Former Northwood football star Brendan Harrington made the most of his first career start.
Playing at outside linebacker for No. 23 Appalachian State, the sophomore recorded four tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a quarterback hurry, a pass breakup and an interception in the Mountaineers’ 35-20 win over UNC-Charlotte in Boone on Saturday.
Midway through the third quarter, Harrington dropped into zone coverage, watched a teammate deflect UNCC quarterback Chris Reynolds’ pass and nabbed the ball out of the air.
Then he returned the ball 46 yards down the left sideline, showcasing the same burst he used at Northwood as a part-time running back. In all, Harrington’s stat line indicated a major jump for someone who played sparingly as a freshman and had 10 tackles in 11 games.
Harrington, a 2019 Northwood graduate and three-star recruit who made three all-conference teams, will play his next game Sept. 19. The Mountaineers will travel to Marshall for a 3:30 p.m. game, broadcast on CBS.
Jordan-Matthews football coach Sam Spencer announced the Jets’ overhauled seven-game spring schedule on Twitter last week.
The Jets will hold a scrimmage on Feb. 19 against a to-be-determined opponent. They’ll begin their season at home against Andrews, and play Eastern Randolph, Randleman, Trinity and Southwestern Randolph in the month of March.
In April, Jordan-Matthews will round out its season with games against Wheatmore and Providence Grove. Of note: the Jets will play all six of their football opponents in the PAC-7 2A conference in 2021. Southwestern Randolph, the only outlier, is a 3A school.
Cameron Vernon, Northwood’s co-athletic director, earned a résumé-worthy honor earlier this summer.
On May 7, Vernon was officially certified as a master athletic administrator by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association, or NIAAA. It’s one of five certifications the nationwide organization offers — and its most prestigious.
To earn the certification, Vernon had to complete 12 courses through the NIAAA’s Leadership Training program and complete a written/oral project. In his case, that was presenting a new class of Northwood High School Athletics Hall of Fame inductees.
Along with the athletic director duties he splits with Jason Amy, Vernon is also a longtime women’s basketball coach for the Chargers.