ROANOKE, Va. – The good vibes continue to roll in northwest Roanoke as the William Fleming Colonels prepare for another season under head coach Nick Leftwich. Following back-to-back region final appearances, the Colonels are reloading with their 1-0 attitude and high internal expectations.
The program faces the challenge of replacing several key pieces from last year’s roster, including standout running back Malachi Coleman, now at Syracuse. Yet despite the turnover, the confidence hasn’t wavered.
“We definitely have a target on our back,” said senior wide receiver and defensive back Dwayne Roberts. “Making it to two region finals is a great thing. We want to make it past that, but the most important thing is the next game.”
Senior lineman Justin Barnett added that many of this year’s starters were learning closely behind last year’s leaders. “Most of our guys, if they hadn’t played last year, they sat directly behind the guys that played. So they got a lot of reps in practice, and they should already know what to do,” Barnett said.
Now entering his third season at the helm, Leftwich is focused on instilling discipline, accountability, and an all-out effort in everything the team does.
“As long as we can focus and do our job week in and week out, day in, day out, play in, play out, it’ll be good,” Leftwich said. “We don’t let guys say ‘my bad’ around here, because everybody knows you already messed up... Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Be afraid of not going 100 miles an hour, not getting better, not learning from your mistakes.”
The Colonels enter the fall with more than 20 seniors, but just three returning starters on offense and five on defense. That leadership group will be critical as Fleming opens the season against first-time opponent Varina on August 29.