North Cross Raiders still playing football this fall

Home School team only other area squad still active

Roanoke, VA. – After weeks of uncertainty, North Cross head football coach Stephen Alexander finally knows he will see his team play football this fall.

“We have a great group of supportive parents and an administration who is open minded enough to make sure we’re doing things carefully, but also give these kids an opportunity to play if possible,” Alexander says

Now, players like senior linebacker and UVA commit James Jackson, have a responsibility to prove they can do it safely.

“We just want to set a good example, to show the people we are being serious about it, we are being careful. We care about playing, we want to play,” Jackson said.

The Raiders are coming off of a VISAA Division II State title in 2019, and while they did lose a few seniors, Alexander is confident in the weapons he still has. “I’m excited about our receiving corps, they will be really athletic. Defensively, the linebacking corp is pretty special. We have two seniors who are college level players and some new guys that will be pretty good as well,” Alexander says.

Sophomore wide receiver Ian Cann agrees.

“I don’t think we have a secret weapon, I think we’re all pretty pretty deadly wherever you put us on the field,” Cann says. “Our overall athleticism is going to be pretty high, we should be a pretty fun team to watch.”

And what makes this team fun to watch, may only reveal itself on game days.

“I feel like since we’re going to be the only show in town, I think he’s going to throw some stuff in there to excite the crowd,” Cann said.

North Cross is set to open the season on Friday night the 18th against the Virginia Spartans home school squad.


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Brooke Leonard is the newest addition to the 10 Sports team, joining in June 2019.

John serves as the Sports Director at WSLS 10. From Virginia Tech, to NASCAR and everything in between, WSLS 10 Sports covers the names making big plays in the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB.