WAYNESBORO: An early start

By Robert Sisk

Published: August 21, 2008

Waynesboro coach Steve Isaacs hopes that the injury bug has had its fill for the season.

Before the first snap of the year the Little Giants are already banged up, not critically, but enough to cause problems. Most notably Waynesboro speedster, Terrell Thompson, who might sit out tonight’s game against Turner Ashby.

“I don’t think it’s any secret, but Terrell is a big part of this team and he coupled with Steven [Brown] that’s that thunder and lighting backfield. Right now we just have the thunder,” Isaacs said.

Last year Waynesboro was flooded with injuries during the second week of the season, which contributed to its 1-9 finish, but there still is a silver lining— Waynesboro’s roster is full. More than 35 players will wear the purple and gold tonight against Turner Ashby, allowing Isaacs to give his players a break and prevent even more injury.

“If we had this number of injuries going into a scrimmage I would have cancelled it,” Isaacs said. “We are one and two deep as far as quality. We’d hope to be able to have everyone going one way. I don’t think we will have more than a handful of guys going both ways.”

But Waynesboro does have another challenge. The Little Giants only had one scrimmage this season before playing the always-challenging Knights in Bridgewater.
“We’ve got fixing to do and the test to fix it will be TA, not another scrimmage,” Isaacs said.

Isaacs is well known for running a single wing offense, but starting this season he will be mixing in another element — the spread. The new feature will allow Waynesboro’s athleticism to shine and keep opponents off balance.
“I can’t say we will be 60/40 spread but the way we got it put in, we can go either way for a game or even whatever down and distance we need,” Isaacs said.

Waynesboro didn’t lose as many players as other teams in the Southern Valley, but did lose some key players like Will Walter and Tim Brown. Filling those spots will be the hardest challenge for the Little Giants.

“We lost key players and now we’ve got to replace them,” Isaacs said. “We got 10 seniors 11 juniors and 17 sophomores. The odds say that some replacements will have to be sophomores. They are quality, but they aren’t battle ready yet. I think we can, its just getting them ready.

After traveling to TA tonight, Waynesboro will host Western Albemarle on Week 2 and will travel to Covington — the only team the Little Giants beat last year — on Week 3. The Little Giants will open up their Southern Valley schedule on Week 4 at Stuarts Draft.


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Waynesboro High School
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Waynesboro, Virginia 22980
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