker and Dozie Okakpu at tackle.
The primary ball carriers will be Xavier Johnson, Thomas Moore and senior Rah ‘Zir Wilson, a first-year football player who already has an impressive résumé as a two-time state medalist in track and field. Wilson is the school record holder in the 100 meters, and on most nights will be the fastest player on the field.
Moore and Wilson will be two-way threats as they also are receivers, along with Alijah Floyd and Wayne Brown.
Defensively, we’ll see many of the same guys up front as on offense — Moore and Hawn at the ends, JeLen Wilson and Okakpu starting at the tackles, and nose guard Jordan Turner-Henry, a transfer from Wicomico.
In the secondary, KCHS will start Xavier Johnson, Wayne Brown and Rah ‘Zir Wilson.
Linebackers are Zayvion Brown, Poore and Floyd.
Thomas Moore is the designated kicker.
Because of the low turnout for the first week, the Trojans had only one preseason scrimmage as opposed to the customary two. They came out on the short end of a 29-8 decision at Rising Sun; the halftime score was 13-8, with Zayvion Brown finding Rah ‘Zir Wilson with a scoring strike, and then running in the 2-point conversion.
Assessing that game, Tue said he was concerned about the Trojans’ “lack of physicality” — “We have to hit,” he said — and that two special teams’ mistakes led to 14 Rising Sun points.
