West Bladen linemen sign letters of intent
May 25—BLADENBORO — West Bladen seniors Deonte Lacey and Xavior Lopez sign their letters of intent on Thursday to continue their football careers at the next level. Lacey signs his letter of intent with Barton College in Wilson and Lopez signs his letter of intent to play for North Carolina Central in Durham. The two played key roles for the Knights on both the offensive and defensive line to show their versatility last season.
Lacey played primarily as a defensive tackle and he led the Knights with a team-high 69 tackles, while also getting into the backfield with seven sacks. Barton will add a hungry competitor to their line next season and a talent that still has room to grow.
Lacey at the nose tackle would clog up the running lanes in the interior and his size would force opposing running backs to take the long way around towards the edge. His size and agility made him an asset on the offensive line for the Knights as well. Lacey made the SAC 7 All-Conference team twice in 2021 and 2022 to add to his individual prowess.
Lopez missed a few games at the start of the Fall '22 season due to an injury but he made sure to use his voice on the sideline to help motivate his teammates. The Knights got their leader back on the field halfway through the season and Lopez made an instant impact on the offensive line. Lopez made his mark by protecting the edge and he added an extra bite to the Knights run game.
Central will go into next season as the defending MEAC Champions and they've boosted their offensive line with their new addition. Head coach Stanley Williams expressed the importance of sending his guys to college and preparing them for the next level in an interview in late April. "My first goal as a head coach is to ensure all my athletes go to college," said Williams, "It starts here so I'm always ecstatic when one of my athletes signs because I know they did all the necessary work on and off the field to get where they're at."
