Quarterback Logan Laughlin of Asheboro will be playing against his former team this week. (Scott Pelkey/Randolph Record)
Football friends set to meet weeks after transfer
RANDLEMAN – Logan Laughlin wanted a different situation as a high school quarterback this fall, so during the summer he chose to leave Randleman and transfer to Asheboro.
“It’s going really good,” Laughlin said. “When I walked in there, I felt appreciated and it felt right.”
The junior will be back in Randleman on Friday night when the Blue Comets (1-2) visit for a non-conference game.
The Tigers (4-0) have sophomore John Kirkpatrick as their quarterback.
The paths of the two quarterbacks have been connected. They both were starters for Randleman’s junior varsity at times last year and weeks later were teammates on the junior varsity basketball team.
The players said they’ve had a good friendship.
“I was tight with him,” Laughlin said. “We’re really supportive of each other.”
Laughlin worked out with Randleman’s team into the summer and attended successful 7-on-7 competitions before sensing that a change might be best.
“I was competing with him,” Laughlin said. “I went to a 7-on-7, and I showed out.”
Then in the final days of July, Laughlin revealed his decision to transfer.
“It was kind of late. The county was shocked, for sure,” he said. “It was a long decision for me. I took two or three weeks to talk to my family and to pray about it.”
Randleman coach Shane Timmons didn’t want to get into the specifics. He said his focus is on coaching the players at Randleman.
“You can let it be awkward if you want it to be,” Timmons said of the situation. “He made a decision that he thought was best for him and we moved on.”
Kirkpatrick, who was a starting outfielder as a freshman on Randleman’s state-power baseball team, said he was at the beach when a couple of friends contacted him to share the news about Laughlin departing.
“Then I knew that it was going to be me,” Kirkpatrick said.
Kirkpatrick, who had dabbled as a receiver during limited time with the 2022 varsity, is described by both Timmons and Laughlin as a strong-armed quarterback.
Junior receiver Aiden Robinson also took a Randleman-to-Asheboro path about the same time as Laughlin’s move.
With Asheboro, Laughlin has thrown for seven touchdowns with four interceptions, accounting for 274.1 yards per game by completing 60 percent of his throws. He’s self-described as a pocket passer.
“He has picked up our offense right away,” first-year coach Calvin Brown said.
Laughlin, 16, is 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds with Randleman-area roots that stretched to early years at Level Cross Elementary School.
Kirkpatrick, at 6-3 and 170 pounds, had been in school in the Southern Guilford district until a switch to Randleman as an eighth-grader. Now the 15-year-old will have a prime role in this intra-Randolph County clash.
“It should be pretty exciting,” he said. “It’s our first game that we know a lot of the players that we’re competing against.”
Kirkpatrick has thrown for 131 yards per game with seven touchdowns and two interceptions. He has completed 62.9 percent of his 70 attempts.
“He has matured these first few weeks and I’m proud of him,” Timmons said. “He has learned how to be under control. He’s a good decision maker.”
Randleman has relied on an experienced defense to set the tone. That has worked well for Kirkpatrick.
“After the first two games, the chemistry on the team has got better,” he said. “I always go into a game feeling confident. I feel a little bit of pressure. I just have to trust my guys.”
No matter what the rosters look like, the energy will be high Friday night.
“It’s Asheboro, you don’t really have to do a big motivational speech to get them up for that game,” Timmons said.
As it turns out, Laughlin and Kirkpatrick are both starting quarterbacks.
“(We) were pretty good buddies,” Kirkpatrick said. “It kind of sucks that he’s not there with us. It will be pretty interesting to say the least. We’re still all friends at the end of the day.
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Prep football — Week 5
Friday night’s games
Asheboro at Randleman
Ledford at Providence Grove
Albemarle at Southwestern Randolph
Union Academy at Trinity
Eastern Randolph at Central Davidson
Wheatmore at South Stanly
