Spartans, Hinton staying 'humble and hungry' in 2014

The sidelines of Southern Durham High will look a little different during the upcoming football season.

When Spartan Head Coach Adrian Jones stepped down from his position for an opportunity at N.C. Central after winning the 2013 3-AA state championship with the team, he cleared the way for athletic director Darius Robinson to take over.

Although Robinson has a new job title, the nine-year assistant is already familiar with the special abilities of his starting quarterback, Kendall Hinton.

"What Kendall brings to the field is his leadership," said Robinson. "I told Kendall, I said, 'I’m the head coach in the program, you’re the head coach on the field and in the locker room.' That leadership is the biggest thing that Kendall brings.

"It’s something that you can’t teach. It’s all natural for him. I remember seeing Kendall when he came on campus as a freshman. I told some of our assistant coaches, ‘This kid is going to be special.’"

Robinson's premonition turned out to be accurate. In his junior season, Hinton accounted for more than 3,000 total yards on offense and led a second-half comeback to defeat Crest in the state championship. A day later, he was named the Big-Eight Conference's Player of the Year.

Over the summer, Hinton put his recruiting madness to an end when he verbally committed to play football at Wake Forest University in 2015. He chose the Demon Deacons over several other schools including Duke, N.C. State and East Carolina.

"Recruiting can be pretty stressful," he said. "I didn't want that to be something on my back while we were trying to win games. I wanted to get it out of the way and be able to move on and focus on the team and on winning."

Emphasis on defense

Robinson will bring a new look to the Spartans. The coach, who started as a position coach at N.C. Central in 1993 and made a four-year stop at Hillside before coming to Southern, was Jones' defensive coordinator for the past three years.

He knows his offense is willing and able to make plays, but says the defense was a crucial part of the team's championship run a year ago, and it will need to be again if the team wants to get back to the final game.

"I believe in a strong defense because you can’t win a championship without a defense that can make plays when plays are needed at that particular moment," said Robinson. "Prime example: Last year in our state championship game we had to make adjustments at halftime. 

"Then we got some stops and got some turnovers, and once you put the ball in the offense hand like we have, explosive plays are going to be made. That’s what defense has to do—give our offense opportunities."

Southern has several players coming back from its championship defense, including defensive linemen Tahj Spivey, Montrel Cherry and Christian Howze and defensive backs Jeremy Griffis and Marvin Tillman.

There will be at least one less playmaker on offense for the Spartans though, thanks to the departure of wide receiver Maurice Trowell, who is starting his freshman season at N.C. State. Trowell was one of Hinton's favorite targets a year ago. Derrick Mason was also an all-conference selection and caught 70 balls for 1,201 yards and 13 touchdowns last season.

Lucky for Robinson, he does have running back William Cameron coming back. Cameron, a rising senior, is an all-conference running back committed to West Virginia.

"You can’t replace Maurice, you can’t replace Derrick Mason, but what we can do is develop the talent we have," Robinson said. "We have speed, we have athleticism and we just have to develop that relationship between Kendall and those receivers to run the right routes, catch the ball and be able to make plays."

A new motto

Sitting atop the 3A football competition comes with notoriety, and with teams across the area waiting to give Southern their best each week, the Spartans have birthed a new motto for their new year.

"We have a motto that we’re saying: stay humble and hungry," said Robinson. "I'm pretty much putting a lot of responsibility on the players to be the decision makers and make sure that they understand people are watching them, not only out on the field but out in the community as well as in the school, to be positive role models."

The Spartans won't have much of a break over the course of the 12-week regular season. They start at home on a Saturday night against Capital Christian Academy of Landover, Maryland. In their next two games, they'll face cross-city rival Hillside and then go on the road to Scotland County.

This all comes before playing through one of the most competitive 3-A football conferences in North Carolina. In the Big Eight, they'll face tough teams Cardinal Gibbons, Orange and Northwood.

"I really believe whoever comes out of the conference as the conference champion is going to be the state champion again," said Robinson.

Hinton agrees, and says he and his teammates will have to elevate their level of play just to give themselves a chance to repeat their success.

"We know we’re going to have to step it up a level," said Hinton. "The bull’s-eye is on our back and there’s going to be a lot of teams gunning for us, but that’s what we’re expecting. We’re all expecting it."

Follow Zach Mayo on Twitter at @ZachMayoHSOT