Athlete Interview Series: Introduction

    From Fall 1988 to Fall 1993, there were not two people other than Lee Becton and Anthony Wright who defined West Craven High School’s football program more. This specific range of time stands out to me among any other, aside from my own as a student. It is when both of my parents roamed the halls of West Craven. Growing up, their yearbooks were not stuffed away in our attic to collect dust, they were on my bookshelf. Night after night, specifically in my elementary-aged years, I would open the yearbook pages and immerse myself in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s time capsule.

    Developing an interest for sports around this period, the most intriguing part of the yearbooks consisted of the athletic photos and numerous write-ups of the teams and players from that era. The football program, in particular, had reached a point of local dominance. There were two key individuals who were responsible for that continued success, which began well before this specific era I am speaking of. Handed the keys to the West Craven’s offensive workload was a young Sophomore running back named Lee Becton, who happened to be in the same graduating class as my father. My understanding of his impact went beyond the yearbook pages and was grasped in many stories from my dad, who happened to see it all live as it was actually happening.

    After a couple of transitional years in the program, the year of 1989 was one of pure dominance for the high-powered offense. The aforementioned “local dominance” resulted in the team’s back-to-back conference championship and undefeated regular season results. Its star player’s notoriety transcended the county and state lines in a way that only a handful before or after him have been able to do. Lee Becton, who rushed for over 4,300 yards and 61 touchdowns in his career, scoring in 29 of his 31 games, left behind some major shoes to fill. Anthony Wright, who was also handed keys at the beginning of his sophomore season, was expected to continue the winning trend into the ‘90s. The team, with a near clean slate, began to find its way with the help of their young quarterback. Growing into the role, his individual success led to the same results for the entire team. 

    As he kept the program on the map and charted his own course as a nationally ranked recruit, Anthony Wright was also sitting in a calculus class with my mother and was in her graduating class. She, like my father, was able to share just how amazing it was to watch him represent our area as he took his talents to the biggest college football conference and ultimately to the sport’s highest professional level, while playing its most important position. 

    Anthony Wright was never able to stand in the backfield with Lee Becton in a live game for West Craven, which the other area schools should be grateful for, as it would have been near impossible for any defense to stop. There may have been three years separating them as students and athletes, but the skill and motivation to better themselves were identically impressive and timeless. It is why I chose these two men to continue my Narrative of Names interview series. Their words were equally inspiring to me and the stories they so generously shared took me back to that immersive state. I sincerely hope it will have the same effect on you as a reader. 

- MB