Two ODU journeys. One small-town football family. A mission much bigger than wins and losses.

Perquimans County High School Head Coach Ian Rapanick and Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Line Coach Tyler Burns join Aaron and Mike to discuss how their paths crossed at Old Dominion and eventually brought them back together on the same coaching staff.

Tyler shares how a California kid who was once too big to play youth football traveled across the country to become an offensive lineman at ODU. Ian explains how he went from working in the Monarchs’ equipment room to becoming a student assistant, learning the profession and eventually accepting his first head-coaching position at just 23 years old.

The coaches also take us inside football at Perquimans County:

• The unique small-town atmosphere on Friday nights

• Building a seventh-through-ninth-grade developmental program

• Blending the shotgun Wing-T with concepts learned at ODU

• Helping overlooked players navigate college recruiting

• Identifying offensive linemen in approximately 15 seconds

• The lessons Ian learned after becoming a head coach too early

• Why relationships, mentorship and family define their program

• The rivalry game every ODU fan should make the trip to see

• Where to eat before kickoff in Hertford

This conversation is about football, but it is really about the responsibility coaches have to develop young men, support their community and create relationships that last long after the final whistle.

Subscribe to The Monarchists for more conversations with the players, coaches and personalities who make up Monarch Nation.

Visit ODUMonarchists.com for complete ODU athletics coverage.

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This episode is presented by the Old Dominion Athletic Foundation. Because of you, we create winners in the classroom, in athletic competition and in life. Become a member today.

CHAPTERS

00:00 ODAF and episode introduction

01:00 Ian and Tyler’s football beginnings

03:00 Their different paths to Old Dominion

06:00 Reuniting at Perquimans County

08:00 Understanding the local football conference

12:00 Friday nights in Perquimans County

18:00 Becoming a head coach at 23

20:00 Ian’s coaching journey back to Perquimans

24:00 Building the varsity and developmental programs

31:00 Identifying offensive linemen and building an offense

32:00 Mixing the shotgun Wing-T with ODU concepts

35:00 Recruiting players from a small community

41:00 Why Tyler Burns became a coach

44:00 Why Ian Rapanick loves coaching

49:00 Creating a family and brotherhood

55:00 The must-see rivalry game

56:00 Where to eat before kickoff

57:00 Closing thoughts and Go Monarchs

This episode is brought to you by the Old Dominion Athletic Foundation.

2

Because of you, we create winners

in the classroom, in athletic

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competition, and in life.

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Become a member today

5

Mike: Monarch Nation, welcome

back to The Monarchist.

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Myself and Aaron have had this kind

of theme we've been trying to do all

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summer of highlighting ODU football

alums who have gone on to succeed

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outside of the walls of LR Hill.

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And we have two guys joining us today

that both have strong connections

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to Old Dominion, both Old Dominion

alums, Ian Rapanick and Tyler

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Burns from Perquimans High School.

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We got the head coach and

the assistant head coach.

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How we doing today, fellas?

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Tyler Burns: Good.

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Good.

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Doing

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Ian Rapanick: well.

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Doing well.

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Appreciate y'all having us on.

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Mike: All right, so we kinda

wanna start from the beginning.

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So when did you guys start

playing football, and when did

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you guys know you loved football?

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Tyler Burns: Oh, man.

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So growing up, I, you know, I'm from

California, so a lot of kids, big schools.

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But I loved football since I

was a little kid, but the pushy

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was is I weighed too much.

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Back then…

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Or they didn't do, like, middle

school football where I was from.

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It was like they had the city

league, but the weight limit was 150.

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I went to go try out.

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I weighed 213 pounds in, like,

sixth grade and got denied.

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They're like, "If you lose," what is it?

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"63 pounds, you can come back and play."

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And I was like, "Well,

that ain't gonna happen."

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So I had to wait till I was a freshman

in high school to be able to play.

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Walked in at 275 as a freshman and played

high school football in California, and

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then I ended up going to a junior college

for two years, uh, Cerritos College in,

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uh, Norwalk, California, and then I was

lucky enough to get a scholarship to

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play football for Old Dominion University

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Ian Rapanick: Yeah, I started I started

playing flag football when I was four.

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I actually played quarterback back

in those days, believe it or not.

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And then played all through high school.

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I played middle school, like rec

league up until middle school, and then

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played for four years in high school.

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I played left tackle and you know,

once I got done playing, I knew I

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wanted to do something with football.

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And then, kinda thought it would

be cool to, to try coaching and,

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was able to, to somehow get a job

with ODU and, and the rest is kinda

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history, I guess, as they say.

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Aaron: All right.

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So people are gonna wonder

where y'all guys came together.

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So let's start at the beginning here with,

I guess, a two-part question really kind

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of both of you, is how'd you end up at

ODU, and how did you guys first connect?

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Tyler Burns: Yeah, so I was,

like I said, I was playing

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junior college football first.

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Um, I was playing in California and

Coach Scott for ODU was coming and making

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visits at our junior college and seen me

and I talked to him and he was excited.

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They, you know, they needed, they

wanted to add a couple JV offensive

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lineman to the roster because

they were just transitioning, so

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they were just going into um, 1A.

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We were independent when I got there,

and so I thought it was kind of crazy

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coming all the way to the East Coast.

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Never been to the East Coast, never

done none of that, and they offered

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me a scholarship and I went on

my official visit and I loved it.

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I absolutely just, I loved the area,

I loved all the players, I loved the

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coaches, and so I accepted, packed

up a couple duffel bags and moved

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to the East Coast and never went

home, and that's how I got to ODU.

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And then when I got there, um,

Coach Rapp was one of the student

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assistants on the staff there already

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Ian Rapanick: Yeah, so I,

I wound up going to ODU.

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It was actually, I was not the greatest

student in high school, and I think

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as a teacher it kinda comes back

to bite me, the whole karma thing.

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But it came down to

ODU and Radford for me.

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And growing up in, in Chesapeake, we

actually had season tickets to ODU the

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first year when they restarted football.

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So when they restarted

football we were there.

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And ODU and Radford, it was…

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Radford didn't have football, ODU did,

and I emailed, uh, the equipment manager

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actually, Tommy Rapier, at the time.

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And I was like, "Hey, you know,

I don't know what I can do for

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you, but I can do something.

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I just wanna be around football."

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And I worked with…

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I worked in, in the equipment room that

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And then my first practice I seen

all these guys running around, young

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college students running around,

like setting up drills and, and

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signaling plays and all this stuff.

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And I was like, "Look, like,

I really wanna do that.

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Like I, I wanna coach or at least,

you know, start learning football."

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So I walked up to the offices, I guess

it was the spring, um, after my freshman

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year or that season and I sat in Coach

Scott's office and I was like, "Look,

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like I'll do whatever you need me to.

