As we get to the backside of another typical blazing North Carolina summer, this is the time of year that football fans look forward to the most. We know that while college football camps are starting up, players are reporting to campuses, getting their playbooks, and seeing teammates and coaches again.
This ritual is also taking place in Wilson, NC at the Barton College campus as the Bulldogs are preparing for the fourth season of competition. Players reported to the scenic campus to start their fall camp and acclimation period on Sunday, August 6th. Of course, you have the traditional “college move in“ activities…parents and family members helping players to move into their dorm rooms, campus orientations for true freshmen and transfers, getting their student IDs and such. For football players, they are also doing testing to help give baselines for their athletic performances. This includes weigh-ins, strength & conditioning testing, and other similar tasks. Football is one of the first teams at the Barton campus to report, so the campus is relatively quiet outside of their practices.
Before we look at the 2023 season and breakdown how things will look for the Bulldogs, let’s take a moment to reflect on the 2022 season.
2022 was a challenge for the Barton program. After finishing with a 6-6 record in their first full season of play in 2021, the team experienced a setback season in 2022 and finished with a 4-7 record. The season was frustrating thanks in large part to injuries to several key contributors, including a season ending injury suffered in the Spring Blue/White game by ballhawk DB Kendarious Jenkins before the actual season kicked off. Starting QB Jaquan Lynch and DT Alex Gowda also saw their seasons cut short by injuries. Several other key contributors were banged up off and on throughout the season.
Running Game
Even though the offense had troubles putting points on the board consistently throughout the season, RB Jordan Terrell turned in another SAC All-Conference performance after spending a majority of the season in the top-5 rushers for all of D2 football. Terrell finished the season with an impressive stat line of 1632 net rushing yards, 15 touchdowns, and averaged 5.4 yards per rushing attempt. At the end of the season, Terrell found his name on the 2022 All-SAC Piedmont Division 1st Team Offense, the 2022 Conference Commissioner's Association NCAA Division II All-Super Region Two Football 2nd Team Offense, and an honorable mention on the 2022 Don Hansen's NCAA Division II All-American Football Team. Quite the list of accolades for the sophomore. Terrell also earned SAC Offensive Player of the Week recognition twice during the season.
Passing Game
The passing game saw QBs Jaquan Lynch and Tyler Flippen led the team in shared duties because of Lynch‘s injuries that eventually shut him down for the season. Lynch did earn SAC Offensive Player of the Week following a strong performance vs UVA Wise in week 2. New offensive coordinator Landon Mariani had the challenge of not only trying to put his own signature on the Bulldog offense, but also trying to do so with his starting QB and other players missing games due to injuries. Lynch finished with 819 passing yards and 7 TD / 8 Int in eight games. Flippen contributed 447 yards and 2 TD / 3 Int in nine games. Since the passing game couldn’t play to form, the receiving numbers were down as well. One bright spot was WR Kameron “KJ” Johnson. Johnson led the team with 44 receptions, 566 yards, and 5 TD. His efforts earned him a place on the 2022 All-SAC Piedmont Division 2nd Team Offense. Nate Byers contributed 14 receptions, 208 yards, and 1 TD.
Offensive Line
The offensive line, under the guidance of new OL coach CJ Cain, picked up where they left off in the 2021 season. Center Alex Buschow had a good year anchoring the unit and earned a spot on the 2022 All-SAC Piedmont Division 2nd Team Offense. The rest of the starting lineup of Trent Jones, Edwin Fuentes-Berrios, Hunter Sauls, and Trey Pickard all played well throughout the season.
Defense
The Bulldogs played pretty solid defense in many games throughout the season. Defensive coordinator and associate head coach Treiston Burnette, defensive line coach Eric Morris, and linebackers coach Kim Brown did a fantastic job pushing the defensive squad in every game. Considering the offense might not have been clicking on all cylinders at various times of the season, the defense kept the team close and continued to motivate everyone when a big play was needed.
The leader of the defense, LB Shane Perry, turned in another season of playing with his hair on fire and found a spot on the 2022 All-SAC Piedmont 1st Team Defense as a reward. With Kendarious Jenkins out, DB Quayon Gilbert stepped up his level of play and earned 2022 All-SAC Piedmont 2nd Team Defense honors. Other members of the defense had solid seasons, including LB Matt Smith, DBs Derreck Barringer, Kermit Solomon, & Jay Wheeler, as well as DEs JL Ledbetter, Dionte Osbey, & Noah Johnson. DTs Tyshek Wilson and Alex Gowda showed their strength in plugging the middle of opposing offensive lines. While Gowda's season ending injury saw a number of replacements trying to fill in for him, his presence was missed following his departure.
Special Teams
Special teams coach Charlie Mauze' saw a good year from P Bear Huggins with four 50+ yard punts and 11 punts landing inside the 20. K Jackson Brooks went 7-12 with a long of 42 yards in his final season of college football.
There were many other contributors who stepped up throughout the year. While the season ended with the 4-7 record, Barton still led the SAC conference in team rushing offense with 213.5 yards per game, and Shane Perry led the conference averaging 9 tackles per game.
The 2022 Bulldog Team had a LOT of fight in them even if some of the final scores might say otherwise. Even in road loses against Division I Davidson and eventual SAC champion Newberry, the Bulldogs continued to work on improving their games week in and week out. Head coach Chip Hester was quick to point out throughout the year that setbacks can be expected in college football, and while it can be very frustrating following a good season, positives can be witnessed and development can happen naturally during a down year.
Now it's time to look forward to the 2023 season...
The Bulldogs are returning a LOT of experience for 2023. Since the team started from scratch, the majority of snaps were played by true freshman, redshirt freshmen, and such. In 2023, head coach Chip Hester will have his original recruiting class as the upperclassmen leading a fresh crop of talented recruits onto the field. This includes All-American RB Jordan Terrell, as well as All-SAC Conference Preseason Honorees LB Shane Perry and C Alex Buschow. The entire offensive line is back. Starting QB Jaquan Lynch is healthy, and playmaker WR KJ Johnson is ready to make more noise this season. And that's just the start.
On defense, the team should take a step forward in limiting the production from opposing offenses with an influx of talented defensive linemen. Recent 2023 NC Strongman Contest winner Shane Perry will be directing traffic from his MLB spot. I think big years are in order for defensive backs Kermit Solomon, Quayon "Q" Gilbert, Connor Stanley, Mike Webb, and Jay Wheeler.
If the Bulldogs can avoid that gosh darned injury bug, I think this team can put up a challenge to many of the conference mainstays. The schedule will be familiar as it is more or less the same slate of opponents from 2022. The only difference is that the road and home games are swapped. The only matchup that remains the same will be the second week matchup against D1 opponent Davidson at Davidson, NC. That also means another season with SAC "Murders Row" with back-to-back-to-back matchups with #24 Newberry, #25 Lenoir-Rhyne, and #21 Wingate. Luckily for Barton, the Newberry and Wingate games are at home in Truist Stadium. As we learned versus then #8 Wingate in 2021, anything can happen in Wilson, NC.
One thing is clear: Even though the 2022 season was a disappointment for Barton, the team still warrants respect from their opponents as they are a talented group. I believe with the addition of some solid transfers and a strong recruiting class, one that includes several high school state champions, the Bulldogs will be better equipped to take on all challengers in 2023. I try to stay away from predictions for the program since it is still young, but feel if they can turn the 4-7 from 2022 into nothing less than a 6-5 record in 2023, everyone should see this as a successful season. There will need to be some hard fought games played to end up at that record, and again, I'd like to see that as the floor. I believe in these players and the coaching staff. I feel like they have the potential to finish the season better than that 6-5 mark. How far above that, well that's up to them.
I know they're hungry. Now, it's time to see the Big Dawgs eat.
Stay locked in with The Bulldog Insiders throughout the season for coverage, interviews, photos, and the best coverage for Barton College football.
Thursday Aug 31 6:00 pm (Home): Chowan
Saturday Sept 9 7:00 pm (Away): Davidson
Saturday Sept 16 @ 4:00 pm (Home): UVA Wise
Saturday Sept 23 @ 1:00 pm (Away): Mars Hill
Saturday Sept 30 @ 2:00 pm (Away): Tusculum
Saturday Oct 7 @ 4:00 pm (Home): #24 Newberry
Saturday Oct 14 @ 2:00 pm (Away): #25 Lenoir-Rhyne
Saturday Oct 21 @ 2:00 pm (Home): #21 Wingate (Homecoming)
Saturday Oct 28 @ 4:00 pm (Away): Catawba (Chip Hester Bowl)
Saturday Nov 4 @ 6:00 pm (Home): Limestone
Saturday Nov 11 @ 1:00 pm (Away): Erskine
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