Summers County head coach Josh Evans has rebuilt the program since taking over before the 2021 season.
Now in his third year at the helm he has the Bobcats in the playoffs after a 6-4 regular season which saw them face a plethora of talented, playoff teams including top-four seeds James Monroe and Greenbrier West.
With a bye in Week 11, the Bobcats were able to take a week off and get healthy in time for the playoffs ahead of their matchup with No. 5 Wahama.
“We didn’t do anything different,” Evans said. “We practiced Monday through Thursday and took it like a game week. You know, we had an idea. We knew it was gonna be a toss up between Wahama and Man, depending on what happened. And, you know, we started putting the game plan in and we’re fortunate enough to get some film on both teams early just to kind of see what they do. And, you know, the game plan didn’t change a whole lot. Offensively it changes a little more than it does defensively from one team to the other. But other than that, it didn’t change and you know, we just went with our normal routine because we didn’t want to break that.
“We gave him Friday off and we traveled a little bit to see and watch a few of these teams and you get a better idea when you see somebody live as well. So it was a good week for us. We’re fortunate enough to get Bryce Taylor back from a shoulder injury. So you know, we’re a healthy team of 23 so we’re excited for that.”
Wahama comes into the postseason with a 10-0 record for the second consecutive season with its smallest margin of victory coming in a Week 1 36-18 victory against East Hardy.
Sawyer Vanmatre leads the assault at QB for the White Falcons but more so as a rushing threat. He’s thrown for 998 yards and 12 touchdowns but has 1,242 yards and 23 touchdowns on the ground, both of which lead the team. Connor Lambert is second on the team with 984 yards rushing and 18 rushing scores, adding four receding touchdowns as well.
“They’re a shotgun wing-T team,” Evans said. “That’s what they do. They’ll give you tight end wing to one side, a single back with a quarterback and they’ll have doubles to the other side. You know, every now and again, they’ll get in that empty, what we like to call our empty double wing stuff. And it’s essentially trips bunches. What it is, it’s a lot of the same stuff that we introduced two years ago. And just kind of build off of it. The Vanmatre kid, he’s 6-foot-4, 220 pounds. Your bellies and your powers and your bucks now it turns into Q-buck and Q-belly Q-power which is how this thing evolves. It’s a hybrid of what we do at times. No. 7, the Lambert boy might be the fastest kid we see all year. We’re very impressed with him. I think he makes (Vanmatre) go because you have you have to account for him.
“They are a run based team. But when they throw it, they throw it well. They are disciplined on the offensive line. They’re not really that much bigger than us. This is what they do and they do it well. Defensively they’re very run disciplined. They know their assignments and what they do they’re just all around. They’re a well coached football team that. I don’t know if they’re the best team we played all year, but they’re one of the top three for sure.”
The Bobcats have familiarity with the Wing-T as it was largely the base offense for them during Evans’ first two years at the helm. There are advantages to having utilized that system that can help Summers’ defense on Friday but the differences seems to equal out on Evans’ eyes.
“I won’t I will say it gives us an edge because you know, like you mentioned the eye candy,” Evans said. “That’s the whole reason why people run the wing-T is that deception. When you put it in the gun, you lose it a little bit because the quarterback is facing the line of scrimmage instead of turning his back to it. But you know to stop it – I don’t think you necessarily ever stop it but you know, even when we were bad and run the wing-t we still were still productive in it. So I don’t think you ever stop it. It’s just one of those things that you know you gotta be gap responsible and not miss filling your gaps. That’s what us wing-T coaches want – we want you to over-pursue and we’ll get you coming back the other way. So to answer your question, not really because we know what sets up what and what you’re going to do but when you run it, and if you do it well it’s it’s hard to handle. It is hard to handle.
Offensively the Bobcats are prolific in their own right. They play primarily out of the spread offense with senior QB Brandan Isaac and super utility man Ryan Oliveros leading the way. Isaac has throw for 2,249 yards and 24 TDs with Oliveros accounting for 1,085 of those yards as well as 10 of the touchdowns.
Facing Wahama’s 4-4 defense, there are advantages for the Bobcat offense.
“I think we can get some mismatches you know with their linebackers,” Evans said. “You know moving guys around getting some mismatches there. And you know, we put Tyson (Adkins) back here and let him do his thing. Kid’s been pretty impressive on both sides of the ball. I can’t say enough about what he’s done for us this year. You know, Ryan and B (Isaac) have done their thing like expected any you know Drake (Cole) really took on his role as a wide receiver this year. He was a 1,300 yard back for us last year. Now you know, he’s he’s converted into a wide receiver. What people don’t realize is what he does in the blocking game downfield once somebody else catches the ball, he’s been a huge for us there. Damien Fullen, a 14 year old kid, is very impressive. He’s got such a high ceiling. You know, we’re excited for his future. And then you have Ayden (Plumley) and Grady Allen, who we slide out there at times, who are very, very crucial to what we do offensively as well. We got to spread people out.”
While it’s Evans’ first go as a head coach, he’s worked on playoff staffs under Fayetteville coaches Dave Moneypenny and Frank Spangler, both of whom have been reliable resources for him as he navigates these waters.
“Coach Spangler and coach Moneypenny, they’ve been there a lot, Evans said. “Until you’re there, I don’t think you know. They prepared me for this. They prepared me to become a head coach. And all the credit definitely goes to them. When it comes to the administration part of it when it comes to the planning part of it – but they didn’t tell you about how your kids are gonna change every year. You don’t know but there’s a few things and that’s just something that you learn on your own you have to adapt to and you know, for what they taught me it was a great experience and those were the two that encouraged me to do this and I wouldn’t be here without them.”
Summers County will travel to Wahama Friday with the winner advancing to the state quaretfinals.