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I just wanna learn football.

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I, I wanna be a coach.

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And if you need me to go get

coffee, if you need me to do

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whatever, like I'll do it."

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And you know, him and I got

a pretty good relationship.

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And it's funny, like I remember I

think Wickham was showing Coach Burns

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around, like when he came on his visit

and I, I remember like staying in

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there and watching him walk by and I

was like, "We need to get this kid."

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'Cause I, I mean, I had never

met him at that point obviously.

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And then, you know, wound up working with

Coach Scott when he was coaching offensive

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line, and then Coach Dee started coaching

offensive line and, and stayed with him.

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And still did a lot for Coach Scott too

and, and was able to like kinda sit with

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him all the time and, and all that stuff.

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And worked with Kyle Jolly who

was the O-line GA at the time.

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But you know, it, it was a really

cool experience for me to be able

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to learn from those guys every day

and, and learn how to be a coach.

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You know, how to carry

yourself and all those things.

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Like it, it was, it was so much fun.

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Um, it wasn't necessarily that fun at

the time because we were, you know,

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up at 2:00 in the morning trying to

figure out how we were gonna beat New

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Hampshire or whatever the case was.

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But it was a lot of fun and you know, I

guess how we stayed together was Burns

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was wor- you were living in Li- no, you

were living in Edenton at the time, right?

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Yeah.

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When I, when I, so-

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Tyler Burns: Yeah, when I was

working at the Coast Guard base.

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Ian Rapanick: Right.

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I was, I was here in 2017 and left,

and then the job came back open again

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and I applied for it and got offered

the job and hadn't accepted it yet.

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But the athletic director, who was a good

friend of mine from when I was here the

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first time called me and he was like, "Hey

there's this guy named Tyler Burns that

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says he knows you that wants to coach."

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And honestly, I've never told him this,

but like he was part of the reason why I

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came back because I thought, that we would

be able to coach together and you know,

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he was my first hire when I got back here.

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And I think like I, I

didn't have his number.

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I think we were like friends on Snapchat

or something like that, and I was

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like, "Hey," "I heard you're living in

Edenton and you wanna coach football.

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I may take the Perquimans job.

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If I do do you wanna come on?"

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And you know, we've been together ever

since and we're going on year five now.

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One of, of two coaches with me that

have been with me the whole time

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very blessed to have him with us

and, you know, the kids love him.

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The administration loves him.

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He, he does a lot for us.

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Mike: All right, Fellas.

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So talk to us about the conference

Perquimans plays in, 'cause obviously

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our f- our ODU fans real familiar

with, like, the 757 football.

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Right.

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But when it comes down to Edenton,

Hertford, that area, I think there's

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a lot of fans that could use a

little bit of background here.

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Ian Rapanick: So i- it's, it's a

little funky down here where you don't

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really get as much of it in Virginia,

but we reclassify every four years,

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or excuse me, every two years, and

they change conferences every four.

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So we actually just got

in a new conference.

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We're going into year two.

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And it's us, uh, Gates County John A.

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Holmes, Edenton Camden,

uh, Manteo, and Bertie.

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Yep.

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So all right around us other than

Manteo, who's obviously at the beach.

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But for the most part, you know, we

don't travel nearly as far as we did when

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it comes to conference play, at least.

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Mike: So how does … With it switching

every two years, are you guys always

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staying with that group of schools,

or do you get shifted around?

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Ian Rapanick: We try to.

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We had a couple of schools that we're

with now in our previous conference.

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But there's … Schools are

growing so fast around here.

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You know, I tell everybody,

like, like Elizabeth City has

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basically come, basically became,

become, excuse me Chesapeake.

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, It's blowing up kinda like how

Moyock did, , on the, the coast side.

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I think it got, obviously got expensive

to live in Chesapeake over the last couple

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years, and then it got expensive to live

in Moyock, and now it's getting, , more

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expensive to live in Elizabeth City.

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So it's blowing up in our

area, but there's a big

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charter issue down here, too.

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So the last realignment was, was

basically to correct the charter

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problem to, quote unquote, "even

the playing field," as they've said.

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Um, just 'cause, charters down here, they

can recruit and basically control their

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ADM, how many kids are in their school.

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So you know, for us, we're pretty

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We're 2A.

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Um, we used to be 1A, and then

the realignment happened, and they

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basically moved all the charters to 1A.

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It's real, real small schools.

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Um, we're right in the middle of, like,

the 2A requirement, so we probably won't

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go anywhere on the next realignment.

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But I mean, like, Camden

area is, is getting big.

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They're, like, a couple kids

away from, from being 3A.

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But they tried to avoid having a, a

split league in the sense of, like,

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2A schools, 3A schools all in our

conference and you know, the powers

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that be decided to make us all 2A.

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But for the most part- W-

we won't fluctuate too much.

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W- we're growing for sure, but as far

as the amount of kids in our building,

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but for the most part, w- we won't

really go anywhere I don't think.

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And I think that our conference

geographically works so well.

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And really the conferences around us

geographically work really well too.

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So I, I really don't know how

they can make any changes to it.

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, I think that the whole Manio situation

kind of happened because they had to put

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him somewhere, and the only other option

was like a 5A, 6A like 4A conference.

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So they're, they're a lot smaller than

like Currituck and First Flight and

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some of the schools, , on the beach.

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Yeah, it's, it's…

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There's a lot to it and I'm not even

in the neighborhood of being smart

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enough to be able to decide it.

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So my AD comes to me and he's

like, "Hey, this is gonna be

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our conference next year."

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And I say, "Yes sir,

let's play some football."

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And that, that's kind of the extent of it,

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so.

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Aaron: all right, so question

for both of you fellas.

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Tyler coming from California,

Ian being from Chesapeake,

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and then being in the 757 ODU.

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Um, Ian, you coached high school football

up here at you were at Hickory, at

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Nansemond River, you were in Norview.

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Talk to the fans about what it's

like coaching high school football.

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What's a Friday night like in Perquimans

and as opposed to being here in the 757?

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Like, give the fans an idea

of compare and contrast.

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Ian Rapanick: Go ahead, Coach.

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I wanna hear what you have to say 'cause

757 is nothing compared to California

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Tyler Burns: Yeah, I mean,

you know what I mean?

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I grew up big school, right?

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Like big bleachers both sides,

or home side, away side.

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You know, we had 100 kids on our

freshman team alone, JV, varsity.

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And then coming over here to,

you know, 757 also, right?

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Big population, big schools.

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And the one thing that I love about

Perquimans is like just the home feel.

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Like the atmosphere on Friday

night is just awesome because it's

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family and it's like the community.

