LYNCHBURG, Va. – The 1st and 10 Camp Tour stays in the Hill City, with a stop at another perennial power out of the Seminole District: Brookville.
Coach Jonathan Meeks’ squad has been a perennial playoff contender in Region 3C.
2022 saw an 8-4 season go in the books including a playoff win before falling to eventual state runner-up Heritage.
The Bees have returning strength up front on both sides of the ball. While last year’s starting quarterback Drake McDaniel is now playing at Emory and Henry, another guy with the last name of McDaniel is now battling for the spot –his brother Lincoln, a sophomore.
Regardless of who wins the quarterback competition, Coach Meeks said his offense will be more unpredictable this season.
“I think we’re going to get back to a little bit more balanced attack, you know? We’ve got some receivers that have really stepped it up this off-season, but we have a three-headed monster at running back. We have three really good running backs: David Bradley, Elijah Hughes, and Jor’Dyn Whitelaw, they are explosive. Three totally different style kids. And my fullback is unreal. You know Jaylan Pennell is just ... he loves hitting,” Coach Meeks explained.
“I feel our guys are big and they have a lot of heart when it comes to blocking and they truly look like they love it, which is a big part with me because that’s like the center power of our offense. It’s just running the ball and hopefully we could just make it work this year,” Pannell said.
“Yeah, definitely makes you feel a lot more confident like during games knowing that if the run game is not working you know, you can just start throwing it around and if throwing is not working one game, you know you can just start running or just go back-and-forth. Just bully ‘em,” senior receiver David Schmitt said.
The Bees host Patrick Henry to open the season on August 25.