The 2016 Topsail Pirates; WWAY’s 5th Quarter pre-season preview

HAMPSTEAD, NC (WWAY) — We typically don’t mention the actual playing field prior to the start of a season, but the field was so bad last year at Topsail that we felt like we had do it as the new season approaches. The folks at Topsail have no problem with that because the worst field in the area, or one of the worst from a condition standpoint from last season, just lost its label. “It’s been a major undertaking,” Topsail head coach Wayne Inman told WWAY. “Last year that field probably cost us about $8,000 in revenue. We had to play a home game in Wilmington, playing West Brunswick at Legion Stadium. We lost the gate. We lost the concessions. The water even rotted in the middle of our field. It took a lot of people raising money, doing a lot of labor and hard work.” Inman says the upgraded field will be ready by the Topsail home opener on August 19th. He says his team will be ready too.

The Pirates have worked extremely hard to try to improve on last year’s 5 & 7 record. This year’s squad appears to be more athletic than any team in recent Topsail memory. “You hope your returning seniors step up and play like they are capable of playing,” Inman said. “Trey Brown, we expect him to play well. Jarrett Radley and Hank Jacobs will anchor the line. We have Jacob Floyd back at quarterback. DJ Montano and Josh Smith are the primary running backs that we expect to get a lot out of and we have some defensive players who have been at it for three years. Chris Nixon at nose guard does an extremely good job. Our linebacking corps with Trey Ayers.” And the list goes on. Topsail will participate in the Pender Jamboree scrimmage next Thursday. The home opener, which is two weeks away, will be against Trask.