Wilson ready for move to Group AA

FISHERSVILLE — A new era has begun at Wilson Memorial. The Hornets jumped from Group A to AA this year and will compete in the Southern Valley District.

Going into his sixth season as Wilson Memorial’s head coach, Derek McDaniel is not intimidated about making the jump.

“I don’t really pay much attention to the whole AA thing. All it means is that you have more students than the A schools. We have played all the teams in the Southern Valley district over the years with the only exception being Rockbridge,” McDaniel said. “I expect us to compete every night out and surprise some people.”

With a new era being ushered in, there will also be many new faces on the Hornets’ roster this season as McDaniel lost some of the key parts from the 2008 team that finished 5-5 overall.

“I am a big believer that a successful football team starts with a strong defense and an offensive line,” said McDaniel. “We are young in many spots on the field. We have to replace the whole secondary, a defensive end and a nose guard on defense and a tight-end and a tackle on offense.”

A big piece of the puzzle that is back for the Hornets in junior QB Jake Bailey. He returns as the starter without some of his targets from last year, but McDaniel is expecting the offense to be better this season.

“I am expecting more out of our offense this year. Even though we lost some of our receivers and [Christian] Miller as well as [Richard] Andrews in the backfield, I am still expecting this offense to be better,” said McDaniel. “It is great to have Jake [Bailey] back as quarterback this year. He is a big piece to leading that offense.”

Bailey has prepared all summer and he prepares to lead the Hornets in 2009.

“I have been working hard all summer just trying to get ready for this season,” Bailey said. “Being the quarterback in the offensive huddle you got to be the leader. I really want to be the leader of the offense and win this year.”

Two of the key pieces to the Wilson defense include senior Jason Cappo and junior Weston Cash. Both are looking forward to playing in the Southern Valley.

“I want to have a winning record in our first year in the Southern Valley,” said Cash. “It is definitely going to be a lot faster and their maybe going to be a little bit bigger, but we are still going to play hard”.

Protecting the quarterback and opening holes for the backs as well as being a leader is Cappo’s main focus.

“Keeping the quarterback protected and making holes for the running backs is always number one on the football field for me,” Cappo said. “Our team is young, but we have a lot of good leaders on this team that can help the younger players get better.”

Wilson opens its season on Friday on the road against Stonewall Jackson.