Cyclones played well during what could have been one tough year

If this is what a down year at Eastern View is going to be like for Cyclones football coach Greg Hatfield, he’ll take it.

Eastern View won six of its 10 games on the field in the school’s second year, but will technically finish with a 7-3 record after receiving news James Monroe would forfeit six games for using an ineligible player.

Either way it was a second-straight winning season for the Cyclones in a year many naysayers were predicting failure.

After all, Eastern View lost a lot of talent. Running back Stevie Strother took more than 2,000 yards of total offense to the college ranks, where he played as a true freshman for Southern Illinois this season. Starting quarterback Cody Whitlock also graduated. Same with linebacker Blake Smith, who accepted a football scholarship at Shepherd University, and defensive back Mo Safren, who intercepted seven passes in 2008.

There were off the field issues too. The Cyclones also had to deal with the tragic deaths of a player’s mother and a former classmate, as well as some key players quitting the team early on.

“I think this was the year everybody expected us to have a let down losing the experience we did from last year,” Hatfield said. “I was really pleased we didn’t have that kind of let down. Our kids went through a lot this year. To take the inexperience we had and all we went through it’s a credit to our kids and our coaches that we didn’t let down.”

The Cyclones fell to Chancellor, Courtland and James Monroe, the Battlefield District’s three best teams, and also lost to Louisa, a Region II playoff team. But Eastern View took care of business in every game it was supposed to win, beating King George, Caroline, Spotsylvania, William Monroe and Culpeper twice.

Though Eastern View was a young team in 2009 — the vast majority of the skill players were underclassmen — Hatfield credited an unheralded senior class with maintaining the momentum the program gained after a successful first season.

Senior wide receiver Matt Case was a steady influence on younger offensive players while linebackers Seth Cundiff and Shawn Ferris and defensive lineman Patrick Wilson were quiet leaders on the defense.

“Not a lot of people knew who our seniors were,” Hatfield said. “But the ones we had took some pride in keeping things rolling. Our kids were not content just winning games. Our kids felt like they had an opportunity to do more.”

Next year could very well be the year the Cyclones break through and make the playoffs. Eastern View returns quarterback Simon Pendleton, who threw for 1,696 yards, 21 touchdowns and six interceptions as a sophomore. Top running back Alquan Newman is also back along with wide receivers Drayton Shanks, Connor Settle and V.J. Ivory.

The Cyclones should have a potent offense, but Hatfield says the only way for Eastern View to truly take the next step is to beat one of the Battlefield District’s top teams, and he’s not talking about accepting a forfeit after the fact.

Hatfield is also proud of the fact that Eastern View is continuing to be a program that puts on emphasis on helping its players get to college — whether they are potential athletes on the next level or not.

For the second year in a row, Hatfield made sure the Cyclones visited a college campus before a road game. This year EVHS went to Randolph-Macon College in Ashland before the Cyclones played at Caroline. The team was able to work out at the Yellow Jackets facility and have a pregame meal there.

Hatfield said exposing kids to the college campus puts the idea of continuing their education in their heads.

“This is the second year in a row we’ve had or kids on a college campus and we have more and more kids talking about going to college all the time.”

And heading into next year the Cyclones just might have a few players with talent to play football when they get there.