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By Jay Spivey

For the Clemmons Courier

Junior Decobe Pettus might be small in stature, but he has more than made up for it as a two-sport athlete at West Forsyth. 

At 5-foot-9 and 140 pounds, Pettus grew up mostly as a football player. In fact, he grew up playing Pop Warner Football for the Pfafftown Packers. He also played some basketball as a child.

“Football is more entertaining to me,” he said. “It’s more fun to me.” 

He has continued that at West Forsyth, but he’s also picked up track and field. Although he’s doing quite well, Pettus just started running track-and-field in ninth grade shortly after playing running back on the JV football team.

Having never competed in the sport, during his freshman year, Pettus went to Coach Nathan Newsome, at the time the West Forsyth boys and girls coach in cross-country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field.

“(Newsome) was saying he was happy and that we needed new runners and sprinters because most of the people there were like juniors and upcoming seniors,” Pettus said. “So, everyone’s about to leave and graduate.”

In indoor track and field his freshman season, he competed in the 55-meter run. One person who saw him compete in both sports was Sean Joyce, who previously was the offensive coordinator at West Forsyth with Head Coach Adrian Snow. Joyce is now the head boys and girls track-and-field coach after Newsome retired earlier this year.

“Decobe is phenomenal,” Joyce said. “He’s one of our fastest kids in the 100(-meter). He’s just an athlete – shows up every day, works hard. You know, we put him on our 4×2 team. He’s just a kid that can fill in different spots and excel at all of them.” 

After a long freshman season in football as a running back, and after deciding to go out for indoor track, he quickly had to transition to a different sport. 

“It was actually really fun. The coaching staff was great,” Pettus said. “I met a lot of good people, who help me push and become better.” 

And although he was in football condition, that’s very different from being in track-and-field shape. Pettus said it only took him about a week to acclimate his legs from football fitness to track-and-field fitness. 

“It’s a very big difference,” Pettus said. “Track is more, we’re trying to get you to hold your speed while also being fit and holding your speed for a long time.” 

While already competing in indoor track-and-field his freshman season at West Forsyth, Kevin Wallace was named the head football coach after holding the same position at Northwest Guilford. 

“I think it was actually a great idea,” Pettus said. “Hearing what he was doing at his other school, he was ambitious about what he was doing.” 

All the while, Pettus was doing football workouts during the offseason his freshman season while competing in indoor and outdoor track and field. 

“It was good. I just had to get used to it because I never had run track,” Pettus said. “I was just trying to get the feel of how to run everything.” 

After outdoor track and a full summer under his belt, Pettus prepared himself for football as a sophomore.  

“It was different because Coach Wallace, I like the way he teaches stuff,” Pettus said. “But it’s a little bit of everything. It’s a little bit of skill development, it’s speed training, it’s lifting much more weights.” 

He once again played running back on the JV football team as a sophomore. He slowly started to learn how to compensate for his size. 

“The linemen are bigger than me. They’re stronger,” Pettus said. “They blocked very well.” 

After football his sophomore season, he went back out to compete on the indoor and outdoor track-and-field team at West Forsyth. 

“It was really my sophomore year when I said, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m definitely going to keep doing this,’” Pettus said. 

A year older on the indoor team, Pettus ran the 55-meter and the 4×200-meter relay team. According to athletic.net, Pettus’ time in the 55 dropped from 6.95 seconds his freshman season to 6.82 his sophomore season. He also said he ran the anchor for the 4×200 relay team. His PR that season, according to athletic.net, was 1:35.03.

“I was really nervous at first because I’d never done a relay,” Pettus said. “But the seniors and the juniors – they were there to support me and tell me I got this and everything. They said it to encourage me.” 

As a sophomore in outdoor track and field, he ran the 100, 200 (23.54), 4×100 and 4×200. He steadily worked and became better.  

“I prefer the (200) because it’s like I get to build up my speed and then I get to hold it,” Pettus said. “The 100 is more like, you have to have a better start and then get out there.”

According to athletic.net, Pettus trimmed his 100-meter time in outdoor 12.18 his freshman season to 11:51 as a sophomore last year. His PR in the 200, according to athletic.net, was set last year at 23:06.

“He’s one of our best sprinters,’ Joyce said.  

