Roanoke, Va. – No turnaround is more profound then the one the Colonels are in the midst of with coach Jamar Lovelace at the helm. He’s got a group of players and assistants coaches oozing with talent to help the process along.
A case in point: the 1st and 10 Player of the week winner for week 6, the final week of the regular season. William Fleming quarterback Dashawn Lewis put up video game type numbers to the tune of 394 combined yards to lead his team to a win that qualified them for the Class 5 playoffs.
Meanwhile Coach Jamar Lovelace took over this program after a winless 2017 season. In just three seasons he has built the Colonels into a VHSL Class 5 state contender, winning the program’s first region championship since 2003 this spring. And this week he takes home that big gold football as the 1st and 10 Coach of the Year.
”When I got this job three years ago I knew I’d be one of the youngest head coaches in the state and I really wanted to earn their respect, earn their trust. So I think we hit the ground running early I think we kind of we kept the football players in this program who are the most serious and I think all that led to the buy-in and I think that buy-in really showed itself on the football field this season,” coach Lovelace explained.
“This group are very hard-working, we like to have fun at the same time we’re always working. Right after the season ended we came back that following Monday and got right back to work or a bunch of hard workers,” quarterback Dashawn Lewis says.
The Colonels finished 6-3, falling in the state semifinals to perennial power Stone Bridge.