Prep notebook: Green leaves football post; Scott Campbell returns to coaching

Former Leesville Road football coach David Green has resigned from his head coaching job at Burlington Williams and is expected to be named as head coach at another school.

Green said he could not discuss other positions but said he wouldn’t leave Williams except for a remarkable opportunity.

“The people here (at Williams) are wonderful,” he said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better situation. The community really rallied around the team and went over and beyond what anyone could have asked.

“We’ve got a new locker room and weight room and the program is really on the way up. It would take a very special place for me to leave.”

Green had a 79-47 record in six years at Leesville and four years at Williams. His Williams team finished 7-7, 7-5, 7-5 and 6-6 for a 27-23 record.

Among the head coaching positions that are listed as vacant by the N.C. High School Athletic Association are Enloe, Richmond County, Albemarle, Charlotte’s Ardrey Kell, Bartlett Yancey, Hickory, Marvin Ridge, North Lenoir, Pembroke Swett, Western Harnett and Northern Vance.

Campbell to Friendship: Scott Campbell, who built an excellent girls basketball program during 23 years at Apex High, is returning to coaching at new Apex Friendship.

“I’m fired up and ready to get started,” Campbell said. “The first year I was out of coaching I walked around like a lost puppy, but probably didn’t miss coaching as much as I later did. I missed being on the court teaching. I missed being a part of the players’ lives. I missed having the chance to talk to the girls about the things that are most important.”

Campbell, who has 462 career wins, will be a non-faculty coach.

“I know that will be a challenge, but I feel good that I am not taking a position away from some teacher who is just starting their career,” he said.

Cap is finalist: Austin Bell of Broughton High is one of 20 national finalists for the U.S. Army-Pro Football Hall of Fame Award for Excellence.

The award focuses on athletic achievement combined with excellence in academics and community engagement.

The finalists will be recognized on Aug. 8 during the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement weekend in Canton, Ohio. The Award of Excellence winner will be announced at the luncheon.

This year’s Hall of Fame inductees are Jerome Bettis, Tim Brown, Charles Haley, Bill Polian, Junior Seau, Will Shields, Mick Tingelhoff and Ron Wolf. The Minnesota Viikings and Pittsburgh Steelers will play in the NFL Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 9.

Lacrosse rankings: Middle Creek is No. 1 in the North Carolina public school boys lacrosse rankings and Ravenscroft is No. 1 in the private schools list in the laxpower.com rankings The top ranked girls team is Cardinal Gibbons which is No. 4.

Joining Middle Creek in the rankings are No. 4 Cardinal Gibbons, No. 7 Leesville Road and No. 9 Apex. In the girls’ rankings, Wakefield is No. 5 and is followed by No. 8 Apex and No. 10 Chapel Hill.

Sands steaming: Jerry Sands, a Smithfield-Selma High graduate, was called up by the Cleveland Indians from their Triple-A club last weekend and went 3-for-4 in his first game (April 11) with four runs batted in. He has played in five games and has a .389 batting average (7 for 18).

Sands, who has Major League experience with the Dodgers, hit .304 in spring training with two home runs and seven RBIs in 22 games.

“He had a good spring,” Francona told mlb.com of Sands. “He came in and he had that (season-ending wrist surgery in 2014) that was taken care of before, and there was some thought that he might not really be ready. But he did such a good job that he was more ready. I think what opened our eyes was – because we knew he could swing the bat – was the way he handled himself defensively.”

Henry wins honor: West Johnston High grad Sarah Henry was named the Southeastern Conference’s Swimmer of the Year last week. Henry was a 16-time all-America swimmer at Texas A&M and won the NCAA championship in the 400-yard individual medley this spring.

This story was originally published April 20, 2015 at 5:09 PM with the headline "Prep notebook: Green leaves football post; Scott Campbell returns to coaching."