It’s coming from the football field at the city high school.

The buzz became louder last week when the Yellow Jackets beat Southern Nash, one of the top teams in the state, to become 4-0.

“The support in Roanoke Rapids for our young people that play athletics is outstanding,” coach Russell Weinstein said this morning. “It has created a buzz.”

What the community senses, however, is something that began last year when Roanoke Rapids won the conference championship. “Last year’s team set the bar. Now the bar has been set to a higher level,” Weinstein said.

It’s not been easy, said Weinstein, who is in his fourth season at the school. “It’s a lot of hard work put in by the coaching staff and players. There are no shortcuts. There’s no magic wand.”

Much of the early success can be tracked when Superintendent Dennis Sawyer made the decision to hire the coach. “When Dr. Sawyer hired me we discussed where we wanted the program to go.”

The school’s principal, Robert Hurley, Athletic Director Tim Bennett and Sawyer have played a part in the success, the coach said. “They’ve all been absolutely fantastic.”

The school assembled a strong coaching staff with Al Carter as offensive coordinator, Pete Edwards as defensive coordinator and Chad Thompson as offensive line coach. “We put together a strong staff. We all enjoy what we do. We’ve got an excellent group of JV coaches. The kids have done everything we’ve asked them to do.”

When Weinstein was hired four seasons ago, everyone recognized there needed to be changes, the coach said. “We had to change the climate. We had to spruce up and fix up. The support from Tim Bennett and the sports club has just been outstanding.”

This is the sixth high school Weinstein has been at. “I’ve never been to a school where the community supports the kids like they do in Roanoke Rapids.”

Weinstein says the football program stresses academics. “We expect the same effort in the classroom as we do on the practice field.”

Discipline and conduct on and off the field is also stressed and while a player will occasionally be sent to the principal’s office, Weinstein says, “We are pleased with the way the kids conduct themselves.”

Those with the ability to play beyond high school are helped. “We try to do everything possible to help them achieve that goal.”

For the fans, last Friday’s win against Southern Nash was huge. For the coach and team there was another goal. “When we approached last Friday we said this game would not make or break the season,” the coach said. “We would find out exactly where we were as a football team.”

While facing a team ranked in the Associated Press poll, Weinstein said the team intended to win the game, which they did. Southern Nash’s coach called Weinstein again this week to congratulate him on the victory. “As he broke it down from a defensive standpoint, he said he was impressed. No one has played defense against his team like that.”

Now the Yellow Jackets face state champions Tarboro this Friday. “Our approach this season is to take the whole season one game at a time and one week at a time. This week our focus is on Tarboro. We know they have a great team. They are state champions. It’s up to us to take that challenge and make plans to give us an opportunity to win.”

Weinstein believes the team can be a bright spot for the community. “This is a great group of kids. Some of these people are going to be leaders in a community. They’re going to end up being professionals and be the backbone of the community in the future ... This group of young men really sense the responsibility to represent the high school and the community.”

Weinstein’s goal since coming to Roanoke Rapids has been to improve the program and help those with the ability to further their education through football.

There is also a goal on the field. “Our mission is to win two conference championships in a row. The teams in the conference are improving. It’s going to be a difficult task to get it done.”

Carter, the offensive coordinator, has seen what this season has done for the community. When he and another coach were eating, “Two people came up to us and asked us about the season. That’s something I didn’t see last year.”

The coaches, senior Bryan Dean said, instilled the importance of hard work. “We’ve put in a lot of hard work since coach has been here. That’s going to give us a lot of momentum. We had to prove it to ourselves.”

Senior D.J. Epperson believes the team can get another conference championship and go further. “We are dependent on each other.”