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People that don't have any kids or

they're just grandparents now, they

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just love the community of Perquimans

and so they come out every Friday just

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to come watch the school play, right?

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'Cause we're Perquimans County,

which we're the only school in

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Perquimans County High School, so

it's pretty awesome when like the

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whole community comes out to support.

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So on a Friday night, they'll

pack the stands that we have

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and, they'll get after it.

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Ian Rapanick: Yeah.

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I mean, we got, we got people wrapped

all the way around the field and like

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we have a, a shorter fence around

like our actual playing surface, and

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there's people all the way around it.

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You know, I- it's special.

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And , it's kinda hard for me to

describe you know, w- what it's like.

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But, we don't have a

track around our field.

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We had a new facility built that

included our, our new football field,

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uh, I wanna say in, in 2018 or 2019.

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And that could be wrong.

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It might have … Anyway,

somewhere around that time.

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And, uh, the guy who donated

the land, which our field is ba-

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across the street from our school.

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The guy who donated the land, it was old

farmland, and he said that he didn't want

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a track built around the football field.

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, In Chesapeake that's unheard of.

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Everybody has a track, right?

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They actually built our track a couple

years ago around the soccer field.

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So it's interesting and, don't get me

wrong, Coach Burns will tell you there's

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times that I wish we had a track.

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But you know, for the most part, I

think, and I, I hate to use the word

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intimate in a football setting, but I

mean, it, it's, it's very, very special.

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Our fire department comes out and they

have a truck, and they run the truck

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ladder up, and they have a huge American

flag, um, that they put up and, you

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know, it's, it's like Coach said, I mean,

there, there's people that are there

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that, that I've never seen 'em before.

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There's people there that I see every day.

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There's parents of kids on the team.

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There's little kids running around playing

football that, that can't wait to play

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for us you know, my son being one of 'em.

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And, you know, it's, it's

such a cool, uh, environment.

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It's such a cool feeling to walk out

on the field, like pre-game and, you

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know, when the lights come on, it's just

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I don't know.

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It's one of those things that, like,

you have to experience, but it's

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not gonna be something overwhelming.

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Like, like I remember we played Middle

Tennessee when I was at ODU on Friday

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night, and I mean, that was overwhelming.

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Like, that place was absolutely rocking.

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And it's not something where,

like, the noise level is crazy,

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but it just feels like rural Texas.

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Like the show Friday Night Lights,

which I absolutely loved growing up and,

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to kinda have that same kind of idea

to what we have it it's unbelievable.

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I absolutely love it.

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Absolutely love it.

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Mike: So I'm just thinking.

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I, I played for three different

schools in that, in high school, and

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I think I played one game where there

wasn't a track around the field.

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King George High School

In King George, Virginia.

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Crazy stadium, 'cause it's down a hill

and the stadium's built into the hill.

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Ian Rapanick: Mm-hmm.

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Mike: Absolutely.

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So the fans are on top of you.

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Ian Rapanick: Oh, yeah.

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Mike: Like, imagine as a coach, you're

hearing some parents that are not

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happy with their kids not playing.

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Tyler Burns: Yeah.

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Ian Rapanick: You hear everything.

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Tyler Burns: Yeah.

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Yep.

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You can hear it.

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They're literally, like, right behind us.

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Ian Rapanick: Yeah.

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And, like, we…

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So our benches, I, I don't know if

they're, like, soccer benches or what,

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but they have a cover over the top of

them, so it makes it a little bit better.

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But, I mean, you know, we got parents that

are, like, telling us what play to call.

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You know, all the normal standard stuff.

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But it's very, very, uh…

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It's close.

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It's very close.

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Which, I mean, makes

it louder, I would say.

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And that's cool, but if I…

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Like, if we're on one end of the field and

I'm standing in front of the band, I can't

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hear myself think because it's literally,

like, the person with the trombone's

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gonna hit me in the back of the head.

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So it's a, uh, it's, it's a really

cool place and, and we take a lot

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of pride in our facilities, too.

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I think that's a big part of it.

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You know, our, our field

is, is absolutely gorgeous.

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They really made sure that they did it

right with, like, the drainage and the

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irrigation and, you know, we have, like,

one of those robot GPS paint machines.

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So the lines are dead straight.

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It's green.

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It's beautiful.

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And I, I think that, like when the people

come to a game in Prince William County,

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whether it's football, whether it's

soccer, baseball, volleyball, whatever

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it is, like, they expect a, a experience.

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And I think the facilities

are a big part of that.

318

You know, it's a lot of work on me, but,

you know, the standard has been set and

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it's, you know, to the point now where,

like, I'm constantly worried about it.

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Like, I forgot to turn the water

off on it today, and it's been

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dumping rain here since I got home.

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So you know, it, it…

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But it's, it's what you would want, right?

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Like, that part of it has

been, it, it's been great.

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So-

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Mike: All right.

327

So, uh, , you've had two

stints at Perquimans.

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Your first head coaching

job at 23 years old.

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That had to be crazy, 'cause

you're not that much older than

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some of the kids you're coaching.

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Ian Rapanick: I had absolutely

no business being a head coach.

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Absolutely not.

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And, you know, I, I called the

head coach at Hickory after, you

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know, a couple months in and I

was like, "Man, I, I apologize."

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'Cause it- I really genuinely at the

time felt like I could do a better job.

336

And I'm not like that kinda person,

but in my head I think that I was just

337

like, you know, "We should do this

this way, this this way," and I was

338

like, "Okay, well I'm just gonna, I'm

gonna apply for head coaching jobs."

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And I was 23 when I got the job here

and, and, um, I thought I knew it,

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but I had absolutely no clue you

know, how to manage all those things.

341

And I mean, I- there's still stuff all

the time that I, that I'm still learning.

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And, you know, I'm, like I said,

I'm blessed to have Coach Burns

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and some other guys who, who if I'm

like, "Hey, man, I messed up," you

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know, they're like, "It's all good.

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We'll just, we'll figure it out.

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We'll keep it going."

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But, uh, yeah, it was, it was a

bad decision honestly that I should

348

have waited and learned more.

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'Cause I had a great head coach

in Jupiter Wilson at Hickory,

350

um, who's down here now.

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But, uh, yeah, I mean, it, it was,

it was obviously a blessing to be

352

able to become a head coach that

young, but I should have, known my

353

role and, and learned more from him

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Aaron: As a quick follow-up to that,

so I mean, I think when I was 23,

355

I was in the Navy for two years.

356

We're young.

357

You get a lot of a lot of

responsibility thrust in your hand.

358

That's, you know, what

happened to you there.

359

And then ultimately you went in a

little bit of a different direction,

360

obviously staying in football.

