WILMINGTON — Former professional quarterback Brad Roach planned to start a seven-on-seven football league in Wilmington next spring, but then the Covid-19 pandemic forced schools throughout the state to delay their fall sports seasons. This left high school football players in the Cape Fear region with no organized competition for the next five months.
When the N.C. High School Athletic Association announced the delay of high school football until February, Roach saw an opportunity to “give the kids who had been working out all summer to put their stuff together and actually play some football.”
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The league starts play this Sunday evening under certain Covid precautions like required temperature checks and game day screening questionnaires. It features five teams made up of teammates from New Hanover High, Laney High, Ashley High, Hoggard High, and Jacksonville High. (The Hoggard team includes players from North Brunswick High and the Jacksonville team includes players from Northside High and Swansboro High.)
“Brad really saw an opportunity here to have a league where local high schools could compete against each other” outside the traditional fall seasons, according to best friend Matt Sossamon.
‘Glorified practice’
The 6’6″ 250-pound quarterback from Williamston played Division II ball at Catawba College in Salisbury, about 25 miles south of Winston-Salem, where he graduated ranked number two all-time in passing yards, touchdowns, and completion percentage. In 2008, he signed with the NFL Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent, rooming with future starter Joe Flacco during training camp; during his career Flacco has racked up 40,000 passing yards and won the Super Bowl MVP in 2013.
“He was smart, never in trouble, always studying, quiet — I liked him,” Roach said of his former roommate.
After a short stint in Baltimore, Roach played a couple years in the Canadian Football League and the AF2 Arena Football League. In 2010, he retired after injuring his shoulder and later entered the medical device industry, where he ultimately found a job in Wilmington.
Last summer he and Sossamon started a high school recruiting company called Film to Field, focusing on teaching quarterbacks “how to watch film, what they learn from it, and taking it to the field,” according to Roach. He later began teaching other positions with the ultimate goal of giving talented players more exposure to college recruiters.
“The city of Wilmington and the surrounding area is so untapped in terms of football talent,” Roach said. “It’s hard to get college coaches down here because we’re so far from many colleges in the state.”
But the more he contacts coaches at schools like Catawba College, he believes more and more coaches will begin making the trip.
“We’re two small-town guys and we love to help parents and kids, especially those from small towns in other areas, to understand what it takes to be a college athlete, what coaches are looking for, and get them more exposure,” Sossamon added.
For years Roach wanted to start a seven-on-seven league in Wilmington because, apart from cities like Charlotte and Raleigh, there weren’t many similar leagues throughout the state — and nothing in the Cape Fear Region.
He said he reached out to ten head football coaches in the region, some who supported the idea of an offseason league and others who discouraged their players from joining out of fear of injuries or contracting the coronavirus. One local high school coach, according to Roach, told 15 of his players who wanted to sign up that they shouldn’t.
“I respect his decision, but my response is that you can go get hurt anywhere,” Roach said. “A lot of these kids are training now; the offseason has been extended, workouts in the summer have been extended, and they can get hurt anytime, during any practice. You can get hurt walking down the street. It’s unfortunate. There are a lot of kids who need this, who need to be doing stuff other than sitting at home for five months, especially some of these seniors who could get some more film to use for recruiting.”
As far as Covid-19 is concerned, he believes the protocols he has in place should be able to prevent any sort of spread.
Roach also thought it was crucial to keep teammates on the same teams in order to create a competitive environment while getting ready for the official high school football season. He said head coaches will work with parent-coaches — rules prevent them from actually coaching — advising them on what offensive plays and defensive coverages to run.
“So it will prepare them for the season because they’re working with their own guys, building their chemistry. I’m kind of running a glorified practice for them,” Roach said.
The one-hand touch games will be played at Ogden Park on two 40-yard fields. The fall schedule consists of a four-weekend regular season (each team will play two games per Sunday followed by an elimination playoff).
Players will wear padded helmets, similar to those worn in other seven-on-seven leagues around the nation, and sleeveless jerseys.
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