High-powered Tigers welcome their coach back

RANDLEMAN — Before a football was handed off, before a pass was thrown, even before the Randleman High School football team began stretching for their very first practice, the Tigers, all of RHS and the community experienced a win that will go unmatched even if the Tigers win a state championship.

Head coach Shane Timmons is back at the helm after missing most of last season while assuring his daughter received the best cancer treatment possible. Although not out of the woods yet, his daughter has shown remarkable improvement, which has allowed the Timmons family to return home and for Timmons to return to the field with the Tigers.

And what a team it is expected to be.

Led by a number of talented returners, including wide receiver Tyshaun Goldston, offensive lineman Jonathan Stokes, quarterback John Kirkpatrick and all-league performers throughout the starting offense and defense, the Tigers are primed once again to challenge for the Piedmont Athletic Conference title and make a deep run in the state 2-A playoffs.

“It feels great to be back in the building, a little bit of normalcy,” Timmons said. “April, early May was pretty tough going through post surgery things, but I did some spring workouts and I’m just thankful to be able to be here.”

The Tigers are coming off a 10-2 season. Randleman earned tough non-league games with Thomasville and West Stokes last year before rolling to seven straight wins where the closest game was decided by 24 points. A heartbreaking 22-21 loss to Eastern Randolph led the Tigers into the playoffs, where they defeated West Stanly before losing to Forest Hills.

A number of weapons from that team return, including Goldston. In Goldston, the Tigers have one of the most gifted receivers in the state. At 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, Goldston is athletic enough to go over any defender. Last year he caught 52 passes for 1,269 yards and 18 touchdowns.

“Tyshaun is going to draw doubles so one of the things that made us better last year was Amari Ferdna being able to beat single coverage,” Timmons said. “We’re looking at Brayden Gladden, Chase Farlow for that. If they are going to single cover him, you have to go to that well. The one thing about Tyshaun is he is so coachable. He just wants to be out there playing ball and making plays.”

Having Goldston sure makes things a lot more comfortable for Kirkpatrick, who excelled last year after being thrust into the starting position. He finished 148-for-232 for 2,283 yards, 38 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. He could be even better this year after gaining a year of valuable experience.

“He’s a guy who lives on the emotional edge and that makes him competitive,” Timmons said. “He’s learning how to go with the flow. It’s not perfect yet, but there has been some growth there.”

The offensive line is deep and talented, led by Stokes, who is headed to East Carolina. The line also features Brandon Boone, Jonathan Sampson, who is also one of the stars on the defensive side, Christian McLeod, Trae Welborn and Elijah Wyse. There will be others contributing as well.

The beneficiary of that stout offensive line will be running backs Micah Thurston, Daylan Atkins, Triston Chriscoe and short-yardage specialist Ty Moton, a defensive line standout.

As with the offense, there are plenty of returning starters on defense. The line will be led by Moton, Stokes, Boone and Jason Ortiz with Tate Andrews, Sampson and Thurston among those at linebacker. Cassady Jazai also looked good at linebacker during the Tigers’ scrimmage last week.

Goldston should see plenty of action in the defensive backfield as should Thurston, Gladden, Chriscoe and Farlow. 

“We tell the kids every year that every team has a one-year life cycle,” Timmons said. “We love on that team and then after the banquet, it’s back to work and find the chemistry needed where everyone fits together. I feel we have the competition that is going to sort some things out. I like where we are.”