361

But talk a, a little bit about that,

of kind of where your stops were along

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the way and how it led to your growth

of returning back to Perquimans.

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Ian Rapanick: Yeah.

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I mean, for me it was, it was, uh,

trying to get back home closer to family.

365

I actually got married after I got the

head coaching job here the first time.

366

I, I got the job, I honestly can't

367

And then me and my wife got

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Hopefully she watches this.

369

I can get a little shout-out for that.

370

But and then, she was finishing

up grad school at ODU.

371

She's an elementary teacher and she

was getting her master's, and then

372

she was still living at home and like

coming to see me on the weekends.

373

And, uh, when she graduated, she got

a job down here and we went through

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the season here and then I, I left

and went to Nansemond River and

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worked for Coach Conyers and, you

know, was on an, an incredible staff.

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A lot of former head coaches.

377

Um, learned a ton from them.

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Um, we had a very, very

talented team, a very good team.

379

And you know, I was kinda having to change

my mindset from having to do everything

380

to I just need to make my position

group as good as they can possibly be.

381

And you know, I worked there

for a year, uh, and I was

382

teaching special education there.

383

And you know, I'm a, I'm a PE guy.

384

Uh, I majored in PE at ODU.

385

And then Coach Cotton actually

who was the defensive line coach

386

at ODU, I'm sure you all know.

387

When I was there, uh, I wanna say

it was the first year, maybe the

388

first two, uh, he got the job at

Norview and he was like, "Hey."

389

He called me.

390

I actually originally interviewed for his

offensive coordinator job, and he hired

391

somebody else and asked me to come coach

O-line and said they had a PE job open.

392

And I said, "Well, if you give me that PE

job, then I'll, I'll come coach O-line."

393

And he was there for a year.

394

And I got, me and the principal, you

know, have very similar views on a lot of

395

things, uh, with college recruiting and,

and, trying to get kids better situations

396

in, the Norview area of Norfolk.

397

And- I wound up getting that job and was

the head coach there for three years,

398

uh, before I came back to Perquimans.

399

But all of it, so many different s-

situations, so many different kinds

400

of kids I think really helped me to be

able to handle and build relationships

401

with, with really any kinda kid.

402

You know, we…

403

I've had very financially stable

households on my team at Hickory and,

404

you know, some of the kids at Nansemond

River, and then I've had very unstable

405

and, and, bad home situations on my team,

whether it be at Norview or other places.

406

So, you know, I, I take a lot of pride in

my ability to build relationships with,

407

with anybody, whether it be my students

or players or whatever the case is.

408

You know, I think you always try and

learn from everybody that you're with.

409

You always try and learn

from everywhere you are.

410

So, I think that, you know, if I would

have, if I would have kind of gone

411

through this same route I, I think that

I would've been, and I, and I was way

412

more prepared to be the head coach at

Perquimans, the, this time around, I

413

guess would be the best way to say it.

414

Just because I had learned from…

415

Delton Cotton is probably gonna

wind up being a Hall of Famer in, in

416

Virginia and then, Coach D and, and

all those guys, uh, whether it be at

417

ODU or high school stops along the

way, I, I learned so much from all of

418

them that kinda prepared me for this.

419

Mike: All right.

420

Let's, let's talk a bit about your squad.

421

How many kids you guys got

playing varsity for you?

422

Do you guys have a JV squad?

423

And then talk to us about what kinda

offense and defense you guys are running

424

Ian Rapanick: How many we

got on, on varsity coach?

425

Tyler Burns: I would say

we probably got about

426

30

427

Ian Rapanick: Yeah, we're, we're

sitting around we ha- we have

428

37 on varsity is what we have.

429

And i- it's actually awesome and you-

I don't think you'd be able to get

430

away with this anywhere else, but, uh,

really other than like Western North

431

Carolina where we got the idea from.

432

But we play seventh through

ninth grade JV football.

433

So we technically don't have middle

school football, or you could say we have

434

middle school football plus ninth graders,

depending on how you wanna look at it.

435

Um, and we're starting that this year.

436

There was some schools out west that

have been doing it for, 30 years, and

437

they've all been very, very successful.

438

And you know, have, have

won I can't remember.

439

Me and my athletic director went

through it when we were trying to

440

pitch it to our board of education

and our superintendent and all them.

441

But since they started doing it, they've

won like 30-something state championships.

442

So we st- we're starting it this year.

443

Um, we have a giant ninth

grade class that came over.

444

Like, I, I think there's 26 total.

445

And very talented.

446

We have some very talented

offensive linemen.

447

We have some very talented skill

players, quarterback re- really good

448

players that, that we kinda had to

decide, like, okay, are they gonna

449

play JV or are we gonna pull up the

ones that are gonna help us right now?

450

And we wound up pulling up, you know,

the ones that, that are gonna help us.

451

But you know, that's, that's been a

big, like, learning curve for all of

452

us is like, just things as simple as

like, you know, they can't do anything

453

with any 10th through 12th graders.

454

Um, ninth graders can, until we decide

whether they're gonna play JV or varsity.

455

But seventh and eighth graders, we all

practice together, but separate, I guess,

456

for lack of a better way to say it.

457

Our JV team, quote unquote, our,

our middle school team, however

458

you wanna look at it, their first

official da- day is the 10th.

459

'Cause they have to go by the, the

middle school rules, basically.

460

And, uh, you know, that, that

part of it has been interesting

461

how we're gonna handle practice.

462

And really up until this year, our

coaching staff has been very small.

463

You know, there was a year

that we had four coaches.

464

There was a year that we had five.

465

You know, we find a way and we get

it done, but you know, we're, we're

466

out there coaching our tails off.

467

And, uh, you know, this year we

have, uh, we have nine, including me.

468

So you know, that part has been, you

know, that was a necessity, really, was

469

we had to be able to find a way to find

coaches so that we could have- have a

470

full staff on each side of the ball.

471

So you know, we, we basically s-

we're going to split practice and,

472

Coach Burns, myself, our, the rest

of our offensive staff will all

473

coach offense the entire practice.

474

So we'll coach the varsity kids, and

then, the JV kids will be doing defense

475

at that time, and then we'll switch.

476

So you know, it, it adds another layer

of of excitement, but also makes it

477

a lot more interesting of, trying

to make sure that we're not mixing

478

kids together or anything like that.

479

But we all kinda know it's gonna be,

it's gonna be a learning curve this year.

480

But, three, four years from now, it,

it's gonna help us so much because,

481

you know, we have two kids on our team

that are seniors this year that, that

482

are going to go play college football.

483

And we just think about like,

man, if we had two more years with

484

them, if we would've gotten them

in seventh grade, like there's no

485

telling, where they could be going.

