news-record.com

Northwest Guilford

LAST SEASON: 3-8, 1-4 Metro 4-A

HOW YOUNG WERE THEY? The Vikings were so young last season, now-second-year head coach Joe Woodruff said, "I didn't know whether to bring diapers to practice sometimes." They're reaping the benefits, with nine starters back on offense and eight more on defense. Running backs Chris Kennedy and Sean Ples, who combined for more than 1,700 yards last season, will run behind an offensive line that's intact from last season. That should help take some of the heat off the new quarterback tandem of senior Dan Bernard and junior Mclean Godley.

WELCOME BACK: Seniors Spencer Thompson, Chase Hoke and Carlo Gagliardo return as anchors on the secondary. Classmates Adam Scot and David Harrison will return as a defensive lineman and outside linebacker, respectively. Woodruff will blitz more and has shuffled some of his personnel to put more speed on defense, where the Vikings will see a spread offense most weeks.

BETTER LUCK THIS YEAR: Northwest might have set a state record for heartache last season. The Vikings lost their opener to Southwest Guilford despite having the ball on the half-yard line down five with under a minute left. The next week, they lost to Western Guilford after fumbling the ball away six times. They lost late in the season to High Point Central when the Bison scored on the game's final play, then made a two-point conversion to win by one.