SALISBURY — There are, believe it or not, more than 1,500 people living in the United States who are named Seven.
That’s counting men and women; boys and girls.
There is no record of a single living person in America named One, Three, Five, Nine, Eleven or Thirteen, but the number seven was obviously considered lucky, fortunate, magical or special by a lot of moms searching for a charmed name for a baby.
Livingstone football coach Daryl Williams encountered one of those special Sevens on Saturday. It was a positive experience in the aftermath of a chilling 41-6 loss in miserable, hurricane-related weather conditions to Elizabeth City State.
“It was about as low as I’ve ever been following a football game,” Williams said. “Then I heard someone knocking at the door. It was a little girl and she’d brought me a bowl of chili because it had been so cold and wet out there. She said, ‘Hey, we still love you, you’re still our coach, and we know you’re going to win a lot of games.'”
Williams estimated that Seven, his unexpected visitor, was appropriately enough, 7 years old. Williams had met her before. She’s the daughter of a Livingstone professor.
“That little girl made me smile and I couldn’t help it,” Williams said. “I ate that chili and felt better right away. We played a bad game and we lost, but I also know we’re a lot better team than what we showed. We’ll be OK.”
A former quarterback, Williams said he’d played a number of games in rain and/or mud in high school and college, and he’s coached in plenty of bad-weather games. Still, he’d never encountered anything to rival the conditions the Blue Bears and Vikings faced on Saturday at Alumni Memorial Stadium.
“There were a couple of times the center tried to snap the ball and it just stayed there and wobbled in the mud,” Williams said. “Conditions were as bad as conditions can get.”
The CIAA game originally was scheduled for 1 p.m. On Friday, it was announced the game was being moved up to 11 a.m.
“We were trying to beat the weather,” Williams said. “But we caught a downpour. Just one of those things and just one of those days when everything went wrong. Give credit to Elizabeth City State for playing better than we did. They played in the same conditions.”
Livingstone (3-2 on the field, 1-2 officially) usually throws the ball efficiently, but the Blue Bears tossed four interceptions and lost five fumbles. That’s nine turnovers. That put Livingstone’s defense in impossible situations.
“You can’t beat a high school team making nine turnovers and you can’t even beat a Pee Wee team,” Williams said. “We’re just glad it’s over with.”
A bowl of chili and a girl named Seven have helped Williams move on past one of the worst days of his football life.
He’ll watch film and prepare the Blue Bears for their first game that is really critical — a road game Saturday at 1 p.m. in Raleigh against struggling Southern Division foe St. Augustine’s.
“We’ve lost to what may be the best two teams from the North, but we’re still 0-0 in the South,” Williams said. “A lot of teams, their season is over right now. But we’re still playing for all our goals. We want a winning season and we want a championship.”
It has to start with a victory at St. Augustine’s, but it could happen.
St. Augustine’s (0-5) has been a thorn in Livingstone’s side for many years, but the Falcons only have managed 14 points and they’ve already been shut out three times.
The schools have one common opponent. St. Augustine’s lost 23-7 to Elizabeth City State.
Former North Rowan High and Florida State star Jimmy Heggins, who once coached offensive lines at Florida State and Kentucky, coaches the O-line for St. Augustine’s.

 

 

 

 

 

Heggins helped the O-line play a vital role in the offense averaging a modern school record 30.5 points in the 2012 season.

 

 

 

 

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Heggins is a veteran assistant who brings a wealth of experience to the football program. He has coached at several Division I programs and worked with many top collegiate coaches during a 33-year career.
Before coming to St. Aug, Heggins was the offensive line coach at the University of Kentucky from 2005-09. He spent most of his coaching career at Florida State University, where he stayed from 1986-2004. He was on the coaching staff of two national championship teams at Florida State.
Heggins was the tight ends/tackles coach the first four years then was elevated to offensive line coach the last 14 years. He established the Seminoles’ running game in 1992. Heggins first coached at Florida State as a graduate assistant working with linebackers from 1981-82.
Other stops in the collegiate ranks include Southwest Louisiana University (defensive coach), Eastern Michigan University (running backs coach), Western Illinois University (running backs coach) and East Carolina University (graduate assistant/tight ends). He began his coaching career at South Miami Senior High School where he was the assistant football coach and head track coach.
His resumé includes coaching 18 offensive linemen to NFL careers and nine O-linemen to college All-American honors. He was nominated for FootballScoop.com offensive line coach of the year (2009) and AFCA assistant coach of the year (2005). He participated in the NFL Minority Coaches Internship Program with the New York Giants in 1993.
Heggins received his bachelor’s degree in the College of Social Sciences at Florida State in 1978. He has two daughters, Andrea and Lauren. A Salisbury native, Heggins was a high school football and track standout.
Rivals.com – Offensive Line Coach Jimmy Heggins Resigns
www.wvpreps.rivals.com, 2 May 2004 [cached]
Offensive Line Coach Jimmy Heggins Resigns
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Jimmy has been an excellent coach for us and I support his decision to expand his opportunities.”
Heggins, who played for the Seminoles in the mid ’70s and was defensive MVP in 1976, came to FSU in 1986 as a full-time coach after a year at Southwestern Louisiana where he tutored the defensive ends.Prior to his stint with the Ragin’ Cajuns, he was running backs coach at Eastern Michigan for two years and Western Illinois for a year.He coached the tight ends and then the noseguards at FSU prior to taking over offensive line duties in 1994 when Brad Scott left to become head coach at South Carolina.
“I’ve enjoyed my 19 years at FSU and right now I think it’s time to move on,” said Heggins.”I’ve got some other things I’m pursuing.I’ll always be a Seminole.”
Under Heggins, 11 Florida State offensive linemen earned All-America honors, including five first team All-Americans.Eight Seminole offensive linemen have been drafted since Heggins took over and NFL draft experts are predicting both offensive tackles Alex Barron and Ray Willis will add to that number in April.
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In addition to his offensive line alumni, Heggins coached a pair of tight ends who enjoyed solid NFL careers in Reggie Johnson and Lonnie Johnson.
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A native of Salisbury, N.C., Heggins began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at East Carolina in 1980.He filled the same role at FSU in 1981 and ’82.
UKAthletics.com | The Official Site of University of Kentucky Athletics
www.ukathletics.com, 12 Feb 2006 [cached]
Jimmy Heggins – Offensive Line
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Coach Bio : Jimmy Heggins :: Football
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Jimmy Heggins
Jimmy HegginsPlayer Profile
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Jimmy Heggins, who enjoyed great success during the previous 19 seasons with Florida State, has joined the Kentucky staff as offensive line coach.