486

So, it'll be a blessing and it's

gonna help our program long-term.

487

But trying to figure out the

details of it, and ordering

488

equipment, like all that stuff has

just been, it's been a whirlwind.

489

So once we get rolling it kinda calms

down a little bit, but it's been

490

a pretty interesting deal so far.

491

That's for sure.

492

Mike: You said equipment I, as a former,

um, when I played JV middle school, we

493

always got hand-me-downs from the varsity

494

Ian Rapanick: team.

495

So that's, I mean, that's

really what we do, too.

496

Okay.

497

The biggest thing is, and it's funny,

like we, I found out the day before our

498

guy who comes to pick our helmets up

to take them to get reconditioned, uh,

499

one of the ADs, well, he was the head

football coach at the time, but the, one

500

of the ADs at one of the other schools in

our conference, our whole conference is

501

doing this, so it allowed it to happen,

and we tried our best to get all of

502

us together because we all wanted to.

503

But he called me and he was like,

"Hey, what are you planning to

504

do, you know, with the JV guys?

505

What are they gonna wear?"

506

And I was like, "Well, we're planning

to just, we're gonna send our middle

507

school helmets off to get reconditioned

with our high school ones, and

508

they're just gonna wear those."

509

And he was like, "Well, you can't."

510

And I said, "Well, what do you mean?"

511

And he said, "Well, they're only graded

from, like, I think it's seven years

512

old to 14 or something like that."

513

So I had to call my AD, and I was like,

"Look, man, like, we're gonna have to

514

come up with some money here to be able

to get them in, in the right helmet."

515

We wound up getting a, a lot

more than we normally would to be

516

able to account for those guys.

517

So, you know, just another

piece of, of the learning curve.

518

But as far as, like, game uniforms

and stuff like that, they'll wear…

519

You know, we, we were lucky, too, that

we were up for new uniforms this year.

520

So they'll wear, our

previous varsity uniforms.

521

And, uh, you know, we'll roll with that.

522

But it's tough for our area.

523

Even years, like I think we've

had JV two or three out of the

524

five years that we've been here.

525

And it's just tough for our area,

not just us, but our entire area,

526

to consistently have a JV program.

527

So not only is it tough for, you know,

you to figure it out as your program,

528

but finding games is difficult, too.

529

And from week to week, you never know

if, like, you know, we have this team

530

on the schedule, are they gonna have

a JV team by the time we play them?

531

So there was one year that we had six

games scheduled, and we only played two.

532

So you know, it's, it's tough, but you

know, we have a good time with them.

533

Especially, you know, like, coaching

the seventh graders has been…

534

It's interesting, but w- we have fun.

535

So we have fun.

536

Aaron: All right, Tyler.

537

So when that ninth grade class shows up,

or it c- maybe even the seventh graders

538

since we're talking this, is they roll

in as an offensive lineman, right?

539

How long does it take you to look

at these kids and go c- uh, you

540

say, "Okay, where are my linemen?"

541

They raise their hand, and

you look, and you go across.

542

How long does it take for you to be

able to tell which kids are gonna

543

be players and which ones might

need to find another position?

544

Tyler Burns: Like 15 seconds.

545

It don't take me long at all.

546

I just, I can look right

at 'em, and you know it.

547

You can just tell, right?

548

Played O line my whole life,

so you just know, like, when

549

someone can play offensive line.

550

And this, the scheme that we run is, you

know, we're pulling guards every play.

551

So especially us, you know,

again, small town football,

552

you're not getting as many kids.

553

You're not gonna get the size as, like,

757 or California in, in that stance.

554

So you look at a kid and it,

you can just tell, like, if they

555

can play offensive line, right?

556

You, after, like, the first practice- I

already know, like, which guys are gonna

557

need to find a new position or which

ones can, uh, can stay over with me.

558

Mike: You just put them in the

chute one time and you know, right?

559

Tyler Burns: Yeah.

560

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

561

… Mike: You talked about

the scheme you're running.

562

I'm guessing you guys are running

something like the option power

563

wing T or something, right?

564

Ian Rapanick: I would

love to w- run the option.

565

I would love to.

566

Uh, I t- uh, so we, we run

shotgun wing T on offense.

567

And, we kinda marry it, honestly, with a

lot of, like, concepts that we ran at ODU.

568

And some other stuff that, that

I've learned a- along the way.

569

But yeah, we, we pull a lot.

570

We have a lot of guys in space a lot of

the time, so, you know, it makes it fun.

571

I think last year was our, our first

year of, like, running this scheme.

572

We had a kid a couple years ago

that could throw it a little bit.

573

Well, throw it a lot.

574

And we did throw it a lot.

575

And, uh, I would say then we were

probably 98% like ODU's offense

576

down to hand signals being the same.

577

You know, we had…

578

He graduated and, you know, I, I think

we do a good job of, of adjusting our

579

offensive scheme based on our personnel,

mainly the quarterback, honestly.

580

And, you know, the kid that we had

when we were, we were running basically

581

ODU's offense was, he was, All-State.

582

He was Offensive Player of

the Year in the conference.

583

He was a, a really, really good player.

584

And then when he graduated,

we had a, a, a kid who was, he

585

played receiver before that.

586

He played receiver his

freshman and sophomore year.

587

Well- Like, sorry, he played receiver

his sophomore and junior year, um, and

588

had played quarterback his freshman

year on JV and was just a tough

589

you know, didn't care about life.

590

He was just, like, he

was just gonna go get it.

591

So he wound up playing quarterback

last year for us and, like, it

592

was a lot of quarterback run game.

593

And you know, we felt like this scheme

fit us for who we had, not only at the

594

quarterback position, but we didn't

have a ton of receivers, uh, last year

595

either, um, that we felt, like, super

confident about putting out on the field.

596

Um, and then the, talk about small town

football, like, we just didn't have a

597

ton of depth that we felt like we could

put, three, four receivers out there

598

and, and all of them could kinda go get

it which we had, , years prior to that.

599

So we tried to mold it, uh, the best

we can, and now we have a kid who can

600

throw it a little bit who's a freshman.

601

And , we're kinda blending our

shotgun wing T stuff with a

602

little bit back to ODU stuff.

603

And Coach Burns always makes fun of me

'cause he's just like, "Yeah, we're like

604

two days away from being spread again."

605

And I think that's where both

of our hearts are really at.

606

But you know, trying to do what's

best for our kids and be able to put

607

them in a position to be successful.

608

Aaron: And so we talked a little bit

about being a small town or smaller

609

town, smaller feel, family feel.

610

How does that, uh, affect recruiting?

