South Point brothers to reunite at Lenoir-Rhyne

South Point’s Justice brothers will be on the same team again.

Senior quarterback Josh Justice and 2009 graduate James Justice both committed to play football at Lenoir-Rhyne next season.

Josh Justice last month earned Gazette offensive player-of-the-year honors after leading South Point to the 3AA state championship. James Justice, a linebacker, was 2008 Gazette defensive player of the year after helping the Red Raiders reach the state semifinals.

While Josh’s commitment comes as no surprise (he had announced last month he was leaning toward the Bears), James’ move came almost out of nowhere after he took a year off from the sport.

Wingate and Guilford recruited James out of high school, but he didn’t like his options so attended UNC Charlotte strictly as a student. But James missed the sport, and he especially got the itch to play again while watching his brother lead South Point to the state championship. James began preparing for a walk-on attempt at Appalachian State this fall and enrolled for the second semester at Gaston College to save money on tuition.

But when the Lenoir-Rhyne coaches made a recruiting visit to the Justices’ house, Josh and his father put James’ name out there. Interested, the coaches later watched James’ highlight DVD and liked what they saw.

“I want to know why you’re not playing ball anywhere,” defensive coordinator Mike Houston told James. “You’re just as good as our recruits.”

While Josh made his official visit Jan. 16, James performed a few drills for the coaches, who offered him a spot on the team. Josh committed on that trip. It wasn’t until the next day, though, that James made his decision.

“I had all this thrown in my face,” James said. “I went home and slept on it and had to make a quick decision.”

James reported to campus Tuesday and has already lifted weights and gone on a morning run with his new teammates. He will have four years of eligibility.

“I’m real excited,” James said. “I’m just blessed for the opportunity.”

The Justice brothers will join an NCAA Division II team that went 5-6 overall and 2-5 in the South Atlantic Conference last season. Lenoir-Rhyne is located in Hickory, about an hour’s drive from Belmont.

Josh expects to start out as backup quarterback in the Bears’ triple-option offense, the same system he directed at South Point. He said he likes the facilities at Lenoir-Rhyne and considers the Bears a program on the rise.

Both Justices are coming off stellar high school careers.

As a senior at South Point, James, now 6-foot, 200 pounds, led the Red Raiders with 123 tackles, including eight tackles for loss and five sacks. South Point shut out five opponents that season and won 13 straight games before losing in the 3A West final to eventual state champion West Rowan.

This past season, the 6-foot, 190-pound Josh rushed for 1,910 yards and 22 touchdowns and passed for another 911 yards and nine touchdowns in his first full season as the varsity starting quarterback. In the state championship game, he rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown and passed for 111 yards.

You can reach Phillip Gardner at 704-869-1843.