DAPHNE, Ala. – The Daphne High basketball program will tip off soon with both the girls and boys led by head coach Cedric Yelding.

On the boys team, which he has led for several years now, Yelding expects as many as nine seniors to help lead the Trojans.

"We had kind of a down year last year after three winning seasons in a row," Yelding said. "I think we will go back to the basics this year. This group has a drive, they want to prove themselves. The whole school is pumped up. The football team's having an outstanding year, the volleyball team did very well, that sets a tempo, an atmosphere, an excitement that carries over into basketball. We are going to be really deep, with so many seniors all looking to turn things around. And we have a very deep JV team as well. We want to get off to a good start, but we'll have to play a few games before we get settled in. Our goal is always to get to the region for both boys and girls."

Yelding's Lady Trojans will have three seniors this season, Amanda Patton, who averaged 10.6 ppg as a junior, will be starting her fourth year, Samira Dale who had considerable playing time last year and Cherilyn Ramsey who played a lot as a freshman but then concentrated on volleyball as a sophomore and junior.

"We have three good seniors this year," Yelding said. "Amanda has a lot of experience. We will look to her a lot for leadership and to score. Samira is versatile and handles the ball real well and she will be called on to play a lot more and we're also glad to get Cherilyn back. We always need more help inside. She has a good sense of space and she's a good rebounder, too. Her timing is very good and that's important on the boards. It's like she never left the game. Overall, I'd say we're pretty well rounded. Pretty deep at forward and center and defensively sound. All the girls may play more than one position. I expect any one of them to be able to bring the ball up for us."

Yelding takes over from Denise Grooms who led the Lady Trojans for three years with two sub-region appearances. This season he will be coaching his own daughter, Amber Yelding, who led the team in scoring (16.9 ppg) and steals as a sophomore last season.

Daphne opens the season at home hosting Vigor Nov. 15. Tip off is 6 p.m. for the girls and 7:30 p.m. for the boys.

For the full story, see our Friday, November 5 edition.