Pam Pack getting by without Sawyer

By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
As the Washington Pam Pack players and coaching staff headed to the practice field Tuesday, there was one glaring absence.
Head coach Sport Sawyer entrusted his confidence in his coaching staff while he recuperated from knee surgery, which was performed on him Tuesday. Defensive coordinator Jon Blank believes the head man will return as soon as possible.
“If it’s up to coach Sawyer, he’s going to be back Thursday,” Blank said. “He plans on being on the sideline in some way, shape or form Friday night. The one place he wants to be is with the football team.”
As the Pam Pack (1-0) prepares for Friday’s home opener against the Tarboro Vikings (0-1) in the annual Victory Bell Bowl, Blank said he’s confident the assistants will be able to get the team ready.
“We’re running practices the way (Sawyer) wants them run,” Blank said. “With the coaches we have out here, with guys like Larry Walker, Joe Lawrence and our JV staff, with Wayne Flint leading the JV team, we all pull our own weight and we know what’s going on. We all have the confidence to run (practice).
“Our players are doing a good job, too. If they’re doing a good job, that makes it easy for us.”
Blank said the players may push themselves even harder because of Sawyer.
“They know their purpose and that’s to win Friday night,” Blank said. “They know coach Sawyer’s situation and I’m pretty sure that they’re going to be playing for coach Sawyer this upcoming Friday.”
As for the Pack itself, Blank said the team is looking good.
“We’re pretty healthy,” Blank said. “We have a couple guys who are nicked up a little bit.
“We have a couple positions that we’re still unsure of after watching tape from last Friday. We’ll try to make the changes that are best for the team.”
The Pack will play in front of the home faithful Friday for the first time this season.
“Home games here are great,” Blank said. “We have great fan support. If we can get a great crowd out here... I know that the guys play up to that. I think we’ll have a pumped up crowd for Friday night.”