PIKEVILLE — The pieces at Charles B. Aycock seem to be there.

The question is can the Golden Falcons put the puzzle together?

Aycock returns seniors at numerous key positions from a team that finished 8-3 a year ago, including a 5-2 record against Quad County 3-A Conference opponents. The Golden Falcons lost 55-21 at Jacksonville in the first round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3-A state playoffs.

Senior running back Ricky Elliot returns aiming to build off a junior campaign in which he rushed for 1,207 yards and 11 touchdowns. Fellow senior Caleb Frederick, who averaged 7.5 yards per carry a year ago, should provide depth in the backfield.

Zimere McClarin, a 6-foot-3, 190 pound senior, returns to the Golden Falcons’ offense to bring big-play ability both as a receiver and a ball carrier.

McClarin rushed for a team-high 12 touchdowns last season, and contributed seven more receiving touchdowns.

“They worked out in the weight room and Caleb and Ricky have definitely gotten a lot stronger,” Aycock head coach Tom Zietlow said. “Caleb’s been doing a lot of camps all summer, working on his foot work, and he’s doing great. Zimere has been more focused this summer than he’s been all four years he’s been here. I’m looking forward to seeing what those three guys can do.”

Junior Sid Lancaster has earned the starting quarterback job, and replaces Ray Horlacher, who threw 13 touchdown passes as a senior a year ago.

Horlacher also threw 12 interceptions and had just 825 passing yards, in an offense that averaged less than 300 yards per game and turned the football over 20 times.

“Sid’s had a good summer throwing the football,” Zietlow said. “He makes good decisions, he’s very accurate, and he’s very coachable, in terms of teaching and what his reads are in the passing game. The passing game is a little more complex than what they run on JV, but he’s run the running game portion of our offense the last two years. We definitely feel like he’s further along to start the season than any quarterback since I’ve been here. I feel like I have some (receivers) this year to go along with Zimere that are really going to be able to open it up. The more of a threat you can be to throw the ball, the more the defense has to defend more of the field. I think everybody knows we want to run the football. Being able to do both is going to be helpful, and hopefully we can do it when we want to, and not so much when we need to.”

Senior linebackers Antwain Grantham and Jasaan Williams, the cornerstones of an Aycock defense that held five opponents to 15 points or less last season, both return.

Grantham and Williams combined for 143 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, six fumble recoveries and three interceptions a year ago.

“They’ve done some growth over the summer in terms of becoming more and more of leaders,” Zietlow said of his two senior linebackers. “Now that they’re seniors, they’ve picked up more of the leadership of the team, but they’ve already been the leaders of the team the last three years. Jasaan is able to play multiple positions that he’s been in the defense so much. Antwain is able to get all 11 guys on defense in the right place. He’s learned more of how everything fits together. You can tell a difference when they’re on the field and when they’re not.”

Zietlow points to his linebackers and secondary as strengths defensively, while the running backs and receivers are the position groups he has the most confidence in offensively.

Replacing three seniors lost to graduation along the offensive line and a pair of defensive ends are the Golden Falcons’ biggest question marks. The absence of defensive end Travis Burton, who contributed 67 tackles last season along with team-highs in tackles for loss (19) and sacks (7), is one Aycock will have to try and fill.

Junior Bryson Fitzgerald, who was 34 for 36 on extra points in 2023, returns to handle the kicking duties for the Golden Falcons.

Aycock opens its season at 7 p.m. on Aug. 23 at Rosewood in the Little River Rivalry. The game be heard on 98.3 FM WGBR, and on Goldsborodailynews.com.