ROANOKE, Va. – The 1st and 10 Camp Tour rolls back to the River Ridge District for a check on the Cave Spring Knights--another local school opening 2023 with a first-year coach.
With Nick Leftwich taking over at William Fleming, now leading the Knights is Hunter Shepherd. Priority one in camp has been building a physical identity. Cave Spring wants to keep the offensive scheme in tact while switching things up on defense. But the goal remains the same--make things difficult for each opponent.
“Our entire goal when we walk into any game is we’re going to beat the other team up,” said Shepherd. “That’s the hope and that’s what we want to get to--when teams play us, by the 4th quarter they don’t want to continue. Whether we walk off that field winners or losers they don’t want to see us again and that’s the hope we’re trying to build here.”
“We have some seniors and lower class men who are working hard and some people returning with all-state honors, region and district honors and I think he’s taken what we had last year and turning that and making it work,” said offensive and defensive lineman Preston Lonker.
“Just a lot of hitting really, more than last year,” said Knights wide receiver Owen Sweeney when asked about the atmosphere in practice. “Almost all practice is hitting and a lot of drills and I think that will work out with technique and overall physicality.”
Cave Spring opens its season against Western Albemarle on August 25.