Orange County native Colston Bayless set to lead Hornets

ORANGE COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) - The countdown to kickoff of the high school football season is on.

Orange County is one of a handful of local teams playing at-home Friday, August 25. The Hornets are also one-of-three teams in the Jefferson District with a new coach this year.

Colston Bayless is back at his alma mater as a first-time high school football head coach. A former middle school head coach in the county, Bayless is bringing discipline and accountability to these players.

“Every team I’ve been a part of that was a good team was a disciplined team,” Coach Bayless said. “That’s just the culture I’m trying to build here.”

The Hornets have run a spread offense for decades, but that’s changing this season to a more physical run attack.

“It’s similar to what Air Force does: We’re going to be under center, triple option, much more physical dominated by the run and that will set up the pass,” the coach said.

It will be a big change for the players, but the Hornets have several talented runners to lead the charge, including returning starts Christian Simpson and Bubba Wells.

“They’re used to spreading it out and running toward space. We’re trying to stay in the bubble and wait until that bubble pops,” Coach Bayless said.

They’re coming off a successful 8-2 season.

“I don’t see it as a rebuilding year, but we are starting from scratch in a lot of different ways,” Bayless said. “When you have good players, you have a chance to be pretty good, and we have good players.”

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