Coach wants AHS to take the next step from good to great

ASHEBORO — Building a high school football program is not an easy thing to do. It certainly doesn’t happen overnight. 

Asheboro High School’s Calvin Brown and his entire coaching staff is building a football program and there are definite signs things are going in a positive direction.

While high school football practices began July 30, there already is a big difference in the way things are going as the Blue Comets prepare for the Aug. 21 season opener against Scotland County.

“Night and day, not even close,” Brown said of the difference between the official start of this season and the past ones. “The culture is where we want to be as far as how we do things. We’ve progressed every year. Last year, I had to lead, get them going in practice. This year we have seniors doing that. You can tell the kids have bought into it. Being 7-4 was great, but it’s not good enough. We want to go further than we’ve ever gone before.”

When Brown took over the Blue Comets program four years ago, the program was in a downward spiral. AHS was 6-43 in the previous five seasons. Under Brown, the team went 1-9, then 4-7 and they are coming off a 7-4 season, the most wins in one season since 2016 when they won nine games under Owen George.

“The reason it’s better is our seniors have only been with us and our program,” Brown said. “They know what we expect as a coaching staff and know what our expectations are and what I expect as a coach. It makes things flow better. We are here to win, not just compete.”

The numbers over the past three seasons show a definite upward trajectory. In Brown’s first year, AHS averaged 18.6 points and surrendered 36.1 per game. In year two, the offense improved to average 28.8 points per game, while the defense surrendered an average of 33.7 points per contest. This past season, the offense averaged 29.5 points a game, while the defense gave up an average of 18.2 points per game. The defense has cut the points allowed per game in half from Brown’s first season.

“At some point, you will plateau,” Brown said. “You might be better, but give up more points. Our defense is going to be much better than last year.”

The next step in the evolution of the program is to compete for a conference championship. The Triad Area Athletic Conference is very stout with Northern Guilford (12-2), Northeast Guilford (9-3) and Southeast Guilford (6-5) all finishing above .500, and Eastern Guilford and Southern Guilford provide challenges.

With leaders like brothers Dallas Brinton and Connor Brinton, Garrison Cheek and Zak Blackwell, the team is ready to take that next step. “They are ready to do more than what we have done in the past, from having a winning season to compete for championships,” Brown stated.

The Blue Comets won’t travel out of the county for the first five games as they are home for four of them with one short road trip to Randleman. “It’s great not only for the football program but for the community to have as many home games,” Brown said. 

The Blue Comets have more than 70 players in the program, nearly double than in 2023. “It has been a building process,” said Brown, who will call the offensive plays this season. “Last year, we wanted to win some close games and we did that. We competed against some really good teams and lost. Now we want to win against those good teams. Instead of being a good team, we want to be a great team.”