611

So is college coaches coming in,

building relationships with coaches and

612

looking to recruit student athletes,

being in a smaller community, is that

613

different for you guys in trying to

evaluate the kids that you have, who's

614

got the ability and the desire to play

at the next level, and y'all trying

615

to help them navigate those waters?

616

Ian Rapanick: I would say yes.

617

Um, it's different.

618

I think a lot of our kids Uh, I

mean, to be honest with you, there's

619

some of them that just have no

desire to play college football.

620

, Their family's farmers or, , whatever,

and they're, they're just gonna go

621

get on a tractor when they graduate.

622

, And then I leave Norview to come here

and, and at Norview, like, all those kids

623

wanna get out of Norfolk, so they're, they

wanna get out of their current situation.

624

So they're doing whatever they have to

get out to go play college football.

625

So, it's a, it's a…

626

it's definitely different.

627

The, the coach traffic is not

as, crazy as it was when I was at

628

Norview or in the 757 in, in general.

629

You know, I was blessed there to,

to have some really good players.

630

Maurki Dietz, who went to ODU and played

receiver and then transferred to Albany.

631

Dalon Everett, who played

corner at Georgia and just

632

got drafted by the Steelers.

633

, It's definitely different than that area.

634

And you know, I think…

635

I, I tell people, like, during COVID,

recruiting went to, like, Twitter and

636

social media and, , obviously 'cause

coaches couldn't come in the building.

637

So I do a lot of our recruiting

through social media to get

638

information out on guys.

639

Now, there's, there's school…

640

I'm not saying we don't get any

schools, but it's just the traffic is

641

not as much as the 757 area because a

college coach can't fly into Norfolk

642

or drive into Norfolk or whatever.

643

They can't drive into Hereford and

say, "Okay, well, I'm gonna drive 10

644

minutes that way and I'm gonna get

to three more schools on my way."

645

You know?

646

They're, they can drive 20 minutes or

25 minutes to Elizabeth City and get to

647

two schools, um, or they can drive 25

minutes south and get to another school.

648

But I think a lot of it is,

like, relationship based.

649

Coach Lucas at ODU comes

to see me every year.

650

We talk for as long as

he wants to stay for.

651

I'll, I'll absolutely love him.

652

He's a phenomenal guy.

653

Um, we talk a lot and, I think with

this area, it's just more difficult.

654

And I think the, the geography,

the proximity of, of one

655

school to the next is just…

656

I, I think that's the biggest thing.

657

Um, but I also think the level of

competition from week to week makes

658

it a little bit more difficult

on college coaches to get a real

659

evaluation on a kid honestly.

660

, We may play Edenton, who has a bunch

of really good football players, and

661

then we may go play another school

the next week who has- A kid that's

662

about the size of my six-year-old

son that's playing defensive end.

663

No disrespect to any of those schools,

but it's just, I get the question of like,

664

how can I tell if he's really that good?

665

But we, I think our kids know

that now too, and they camp a lot.

666

You know, our two kids that, that

are gonna go play college football

667

they go to a lot of camps, um, in the

summertime and, and, you know, we kinda

668

had that conversation with them, one

of them being an offensive lineman.

669

I know Coach Burns kinda had

the same kinda conversation.

670

Like, "You have the ability to go.

671

You have the talent, you know, you have

the tools, but if you wanna go to these

672

schools, you, you- they need to see you.

673

And the best way for them to see you is

to go to a camp and then talk to them,

674

and we'll send them your highlight tape."

675

But I, I think we kinda have an idea

now of how it goes to where we can

676

kinda help the kid, um, a- and get

them in front of the schools that

677

they wanna go see and go play at

678

Mike: Well, it's good to hear

you guys are doing that work.

679

I played at one high school

where D3 was probably the likely

680

place anyone was gonna go play.

681

Those were the s- those were the

coaches that would come to our program.

682

The coaches weren't pushing us at

all to go to camps or helping our,

683

get our tapes out or anything.

684

So it's always good for me to

hear that you guys are doing that

685

work to make sure they have every

opportunity to get to that next level.

686

Ian Rapanick: I think, too, for me,

like that's one of the things I love

687

about this job the most is, you know,

the recruiting piece and being able

688

to help kids get where they wanna go.

689

But our kids are very lucky, and I

don't know how of them know, how many of

690

them know it that they have a coach on

staff that played Division 1A football.

691

We have a coach on staff that

played we have two coaches on

692

staff that played D2 football.

693

So there's a, there's a lot of different

coaches that played college football

694

at a high level in different levels of

Division 1, Division 2, Division 3 that,

695

you know, obviously they can go talk to

at any time to be able to ask questions.

696

Or, our kids can compare themselves

to Coach Burns and be like, "Okay,

697

he played Division 1 football.

698

Can I really go do this?"

699

You know, I think that's a big part of it.

700

Mike: Yeah, and you guys

understand the process.

701

Most kids coming through,

they're not gonna know anything.

702

And then- Right … if their

parents didn't play in college,

703

they don't know anything.

704

So who do they…

705

The only people they can really rely on

that understand the process are you guys.

706

Right.

707

So it's awesome that

you guys are doing that.

708

It's really great to hear.

709

Tyler, I guess we'll start…

710

Y- you can answer this one first.

711

So I…

712

Coaching is something you have to love.

713

Football is something you have to love.

714

So what is it about coaching and

football that makes you love this job?

715

Because you got to at

the high school level.

716

Tyler Burns: Yeah.

717

No, for sure.

718

Uh, I think a, a lot of it has to do with

like when I was in high school, I had,

719

especially like my freshman year, I went

to another school, come back, but like-

720

I was the biggest kid,

like, on the team, right?

721

And I was-- I could move people,

like, that wasn't an issue.

722

But the, the, the part about it was is

it's just like they weren't teaching

723

us, like, why I was doing these things.

724

It was just, "Right, we're gonna

run the ball behind this kid."

725

And I felt like I just-- I had coaches

that were just there to be there,

726

and I didn't, and I didn't like that.

727

And so after going and then playing

at, like, the college level and then

728

learning everything that I learned,

it's like there's so much more to this

729

and, like, the technique aspects and,

like, why we run these schemes and

730

block these ways that, like, I just

wanna, I wanna give back to the future

731

generation, 'cause, like, man, if I

would've had that when I was in school,

732

who knows, like, where I could've

went or could've done or the leg up.

733

'Cause again, I couldn't play

till high school 'cause I was too

734

big, and I didn't have anybody in

my family that played football.

735

Nobody played football, not

even, like, high school football.

736

I had an older brother,

he didn't play sports.

737

And so, like, it was

basically, like, myself.

738

Like, I got out there my freshman year,

didn't even know how to put my pads on.

739

I put my pads on backwards,

my-- it was-- I come out there,

740

didn't know how to do nothing.

