MERRY HILL – The Roanoke-Chowan area’s second major athletic signings came Friday here when a pair of Lawrence Academy multi-sport athletes inked their scholarship grants.

Tyler Jones – a three-year starter in baseball and football for the Warriors – has signed to play for Chowan University in baseball beginning in the fall of 2016. Meanwhile, football, basketball, and baseball player Bryant Goodwin, has signed an academic scholarship, and will play football for USA-South Conference member, and NCAA Division-III, Methodist University of Fayetteville.

In 20 games for the LAW this season Jones is batting .413 with 14 hits in 26 at-bats, including three triples and a pair of home runs. He’s also knocked in 31 runs. In nine appearances on the mound, Jones sports a 4-1 record, with one save, through 34 innings pitched, and an earned-run-average of 2.06.

In addition to Chowan, Jones also had a baseball offer from Division-III Ferrum College in Virginia.

“Chowan was closer, where Ferrum was four-and-a-half hours away,” Jones joked prior to his signing. “I think the coaches, especially head coach Taylor Furlough, can help me grow as a ball player. In all, I felt Chowan was the best fit for me.”

Jones says he plans to major in environmental biology beginning in the fall after another summer of Senior American Legion baseball with Ahoskie Post 102.

“I want to work on my strength, my speed and agility, and my mental preparation,” he added. “I think with heart, hard work, and discipline, I can make it.”

“I only had a chance to coach him for one year,” said first-year Lawrence baseball skipper Jason Wynne, who succeeded Robert Kravitz this spring. “You can’t just mention one-or-two things about Tyler. He’s a leader on the field and he commands respect from the other players because of the respect that he has for the game.”

Goodwin, meanwhile, will still be wearing green when he dons the uniform of the Methodist Monarchs. Last season, in the Warriors’ almost-exclusive air attack, he was the team’s leading receiver with 52 catches for 1014 yards and accounted for 14 LAW touchdowns, all receiving.

“I liked it because Methodist was a small private school a lot like Lawrence,” Goodwin said prior to signing. “I get to remain close to home (2 ½ hours away); I can come home on weekends, and my parents can come up and see me play.”

Keven Williams is in his first year as interim head coach at Methodist. In seven seasons as offensive coordinator, Williams was known for his ‘wide-open’ style of offense.

Goodwin, who hopes to major in business and accounting, says he was told by the coaching staff that he has a good chance of seeing quite a bit of quality playing time as a freshman.

“I want to work hard and show them that a small-school kid can succeed on a stage like this,” Goodwin added.

“He understands the game naturally,” said football coach and athletic director Lee Hoffman. “It’s hard to believe that he only played (8-man) football for three years, and missed one of those years due to injury. He’s a Wes Welker-type slot receiver, and at his size, it never hurts to be fast.”