North Carolina Football Association (NCFA)

The quarterback ranks in NCFA2's bottom third in passer rating, and the
top running back is only mediocre. The defense is the worst in the league.
So how is it that Coach Cale Martin's Caswell County Bulls entered the
season's final week with a shot to steal the Piedmont2 Division crown?

James Dave is how. The NCFA vagabond, hoping to attract the attention
of a team for a 10th season in the parent league, made all 19 of his
extra-point attempts and 14 of his 15 field-goal tries. That's 93.3 percent--best
in NCFA2. His only miss through 11 games was between 40 and 49 yards, and
his long make of the season was a notable 49 yards. The importance of
Dave's dependability cannot be overstated for a team whose six wins included
three by three or fewer points--and all six by eight or fewer.

Beyond Dave, however, there's not much of a statistical note to glean from among
the Bulls. QB1 Rod Singleton's passer rating is 73.4, and he fumbled seven times
in the season's first 11 weeks. His wide receivers -- Brian Rooks, Russell Maddocks
and Gary Finch -- have been busy (55, 46 and 41 receptions, respectively), but not
spectacular (12.7, 12.8 and 11.3 average yards per catch). Daniel White, a seeded
linebacker, has recorded 63 tackles and seven sacks. NCFA journeyman Bo Vanhorse has
started at safety and cornerback and totaled 65 tackles, two interceptions and a
fumble recovery.

Martin seemed to make all the right moves after an 0-2 start. A former
Durham offensive lineman himself, Martin sacked the entire starting
Caswell County offensive front, including seeded guard Jose Robertson. That
move preceded a four-game winning streak. For one thing, it got George
"Ninth Number" Jackson into the starting unit at G2, and longtime NCFA and
NCFA2 observers agree that few interior lineman in either league have so
regularly grabbed their attention. In addition to showing himself to be a
quality blocker especially late in games, Jackson has proven
extraordinarily opportunistic. He has two fumble recoveries on the season, and one was
critical, along with a Jackson blocked field goal, in a 20-18 Week 6
win over Vance County.

At that point in the season, though, Martin seemed to make all of the
wrong moves. He shuffled the entire starting defense, to no discernible
improvement. At the same time, Martin changed halfbacks. Seeded James
Clark (463 yards, 4.2 yards per carry, one fumble in 108 attempts) was benched in favor
of Patrick Robinson, whose play at HB3 had been flashier that it would be
as the main man. Before being injured in Week 11, Robinson totaled 328
yards on 3.5 yards per carry and had three fumbles in 92 attempts.

And as for the Bulls' playoff hopes? They died with a 17-3, Week 12
loss to the Person County Bees. In that game, Singleton hit 19 of his 36
passing attempts for 250 yards and an interception, new HB1 Leroy Hoverstein
carded 47 yards on 13 carries, the Caswell County defense yielded 294 total
yards to the Bees' offense--and Dave converted his lone kick of the evening,
a 38-yard field-goal attempt.