741

I remember the first day of full pads,

this little tiny kid laid me out.

742

It was tackling circuit, and I

didn't know what I was doing.

743

And then I was like, "I

gotta change this," right?

744

So, like, I started, like, talking

to some other people and just some,

745

like, past players that played, not

even, like, coaches because the coaches

746

just weren't doing nothing for me.

747

And so, like I love football.

748

I loved, like, playing football.

749

Like, there's nothing more that,

like, got me, like, excited than

750

playing, like, Friday night and

then playing Saturday nights.

751

And once I was done playing,

you know, I moved around.

752

I was living in South Carolina,

Virginia, Minnesota, just traveling,

753

like, different places where I

was-- had to move to, and then…

754

But, like, I've always had

a thing for, like, coaching.

755

So even before I went to ODU, I

was coaching track at a local high

756

school where I was, just because I

loved, like, kids, and I always went

757

to kids' camps to help my past--

some of my past coaches that I did

758

enjoy, like, on different levels.

759

'Cause, you know, you always have

a couple, like, good coaches, and

760

they moved on and started being

head coaches at other schools.

761

So whenever I would come back in

town, I would go to their kids'

762

camps, and we would do tug-of-war.

763

It'd be, like, 40 five-year-olds and

me only and playing, like, tug-of-war.

764

And I j- I just, I love kids, and I love

to, like, give back to kids, and I think,

765

like, that's just what really, like…

766

And, like, being there on Friday

night just brings me back, like,

767

that joy and, like, happiness.

768

Like, if I can't play, at least I'm

gonna be on the sideline and coach it

769

and give back to these kids everything

that I can to s- be successful.

770

'Cause there's so much

more to football too.

771

You know what I mean?

772

Like, it's a, it's a life…

773

It teaches you so much about life.

774

And I think that's what I really try

to give back to these kids is, like,

775

there's more than just football.

776

And it's, like, that brotherhood

and, like, the love that I

777

can, like, give these kids that

they may not get anywhere else.

778

And if I can do that, like,

that's what makes me, like, happy

779

Ian Rapanick: I don't know

how I can back that up

780

No, I mean, it, there's…

781

I think the relationship piece, to

be able to I, I don't know if, if

782

the word is mentor or to help, wh-

whatever, whatever term you wanna use.

783

There, there's so many things that

you help with on a daily basis before

784

you even step on the practice field

or the game field or, or whatever.

785

, And there, it becomes a lot.

786

But at the end of the day, , we signed

up to, to mentor these, these kids and,

787

and try to help them turn into men and,

become productive members of society

788

because they played in our program.

789

But there's so much other than just

the football aspect that I love.

790

Like I, I love football.

791

I, there there's few things that like

I've experienced in my life that make me

792

feel the way I feel on a Friday night.

793

And part of that is where I'm at.

794

Part of that is the people that I'm with.

795

, But like I said before, it's, it's

special and, there's so many kids who I

796

feel like could come back to Perquimans

or I feel like I've made a positive

797

impact on and have become better

people or, good husbands, good fathers.

798

And I, I hope, I pray that, that

part of that was the things that

799

we've taught them, whether it

be at Perquimans or, , wherever.

800

And that's really what makes like the,

the crazy times, the difficult times,

801

uh, you know, losing or, or whatever it

is, makes you keep coming back, is you

802

know that there's 37 guys or however

many it is, however many winds up being

803

on August 10th when the seventh and

eighth graders show up that rely on you

804

to be a positive impact in their life.

805

A- and to help them get through

things that, that they don't feel like

806

they can talk to anybody else about.

807

, And there, there's a

weight to that, right?

808

, There, there's, there's a obligation

that you feel every day that you

809

have to be on it because if you

aren't, then they may feel like they

810

don't have anybody they can talk to.

811

Uh, especially now, , with mental

health being so prominent and all those

812

things that, , weren't really super

prominent when, when we were growing up.

813

But there's a lot that, that I love

about it, about coaching specifically.

814

Like I, I enjoyed playing.

815

To be honest with you, I wasn't

a very good football player.

816

I started somehow.

817

I, I don't know if it's…

818

I think that there was just everybody

else behind me was worse than me.

819

But you know, I, I think for me I love

coaching more than I loved playing.

820

, Just because of all those things that I

get to do every day and the relationships

821

that I'm able to build with players.

822

, I had a high school head coach who I

didn't necessarily feel like I could talk

823

to, but I knew had my back and loved me.

824

I want to be all three of those things.

825

I want my players to know that they

can talk to me if they need something.

826

I want them to know that I

have their back, and I want

827

them to know that I love them.

828

And we tell our players

we love them all the time.

829

, I know, like, football is supposed to be

this tough, like, hard-nosed game and,

830

and yes, we want all those things, but

I want our kids to know that, like, we

831

care about them and we love them and we

want them to s- to succeed not only in

832

football but, , when they grow up and

they become husbands, they become fathers.

833

And hopefully they can look back on

some of the times that they had in

834

our program and, and they had the best

possible high school football experience

835

Aaron: Man, that was two great answers.

836

You guys both just answered the question

that I was gonna ask, which was, when

837

your players are 35 years old, what

do you hope that they remember most

838

about playing for the two of you?

839

But you, you guys, I think you

pretty much just said it, you know?

840

So I'll ask a different question.

841

Four or five years from now, if

someone says, "That's Perquimans

842

County High School football,"

what do you hope that means?

843

Ian Rapanick: Man.

844

Go ahead, Coach.

845

Tyler Burns: I think it just,

honestly, I think it's gonna

846

sum it up as like family, right?

847

Like that is who we are, is family.

848

So again, knowing that like there's

that brotherhood of always being able

849

to come back and the, what we leave

on the field and with the community

850

is the representation of basically,

yeah, like to me, I, the only way

851

to describe it is like family.

852

Like they are, it doesn't matter what they

do, like that's Berkley County football.

853

Like that's like brotherhood,

like that's family.

854

Like it's, they've come together

and they're putting a good product.

855

Like you said, become a father,

become a husband, working in

856

the community, coming back.

857

Like we, our coaching staff, there's three

coaches that all played at Berkley County

858

High School, and now they're all coaching

for the high school that they played for.

859

So they did come back.

860

So they come back and, you know, they,

they come back and now they're giving

861

back to their own community by coaching

862

Ian Rapanick: Yeah, I, I mean, I hope

that, like when teams play us, I want them

863

to think like, man, those guys play hard.

864

They play the right way and

they care about each other.

865

, I, I, I think that's the biggest thing.

866

And we talk about family, we

talk about being a brotherhood.

867

We, we that's what we talk about all

the time, um, with our kids, , the

868

coaching staff and everybody.

