North Carolina Football Association (NCFA)

John Walton would love this Charlotte team. Walton
was the beloved coach of that took Charlotte to 4
straight playoffs from 2000-2003. He did it with
simple passes and hard nosed running and defense. The
new Charlotte under coach David Gibson has the same
philosophy and has put together a team that can
produce. He has two of the top running backs in the
league based on talent in Kelvin Ingram and Tony
Sessions and he knows how to use them. With a solid
offensive line in front and a good running game QB
Royce Scott no longer has the pressure of trying to
win with his arm, he just has to win with his brain
something he feels better suited to. "The past couple
of seasons," Scott said in a recent interview, "I felt
as though all the pressure was on me. We won or lost
all because of me. Now I don't feel that at all. I
feel a real sense now of a team effort." Gibson would
say that's because he has balanced his team with a mix
of young and old. Joseph Miller and Steve Van Houten
mixed with Kyle Waters, Luke Strader, and Bryan Kopper
are a good example of that. It's a very solid
offensive line, and one with the experience of Miller
and Van Houten that knows what it takes to win games.
"This is a young team," Miller said after this weeks
win over Raleigh. "I feel that my role on this team
is really to be the leader when we're out the on the
field. Gibby told me during the off-season that he
wanted to see me play more of a role of field general
and so far this season I think it is working for us."
That an offensive lineman would be leading the offense
may seem strange but backup veteran quarterback Kurt
Nelson says it's what the team needs. "Royce is a
good player, a smart kid. But he was really
struggling to keep the team together and get the job
done. Joe is a guy that is not only one of the best
players in the leauge, but can teach guys how to win.
It may be odd, but for now it's working." At 2-1 it's
certainly not time to clebrate yet, but Clippers fans
are excited to see something that looks like their old
team back on the field. Scott in the week three game
against Raleigh did exactly what his coach wanted
going 12/20 for 110yds and throwing 2TDs. Ingram,
however, is the real star on this team with 34 carries
and 176 yards. A hard nosed defense is another fan
favorite in Charlotte, and they like what they see so
far this season. They even slowed down the Burlington
offensive attack in their week 2 loss. They pitched
in this week with 7 sacks, three coming from DT Ronnie
Stephen.

LB Oliver Jones is the number 5 tackler of all time in
the NCFA with 412. He has been with Raleigh his
entire career and put together a solid game against
Charlotte in week three with 7 tackles. In his 7
years of the NCFA, Jones has seen a lot of bad teams
in Raleigh and was not holding back in expressing his
anger during the game this week. "What the %&#$ are
you guys doing out there! Missed tackles and sloppy
play, that's all I'm seeing is missed tackles and
sloppy play!" I heard Jones yelling at his fellow
linebackers as I stood on the sidelines covering the
game, and found myself surprised by his emotion. I've
covered Raleigh off and on for the past 3 seasons and
never had the chance to see Jones up close like that
during a game, only afterwards in the locker room. In
the locker room he's always funny, quiet and seems to
be ready to get home to his family and forget about
the beating his team just took or gave. He's never
been a star in the league, but never not played. Now
watching him on the sidelines I wondered to myself if
he was like this always or if something was different
this season. Raleigh has never been a team with much
expectation. They have finished last in the Coastal
Division every year since 2000, but things are
different now and it all started last season. Van
Egger left Burlington where he had completely
dominated the league and wound up in Raleigh.
Players, coaches, fans alike all hailed his arrival as
the beginning of a new era in Capitol football. But
last season never happened. Egger was constantly
under pressure on the field and off. Constantly at
odds with coaches and players and the entire
expereience led to a quick breakup and the signing of
QB Marcus Musson. Then coach Tom Smythe came over
from Wilson and the hope that had existed before last
season began was sparked once more. Watching Jones
yell at his fellow players I was left to wonder if he
had been affected by the same spark. I asked him
about it after the game, as he sat quietly in front of
his locker looking exhausted. "In all the years I've
been at Raleigh we've never really had any hope of
winning. We had some real talent on defense, like
Lenny Linville and Anthony Mitkiff, but never anyone
on offense that we felt could make us into a good
team. Definitely last season with Egger things
changed. We all felt it. The players wanted to win,
the coaching staff new they needed to win, we all felt
the pressure, especially Van. He came in here and was
just expected to change everything overnight. By week
8 he had already told the management that he wanted
out, and they agreed. For many of us veterans we felt
that our one shot was gone, but now with Marcus and
Tom here we feel that we can be winners." And so I
asked him was that why he seemed so angry down on the
field. "I think I'm always like that during the game.
I could be spending that time at home with my family,
but instead I'm here playing football, and trying
hard. I expect the other guys to try as well.
Otherwise what's the point. I feel that now since I'm
the old guy I have to be a little more vocal than I
use to be, but I would say I've always voiced my
feelings during the game." Where Jones has always
been a tower of consistency Musson has been the
opposite. Raleigh is his 4th team. All have been
attracted to his obvious talent, all have ended up
giving up on his lack of winning. Jones and the
others are very aware of this, but Jones says there's
not much he can do so why focus on it. "I can't make
Marcus do any better than Marcus can do. The guy has
talent, he's got an arm, and he wants to win. That's
something we've only had twice in a quarterback. Last
year with Van, this year with Marcus. I've wanted
that my entire career here in Raleigh and I'm not
going to say it's anything to do with him. If we
can't win with him, then we wouldn't be winning with
anyone else either. That's the part that was so hard
to except with Van losing here. It wasn't him that
was losing it was the rest of us." It may be a long
season for Jones and the other Capitols, but it is
hard to say. The Coastal Division is not the
strongest in the league and Tom Smythe has proven that
he is a winning coach, so maybe Jones will get to be a
winner before his career is over.

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