Capron father, son play for undefeated Southampton Academy teams

BY ANDREW FAISON/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
andrew.faison@yahoo.com

COURTLAND—The bond between Capron father and son, Clarke and Thomas Fox, got a little stronger after Southampton Academy completed its 2012 football season.

Both had played for SA teams that were undefeated and took state titles.

“This experience has formed a bond with my dad that I will never replace,” said senior offensive lineman and defensive end Thomas Fox. “I am just really grateful for the opportunity to have been on an undefeated state champion team.”

He scored the final touchdown on a two-yard run during the 52-28 win over Word of God Christian Academy on Nov. 9 at Pillow Field. The Raiders were 12-0 in the North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association.

Also a defensive end, Clarke Fox, 53, played for the Raiders in 1976, when the team went undefeated and took a state title. He was a junior.

“I remember the team I was on (and how it) created a special bond between teammates for the rest of our lives,” said Clarke Fox. “I feel it will do the same for my son — a bond that wherever they go for the rest of their life they will always remember being on the undefeated state championship team.”

“This experience has really given me a chance to form a bond with all of my teammates,” added Thomas Fox.

A farmer, Clarke Fox said the Raiders had really good teams through the years, taking state championships but not going undefeated.

“Those undefeated seasons just barely slip away sometimes,” he said. “It’s just that much harder to obtain.”

So many times you see football teams win state or national championships with a single loss or more, Clarke Fox said.

He is proud of his son and happy for the whole team.

“The team played really well together, and I look forward to seeing this team progress through the next several years especially with only three members of the team graduating,” Clarke Fox said.