After the season ended for outdoor track and field last May, Pettus prepared himself for another football season. He played varsity this past fall for the Titans, switching from running back to defensive back.  

“It was actually a brand-new learning experience since I haven’t touched defense in years,” Pettus said. “So, that was actually a memorable experience. People were there to help me. Even the seniors were there to help me and guide me to be better and perfect my craft even more.” 

Despite it still being the same sport, playing defense instead of offense was much different. 

“There were a lot of coverages I had to learn, but I learned them one by one. Even after that I still had to learn my techniques. So, that was hard and then,” said Pettus. 

He kept making the same mistake. 

“I would keep looking at the quarterback and that was not what I was supposed to do,” Pettus said. “It took me some months (to get over that).” 

Although Joyce is no longer coaching football at West Forsyth still knows what it takes to move to a different position. 

“Decobe is just an athlete, and he’s got speed,” Joyce said. “That just kind of speaks volumes with him that, you know, hey, he can play running back. They didn’t need him at running back, so they put him at corner. That’s just one of those deals, he’s just a hard-working kid and whatever you ask him to do he’s going to do his best at it.”

Pettus noticed the difference in JV and varsity football this past season.  

“People were just more physical,” Pettus said of football. “They’re faster. It’s more complex than JV.”

This past indoor track-and-field season, according to athletic.net, Pettus’ PR was 6.78 in the 55. He ran the 300 with his best time being 37.06 in December. His best time in the 4×200 with Aydin Davis, Josh Jones and Max Williamson was 1:33.86 in January at the Fast Track Invitational at JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem. He also ran the 4×400 relay with Davis, Jonah LeGrande and Max Leonard in the Central Piedmont 4-A championship in January, and finished with their best time of 3:38.41. 

“He has run the 4×2 in indoor,” Joyce said. “I guess that group of guys, the 4×2 team, have run together for a while.”

Then just before the indoor season ended, Newsome announced that his last meet would be the conference championship at JDL Fast Track. 

“I never saw it coming because he was just talking about, he was going to be teaching for a very long time,” Pettus said. “And I didn’t think that he would leave when I was there. So, that was something different.”

As the indoor track-and-field season ended this past February, Pettus quickly worked his way to get ready for the outdoor track-and-field season. He’s running the 100, 200, 4×100, 4×200 and 4×400 relays this spring. However, you’re limited to four events per meet. 

Competing at a high level, his size hasn’t been a deterrent for him.

“Once again, it comes down to his work ethic,” Joyce said. “Like I said, speed kills and he definitely has got the speed for that.  “

Pettus said his PRs this spring are 11.40 in the 100, 23.06 in the 200. He added this is the first time he’s run the 4×100. 

“They switch it up a little bit,” Joyce said. “Sometimes he will be the starter because he is one of our better starters out of the blocks. There have been times he has been the anchor. He and Aydin kind of switch it back and forth. 

“But once again, if you ask him to be the second leg or the third leg he’s going to do it. If you ask him to do it, he’s going to be really good at it.” 

Pettus’ flexibility has been a huge help for the Titans. 

“Honestly, this year he has actually kind of stepped up a little bit in a leadership role,” Joyce said. “We’ve got about three or kids that have been around the program as far as track is concerned, know exactly what we want them to do. He kind of took some of the young kids and tried to lead them in the right direction. 

“He’s been vocal and by his work ethic showing up and doing.”

The end of the regular season isn’t too far off. However, the conference championship will follow.  

“We do have a bunch of great sprinters with a bunch of potential,” Pettus said. “The conference is just tough.” 

The 4-A Midwest Regional is scheduled for May 10 at Cuthbertson High School in Waxhaw. And the 4-A state championship is scheduled for May 17 at N.C. A&T University in Greensboro. 

“I think we’ll continue to get better,” Joyce said.

Regardless of what happens the rest of this outdoor track-and-field season Pettus plans on competing in football, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field in his senior season. 

“It all depends on him, which if this past work ethic is any indication, then I think he is going to be better,” Joyce said. “I think his senior year will be his best year yet.” 

With a year-plus left before he graduates from West Forsyth Pettus has come a long way from being a novice in track to now competing at a top level. 

“It’s allowing me to meet more people and be more confident in myself,” Pettus said.