By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
When Western Alamance’s James Newton found out he had been selected for the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, he didn’t take the news sitting down.
“It’s a big thing for me,” Newton said. “I was running around the house yelling. My mom, my dad, they were all excited for me. It was great.”
Newton, a receiver, along with Williams quarterback Dan Mahan, will be among members of the North Carolina team for Saturday’s game. Usually rivals over the course of their high school careers, the two seniors will be on the same side for a change. Seniors from North Carolina take on their counterparts from South Carolina at Spartanburg High School in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
The contingent from Alamance County also includes Western Alamance coach Jeff Snuffer, who’s an assistant coach for the North Carolina team.
Newton and Mahan signed their college commitments earlier this month, with Newton picking Gardner-Webb and Mahan heading to Duke. Their high school seasons both ended last month with second-round losses in the Class 3-A state playoffs.
Newton is one of 11 Gardner-Webb signees.
“James is a special guy with the ball in his hands,” Gardner-Webb coach Cris Reisert said. “He can score from anywhere on the field and in a variety of ways. He’ll be hard to defend the moment he steps on campus.”
Newton, also a member of Western’s boys’ basketball team, said going to the Shrine Bowl is among the highlights for his senior year.
“It’s a big accomplishment,” he said. “I’d say that was my dream ever since I heard about it my freshman year.”
Mahan has been a versatile player in high school before starting at quarterback for the Bulldogs the past two seasons.
“He just wants to play football and do what he does,” Williams coach Patrick Stokes said.
Mahan created highlights as a runner and passer.
“It’s hard to game plan for,” Mahan said. “They’d send blitzes and we’d have 1-on-1 on the outside, and I like my guys a lot in those situations.”
This weekend, Mahan could be throwing to Newton.
Scotland coach Richard Bailey is the North Carolina team’s head coach. Other than Snuffer, the North Carolina staff also includes a few former Eastern Guilford coaches: Joe Glass (now at Hickory), Kennedy Tinsley (now at Mallard Creek), and Scott Loosemore (now an assistant coach at West Brunswick).
Snuffer said Saturday that the roster for the North Carolina team, which was announced in October, has undergone tweaks.
The results of last week’s regional finals in the state playoffs cleared some players to participate in the Shrine Bowl. For instance, defending Class 4A champion Weddington and defending Class 3A champion Hickory both lost, and they each had two Shrine Bowl selections, while others on the initial list might not be available.
Normally, the Shrine Bowl is contested a week after state finals. Because the North Carolina High School Athletic Association pushed back the start of the state playoffs by one week in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the new playoff dates are overlapping with the Shrine Bowl.
State championships
Class 1-A: Corvian Community vs. Tarboro, 3:00 p.m. Saturday, Carter-Finley Stadium (Raleigh)
Class 2-A: Northeastern vs. Monroe, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Kenan Stadium (Chapel Hill)
Class 3-A: Fayetteville Seventy-First vs. West Charlotte, 11:00 a.m. Saturday, Carter-Finley Stadium (Raleigh)
Class 4-A: Greensboro Grimsley vs. Rolesville, 7:00 p.m. Friday, Kenan Stadium (Chapel Hill)
