By Bob Suttton
Special to The Alamance News
It was a long climb to the top for the Williams football team.
Now the goal is staying there.
“Every team, every year is different,” coach Patrick Stokes said. “Last year’s team was conference champions, and that’s a goal, of course, for this year’s team. But we’re a different team, even though we’re the same school, same colors, and a lot of the same players, we’re very much a different team.
“We’re excited about what happened last year. But we’re eager about what’s going to happen this year.”
It’s not an overhaul for the Bulldogs, but there are plenty of questions to be answered.
“We lost a lot of good seniors last year and that was our leadership,” said William Overby, a senior slot receiver. “We have a whole new senior leadership. It’s not an entirely different team, but we have new team identity. It’s different guys doing different things. We’re kind of just re-starting, saying last year was last year but that doesn’t define us. Their success isn’t our success, so we’re going to have to go out there and have to earn it again.”
Until last year, it had been since 2005 when the Bulldogs last captured a conference championship.
“That wasn’t missed as a significant moment in the program,” Stokes said.
It tasted pretty good, so the Bulldogs want to go back to the table for another helping.
“I believe we can do it again, definitely,” running back Amarion Richmond said. “Everybody coming here winning to work every day. . . We’re fired up in the weight room every day. Nothing changed there, not at all.”
The Bulldogs turn to Kyrian Fuller at quarterback, taking the spot of two-year starter Dan Mahan (now at Duke).
“Kyrian is our guy, and has been since Day 1 of spring ball,” Stokes said, pointing out Fuller is faster than Mahan.
Fuller was an all-conference receiver last year, taking a similar path that Mahan took to the starting quarterback spot.
“We’ll face adversity,” Stokes said. “Kyrian is going to face adversity, and we’ve worked hard on preparing him to overcome that.”
Fuller, also a key member of the basketball team, was junior varsity quarterback for two years before playing receiver for the varsity last year.
“That was my whole plan to eventually finish out my (last) year here at quarterback,” he said.
It could be Fuller’s time to shine. That’s no secret within the Williams camp.
“When you lose a quarterback like that, it’s going to hurt,” Overby said. “But I feel our quarterback Kyrian Fuller is really stepping up. He’s doing amazing in practice. He is so good. … Kyrian is our guy. He’s going to go out there and get it done for us.”
Fuller, a left-hander, has a good array of weapons around him, including Richmond. He scored 13 touchdowns last year.
Stokes, who begins his fifth season at his alma mater, said establishing a vision has created a championship culture. Winning titles is something the Bulldogs want to be a habit.
“These kids weren’t shocked when it happened,” Stokes said. “If it happens again this year with good fortune, they won’t be shocked when it happens. It’s what’s supposed to happen. And that’s why it hurts so bad when you lose to a Jacksonville or a (Fayetteville) Seventy-First (in the state playoffs).”
Yet winning breeds confidence and that has been brewing for this batch of Bulldogs, who seek to maintain the latest standard. They’ve produced four consecutive winning seasons.
“I think we’re shaping up to have a big year,” tight end Braeden Vetter said.
“I don’t think a lot of people are expecting it. Bigger than people expect. Anybody that’s doubting us, we’re going to prove them wrong. We have a lot of momentum going into this season.”
