Churchland Truckers
Eastern District, 4A-East
Head Coach: Alonzo Ricks (7th Year)
2015 Record: 4-7 (lost to Lafayette 46-12 in the opening round of the playoffs)

For the third straight year, the Churchland Truckers reached the playoffs. Yet, the last two postseason trips have come with lopsided opening round losses - to Heritage in 2014 and Lafayette in 2015 - and the Portsmouth program finished below .500, unlike their 8-3 finish from three years ago.

Dating back to 1975, the Truckers have made the playoffs eight times. Six of those appearances have been over the past nine years. Not once has Churchland broken through with a postseason victory. An interesting stat to note from last year's Churchland team is that they went 3-0 in games decided by six points or less, beating the likes of Warhill, Norcom and Wilson.

The 13.2 points per game that Churchland averaged in 2015 wasn't a huge number, though they have quite a bit of production to replace with QB Corey Gause, RB Jamil 'Mamba' Edwards and WR Michael Huff all graduating, plus receiver and special teams weapon Garry Williams transferred to Western Branch. Ricks will turn to a sophomore, Jamel Carter-Love (5-11, 165), to get the first crack at the quarterback position.

Carter-Love doesn't have the experience of recent QB's like Gause and Malik Sexton, but if he can manage the game and keep the mistakes to a minimum then this offense will function fine. They'd really like to up the 2.9 yards per carry average from a season ago as it was tough for them to run the ball at times, those best examples coming in the final two games against Hampton and Lafayette when they ran for a total of 80 yards on 41 attempts. Look for a running back-by-committee setup this year.

Senior Dario Waters (5-11, 190) should get touches out of the backfield and likewise for a couple of juniors in Laverle Davis Jr. (5-11, 175) and Charles Jackson-Hicks (5-9, 175). Keep an eye on freshman Kenny Gallop (5-9, 165), a slot-back type, as well. What can be the strength is the line o-line play. "These young men have really been getting better daily because of the loss of some guys from the previous year," Ricks noted. Junior Maleek Webb (6-1, 230) directs the unit from his center spot.

At the tackles, seniors Micah Brown (6-4, 285) and Nijay White (6-0, 256) are veterans that know what to do up front. On the outside, the Truckers have a few athletes poised to break through and make names for themselves in juniors Khalik Williams (6-0, 165) and Quentin Greene (5-8, 165) as well as sophomore Jason McManes (6-1, 160). When they can maintain balance on offense is when Churchland is at its best and able to compete with some of the better teams around.

Just three starters return on the defensive side of the ball for a Truckers team that gave up 27 points per game a year ago. Micah Brown is one of them and was a Second Team All-Eastern District selection last year at defensive tackle. Both he and White are two of the bigger bodies at their disposal to use on the d-line with Brown drawing some looks to continue playing football at the next level.

First Team All-Eastern District performer Nasir Porter graduated at linebacker. Yet, that position is probably the one they are most confident about defensively. "I think our strength will be our linebacker core," Ricks commented. "They've been playing together for a while now."

Waters, a Second Team All-Conference 17 pick as a junior, gives them a reliable thumper at linebacker and Jackson-Hicks showed promise at that position during his sophomore campaign. Developing that third linebacker they can count on not only versus the, but in short areas when it comes to pass coverage will be vital to this defense's growth. McManes and Davis could be in position to grab some time there.

The Truckers have to replace their entire secondary with Edwards, Williams, Troy Mitchell and Tyheem Sweat all gone. Thrust into starting roles will be junior corner Davonte Mitchell (5-9, 155) and senior Tyron Everett (5-9, 160). Ideally, they wouldn't have to use Carter-Love on defense because he will be playing quarterback, but they may not have a choice since he appears to be one of their best options at free safety.

While Churchland has had some struggles in other sports, their football team has had some of its better seasons in program history recently. The Truckers won eight games in 2013 and as many as seven in both 2009 and 2010. That would be a tall order for the 2016 squad, though.

There are not a lot of seniors on either of the ball. That lack of experience may be felt as they open up against Bay Rivers District teams Warhill and Grafton. Ordinarily, one would consider a school from Norfolk or Portsmouth to have its way with someone from the Bay Rivers, but that district has shown progress the past few years. Not to mention, Warhill was a play away from beating them on the road last year and Grafton did win the head-to-head meeting in 2015.

How does Ricks view this team's potential?

"Pretty good," he answered. "Especially if we can work out the kinks early and get better with time. I feel they can be really good and keep pushing themselves to help us play our best all through the year."

Establishing a consistent ground game with a young, untested quarterback will be immensely critical to the overall effectiveness of their offense. On defense, they are going to need the defensive front with the linemen and linebackers to set the tone until the new-look secondary gets its feet under them. With three very winnable games sandwiched in between their meeting with Lake Taylor and regular season finale vs. Hampton, another postseason trip in 4A should be attainable.

Matthew Hatfield has covered football and basketball since 2004 for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network, and is a staff writer for Tar Heel Illustrated. Check out Hatfield’s Twitter page for more sports related updates, and you can also read his work in the Suffolk News Herald. To contact Matthew, please e-mail hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com, and don’t forget to listen to him every Saturday at 10 AM on ESPN Radio 94.1, plus watch him on the Cox 11 Sports Report.