Ninety Six MLB brings strong play to 'Cats' defense

/8/2012 12:22:00 AM A NEW WORLD Ninety Six MLB brings strong play to 'Cats' defense

Eddie Emery stands ready to help guide the Ninety Six High School defense this season. (Matt Walsh | Index-Journal) By BEN BREINER NINETY SIX - Eddie Emery found himself in a new world. The Ninety Six High School football player had never experienced the constant preparation for football he ran into when he came to the South. Until the start of second semester last winter, he lived in Bloomsburg, Pa., where football was primarily an in-season pursuit. So, he's had to plunge head-first into small-town Southern, small-town football, and he seems to have taken to it. "We run and lift weights every day, four days out of the week," said Emery, who added his former school was about the size of Ninety Six. "Coming from a program that only started two weeks before school going two-a-days, it's been a lot different, but I feel it's been beneficial." He's quickly become an integral member of the Wildcats and cuts the ideal image of a middle linebacker, where he will start at the heart of Ninety Six's new 3-5-3 defense. He said he played in the same scheme in Pennsylvania, and started as a freshman and sophomore before an anterior cruciate ligament tear knocked him out for his junior campaign. But that was up north, and after joining the team for the last week of spring practices a few months ago, he rapidly grew into a leader. "We spent three days together at FCA camp this summer, and I was a little nervous about coming from outside, especially from Pennsylvania to the Deep South, how he would respond to some of the things we do here," Ninety Six coach Chris Liner said. "He's really kind of taken it in stride and embraced it." Emery hit his stride as soon as he arrived at Ninety Six, winning a state wrestling title in the 160-pound class in February and picking up a Class A pole vaulting state crown. Teammates and coaches said the wrestling background is particularly valuable because he's built the strength to fit the position, and is skilled in getting leverage to go lower than opponents. MORE IN TODAY'S INDEX-JOURNAL