By Bret Strelow
bstrelow@salisburypost.com
The Catawba notebook …
Jaspen Gray and his father, Ronald, were sorting through items in the family’s garage recently when they came across a pair of bright orange cleats.
Gray had worn them as a Davie County High School senior in 2005.
“They’re torn up,” Gray said. “I’ll have to leave them in the garage ó they’re dirty. They’re still there for a keepsake.”
He can still recall many things about his final prep season, including a head-to-head battle with current teammate and former West Rowan standout Julian Samolu.
Gray is now a college senior, and he understands that his time at Catawba is winding down.
“When it’s your last year, you realize you might not ever play again, so everything intensifies,” Gray said. “Everything you do takes a step up. Right now I’m just trying to set an example and do everything to the best of my ability.”
Gray, Cortez Best and Calvin Hall are among the seniors who contribute to Catawba’s secondary. Gray has played in 35 career games, and he’s a valuable part of a special teams unit that performed well in a 51-0 shutout of Livingstone on Saturday.
Gray blocked a fourth-quarter punt, and teammate Aaron Cauble recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.
Gray had been rushing from the right side until assistant coach John Fitz, the special teams coordinator, changed his positioning before that play.
“There was kind of like a competition between the whole punt return group to see who could get back there and block one,” Gray said. “I was trying all game, and Coach Fitz happened to flip me to the other side.
“Last year Coach Fitz said he wanted us to lead the nation in punt blocks. That concept has just never really left me. I’ve been playing special teams a lot here since I’ve been here, so special teams are big to us. A lot of defensive players are on special teams, so you have to have pride in it.”
Gray said someone has to “be a little crazy, out of your mind” to excel on special teams. Playing free safety has challenged him in different ways.
He was a standout linebacker at Davie County, and Catawba’s coaches were considering a switch to a 3-3-5 defensive scheme at that time. Gray was an ideal fit for the “spur” position that’s part linebacker, part safety.
The Indians now use a 4-3 scheme that includes two safeties and two cornerbacks.
“He had the size and speed of a safety but played more underneath and was more of a glorified linebacker then,” Catawba head coach Chip Hester said. “He’s got the skill set, and it’s taken time to learn pass coverage. He’s really put it all together for us.”
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SPECIAL NIGHT: Gray’s block was just part of a solid special teams effort against Livingstone. Thomas Trexler kicked a 46-yard field goal, and Hester praised the energy offered by Hall and James Collins.
“We had more guys grade out than we probably ever have,” Hester said.
Cauble, whose blocked punt last year against Carson-Newman created a touchdown for Tyon Bennett, ended up with the score Saturday.
Gray and Cauble, an East Rowan High School graduate, sprinted against each other at Central Piedmont Conference meets in the spring of 2006.
“I remember him as one of the faster kids from Rowan County,” Gray said. “I had a lot of respect for that foot speed. Us being able to compete on the field, being on the same team now, knowing we were kind of rivals back in high school, it’s a good thing.”
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AWARD WINNERS: Gray (special teams), Gerron Bryant (offense) and Terrence Porter (defense) were selected as Catawba’s players of the week.
Porter, a senior defensive lineman, had one sack and two tackles for loss against the Blue Bears, who trailed only 6-0 at halftime.
“The team, instead of fighting against each other, we stayed calm and were able to come out and dominate the second half,” Porter said.
Porter, who is 6-foot-3, weighed 220 pounds when he arrived at Catawba from Roanoke Rapids High School. He’s played in 34 college games and totaled six sacks in his career.
He now weighs 250 pounds.
“We watched film and saw this was a guy who had the frame to be really big,” Hester said. “His legs, his calf muscles, are impressive. He’s got that good frame, and we knew he could really grow into a monster at defensive end.”
Nine of Catawba’s defensive linemen entered this season with starting experience, and Porter has provided depth behind ends Marqus Davis and Julian Hartsell.
“I’ve grown more mentally than physically, becoming tough and just changing my mind-set,” Porter said. “When I’m in, I try to contribute as much as I can. No one player is bigger than the group, so we try to get it done together.”
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INJURY UPDATE: Catawba, which is ranked 14th in the latest AFCA poll, is off this weekend and returns to action Sept. 26 against Mars Hill.
Senior quarterback Cam Sexton, who suffered an ankle injury early in Catawba’s second game, did not practice at all last week.
“He continues to make progress,” Hester said. “He ought to practice this week, so that’s a positive.”