Pride Sports Info.
The 2009 Greensboro College football season was the most successful in program history. Under first year Head Coach Dr. Randy Hunt, The Pride won four USA South Conference games, matching the most by any GC team.
GC ended the year with three straight conference wins. The Pride also produced its first-ever victories at Ferrum College and at Maryville College.
“There were so many positives from this year’s football program," said Pride Athletics Director Jean Lojko. "The improvement of our program, the competitiveness and good sportsmanship demonstrated cannot be denied. We are so proud of Coach Hunt, his staff and student-athletes for their efforts this year."
Following the regular season, GC earned 11 all conference honors from the USA South. Leading the way was senior defensive back
Andreas Platt (Greensboro, NC/Ragsdale), Greensboro’s lone first team selection. The senior Platt had 65 tackles (37 unassisted) and three interceptions for The Pride.
Antwan Thorpe (Oxford, NC/Webb), an exciting freshman wide receiver was picked the USAS rookie of the year. He had 824 receiving yards this season and topped the USA South with 70 receptions. Additionally, he caught eight passes for touchdowns which was tied atop the USA South rankings. Thorpe, who was picked to USAS second team, added 137 yards rushing on 45 carries with two touchdowns.
Joining Thorpe on the conference second team were seniors
Brandon Richardson (Charlotte, NC/West Charlotte) and
Brandon Drumgoole (Greensboro, NC/Ragsdale). Richardson led conference tight ends with 660 yards and six receiving touchdowns. Drumgoole, a defensive lineman, led the team with 16 tackles for losses and six sacks.
The Pride had four conference honorable mention selections, including
Donnie Leopold (Brown Summit, NC/Warwick Valley). A sophomore punter, he led the USA South with a 39.2 punting average and was 10th in nation in net punting. Also tabbed honorable for GC were: defensive linemen
Nathan Wooten (Mt. Holly, NC/East Gaston) and
Brian Green (Stuart, FL/Martin County); linebacker
Devon Morrison (Denver, NC/East Lincoln) and defensive back
Mykel Searcy (Reidsville, NC/Rockingham County ).
“Our defensive unit did a great job this season,” said Hunt. “Many times it’s the offense that gets the headlines, but the other side of the ball kept us in a lot of games and made a real difference.”
Two student athletes who did not earn all conference honors also stood for The Pride this year:
Matt Martin (Morehead City, NC/West Carteret) and
Seth Adams (Burlington, NC/Willliams). As The Pride’s season and running attack matured, so did the senior running back’s productivity. He recorded three 100-yard rushing games in GC’s last four games.
A freshman quarterback, Adams took over the starting job at mid-season. He threw for 1359 yards, tossed 10 touchdown passes and had just five interceptions. Adams produced an impressive 127 pass efficiency rating.
“Even though Seth didn’t earn all conference honors, you can make a case that he was our MVP,” Coach Hunt said. “We are very excited about Seth leading our offense next year and beyond.”
The Pride dominated the conference’s offensive rookie of the week award. Adams won it twice and Thorpe earned the distinction four times.
Drumgoole, Richardson and Platt were picked to play--and received rave reviews--in the D3 Senior Classic All Star game. The inaugural event was Dec. 5 in Salem, Va.
