Eastern Montgomery’s Dylan Owens (seated, center) has signed a letter of intent to continue his playing career at Emory and Henry College. He is pictured with his parents, Dawn and Woody (seated), and football coach Jordan Stewart (standing, back row).
By Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
Sometimes flying under the radar does have its advantages. While the Eastern Montgomery football team has not found success on the field, senior Dylan Owens consistently put up numbers recruiters only dream about. The 6-2, 195-pound running back/quarterback had 125 carries this past season for 890 yards with nine touchdowns.
Wednesday, Owens signed his name on the dotted line to continue his playing career at Emory and Henry (E&H) in front of family, friends, coaches and teammates in the high school’s library.
He was named to the Pioneer District’s first-team offense as an all-purpose performer and was an all-county/all-city first-teamer for the second year in a row.
From his first visit, Owens felt E&H was home. “The coaches and staff members are amazing, and I can’t wait to experience that for the next four years,” he said.
His goals are simple for next season: work and training hard to make the travel squad and earn minutes anywhere he can.
“I want to be a strong athlete and an even better student athlete. I hope to maintain a 4.0 throughout college and be a member of the dean’s list each year,” Owens said.
Emory & Henry College is a private liberal arts college in Emory, Va. The campus comprises 335 acres of Washington County, which is part of the Appalachian highlands of Southwest Virginia. Founded in 1836, Emory & Henry College is the oldest institution of higher learning in Southwest Virginia with a current enrollment of 1,246.
The athletic program is a member of Division III’s Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), and the football team is coming off its best season since 2014 after compiling a 7-3 record.
Curt Newsome is preparing for his seventh year as the head football coach in Emory.
Newsome is no stranger to football in the New River Valley as he spent seven years as the offensive line coach at Virginia Tech. The team will lose 12 seniors from this year’s squad.
Owens will also run track at E&H. He plans to major in biology and move on to medical school to become a physician’s assistant.