869

And , our, like, mission statement

is to put a product on the field that

870

Perquimans County can be proud of.

871

And that's whether, , we're

doing community service,

872

which we do a good amount of.

873

And our whole coaching staff is

there, our players are there.

874

And with us being in such a small

community, I think it's very important,

875

more than anywhere else I've ever

been, honestly, that we are visible

876

in the community that our coaches

are visible in the community.

877

And what, who we are on Friday night is

hopefully like a microcosm of, of what

878

each individual kid is, in our program.

879

Um, what each individual coach

is, everybody in our program.

880

Like we, we want to play hard, we

wanna play tough, we wanna be physical.

881

But you know, we want to care about each

other and have a great amount of trust

882

that each other's gonna do their job.

883

, I, I feel like I could add like,

uh, 100 cliches to this question

884

But I, I mean, that's really what it is,

is it's, is we wanna be a brotherhood

885

of, of guys who love playing together,

love playing for each other, and

886

love playing for Perquimans County.

887

You know, and, and we don't deal

with like the transfer situation as

888

much as some schools in Virginia do.

889

But like the, the thing that we do have

that I love is like our community, there

890

ain't very many people, like I'm probably

the o- the only one that I know of that,

891

off the top of my head at least, that

like lives in, in Hereford, lives in

892

Perquimans County that isn't from here.

893

Like these people are, are like, like our

players, their parents came to Perquimans,

894

their grandparents came to Perquimans.

895

Obviously they go to Perquimans,

and they probably played football

896

the whole way down the line.

897

So the amount of pride that our kids

have, the amount of pride that their

898

families have, You know, in the community,

in, in, you know, living here it's

899

a lot different than, you know, you

would see in a lot of other places.

900

Um, and, you know, again, I know I keep

saying everything's special, but to me,

901

like, that's something that being from

Chesapeake, you just don't really see.

902

And I think that's what makes this

place so great is that, , these

903

people have lived in the same

houses for their entire lives.

904

They, they grew up in the house,

and then, , their parents died,

905

and then they got the house.

906

And then, , when they die,

their kids are gonna get it.

907

And I mean, it just it's so

crazy to me, , again, being

908

from Chesapeake to, to see that.

909

And then, , we have so many people

too who live, like, right across the

910

street from the rest of their family,

or they have, like, a big section

911

of land on a road, and the entire

family lives in that section of land.

912

, A lot of people that work

at our school are from here.

913

Our athletic director is from here.

914

Our principal's from here.

915

, There's so many people.

916

So I, I think that level

of pride is already there.

917

I think the biggest thing that, that

we try to do a good job of teaching

918

is, like, obviously football is not

a game that you can play with one

919

dude who can just, , walk across

half court and shoot threes all game.

920

Like, it just doesn't work like that.

921

So how do we get these kids to play

together and care about each other in

922

a way that's so much more than what

the average person cares about anything

923

and, guilt them, get them to build a

brotherhood that's gonna put them, you

924

know, in a situation where 30 years from

now they can walk past each other at Food

925

Lion and, and talk and talk about all the

good times that they had in our program

926

Mike: That's beautiful.

927

Uh, I know we've had you here for an

hour, and I don't wanna keep you too long.

928

Uh, I wanna first thank

you guys for joining us.

929

Thank you for what you guys

are doing for these young men.

930

If there's a single game that an

Old Dominion fan wants to go check

931

out Perquimans and root you guys on,

what's, what game should they go to?

932

Ian Rapanick: Ooh.

933

Depends on if you wanna be

hot or you wanna be cold.

934

If you

935

wanna be hot-

936

Mike: I think they should see

the best game of the season.

937

Who's that team that you

guys just love to hate?

938

That you know it's just

gonna be an intense

939

Ian Rapanick: performance?

940

You gotta come, you gotta come week

11 for senior night against John A.

941

Holmes in Edenton.

942

That, that would be the one.

943

That would be the one.

944

Tyler Burns: Stands packed out.

945

There won't be a place to sit.

946

Ian Rapanick: Yeah.

947

We, we played them- It'll be fun … at

their place last year and, and

948

we lost, and we didn't play well.

949

And there was a line out the gate that

was … I mean, I, I … There was people

950

that like, like tailgating and stuff.

951

Like, it was wild.

952

If you come, you definitely

need to get here early.

953

Take a nice little trip down 17

and, and, uh, and come check us out

954

Aaron: Sounds like it might be a

nice little road trip, Mike, but we

955

gotta make sure to get out early.

956

We'll have to heed the warning.

957

'Cause it doesn't sound like

we wanna stand in that line.

958

Ian Rapanick: We'll take care of y'all.

959

We'll take care of y'all.

960

Mike: Hey, guys, where do we

gotta eat before the game?

961

What's the spot?

962

Ian Rapanick: Either

Tommy's Pizza or 252 Grill.

963

Um, I'm trying to think.

964

Tyler Burns: Tommy's-

965

Ian Rapanick: Yeah, that's

966

Tyler Burns: it … Tommy's

Pizza's pretty good.

967

Also, if it's open, Story's Seafood.

968

Ian Rapanick: Mm-hmm.

969

Tyler Burns: They do a seafood.

970

You can get a pick three.

971

It's, like, 20 bucks.

972

Mm-hmm.

973

I mean, I get, like, I get fried catfish.

974

I get pan-seared scallops, some shrimp.

975

You get two sides, and they

got some cornbread that'll

976

just knock your socks off.

977

I mean, it's-

978

Aaron: I'm gonna trust the O

lineman talking food here, so.

979

Ian Rapanick: If you happen to go to

Tommy's, get the Philly cheese steak.

980

That's where I w- it's phenomenal.

981

Tyler Burns: Yeah.

982

I mean, Tommy's is, like, for

pizza, it definitely Tommy's.

983

Ian Rapanick: Yeah.

984

Tyler Burns: Hands down.

985

Ian Rapanick: 252 Grill- Cool.

986

I'll second that … is,

like, a, like, a…

987

It's not a bar, but it's, like, bar food.

988

Like, hamburgers, that kind of stuff,

989

Mike: all right.

990

Aaron: All right.

991

Sounds like a plan.

992

We appreciate you guys coming

on, and we're looking forward to

993

rooting you guys on this year.

994

Mike, we need to put it on the calendar.

995

We'll come watch you guys battle the

fellas from Edenton, and get there

996

early, and get some chow beforehand.

997

Thanks for coming on, guys.

998

We'll see you down the

road, and go Monarchs.

999

Ian Rapanick: Go Monarchs.

00:57:23,283 --> 00:57:24,423

Tyler Burns: Go Monarchs.

00:57:24,653 --> 00:57:25,553

Mike: Go Monarchs.