Earlier this week I made the prediction here on this blog that N.C. State would beat East Carolina and protect the goal post at Carter-Finley Stadium.
The goal post are still standing tonight.
Just two short weeks ago there was doom and gloom in Raleigh. In Greenville, the Pirates had just won what was possibly their biggest game ever and there was talk of a BCS Bowl game.
If Rocky Mount Gryphon fans can take hold of one thing that happened on the football field is that you can't look past anybody.
Were the Pirates already thinking of a BCS bowl game? If they were, that's all they will do as the major bowl for ECU is a distant hope now.
Two weeks ago the Wolfpack may have been the worst team in Div. I football, and today they are the most improved.
Wolfpack in overtime over the Pirates on Greenville's Andre Brown overtime touchdown run, 30-24
In Chapel Hill, Carolina's dreams of playing in its first ACC championship game took a big hit against and old crafty coach Frank Beamer.
The Hokies, with quarterback play which looked like N.C. State until today, stole victory away from Carolina.
Former Rocky Mount Gryphon Stephan Virgil sealed the deal with a late interception for the Gobblers as they moved to 2-0 in the division and in the driver's seat to play for the conference championship.
How much worse can it get for first year Greenville Rose coach Todd Lipe?
During the summer, a Rose football player was critically injured while at a water park. The players were at a team outing when defensive end Garrett Ball hit his head on a water slide. Ironically, Ball served as honorary caption of the team Friday night,
Last week, Rocky Mount put an end the longest scoring streak in North Carolina high school football when it shutout Rose 36-0.
Today word comes that backup running back Jaquan Waller was stricken on the field at Rose's home game last night and has died today.
Waller carried the ball five times for five yards in the game against the Gryphons last week.
Every time a player steps on the field, injury is a possibility on any play. Waller becomes the third North Carolina High School player to die this year from football-related injuries.
There is not a game played in any sport that is worth the life of any person.
My heart is deep with sadness for all of the Rose coaches and players. You know we play Rose as much as we play our own conference members and we all know the coaches as well as any in our own conference.
I send out prayers tonight to the family of Jaquan Waller and to the entire Rose High school community.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Clash of the Titans
Friday night's game featuring Hertford County against the Gryphons was a special moment for me.
I was in the booth covering a game against the team that I basically covered for 22 years. It all started in 1971 covering then-Ahoskie High School and ended 1992 as Murfreesboro and Ahoskie merged in 1988 to become Hertford County.
Earlier this week, I had done a radio interview with old friend Gattis Hodges, who took my place behind the mike and has a Thursday night hour of sports on the Murfreesboro radio station.
Once I left Ahoskie and moved to Fayetteville in 1992, I came to Wilson one Friday night and Gattis let me do the play-by-play for the whole game.
I think it was 1994 when Hertford County played Conley in the in the playoffs and Gattis, his color man, could not be there and I filled in for him on a Thanksgiving Friday night.
We were able to greet each other in the press box. I hadn't seen Gattis in a while. I think the last time we were together was during the Watermelon Festival, which is in Murfreesboro in August several years back. Gattis was doing spot reports for the radio station and we happened to bump into each other while walking through the crowd. Gattis interviewed me on the radio that day.
Once the kickoff occurred, the Clash of the Titans became a re-run of Gryphon first-half highlights.
So far this season, the Gryphons have been scoring 24 points in the first half of every game and this game proved no different. Twenty-eight points raises the Gryphon average to 25 in the first half and a disappointing score for Hertford on the last play of the half ruined what has been a perfect season in the first half for the D-Block - giving up its first points of the year in the first half.
Hertford County came in scoring 50 per game and its average dips while the Gryphons came in averaging 41 and they got it again.
If there has been any question about whether Rocky Mount might return to the eastern finals again this year, this squad looks more and more like anybody who wants to win the state championship will have to beat Rocky Mount to do it.
Rocky Mount 42, Hertford County 14
Northern Nash traveled to Bertie and gave the Falcons all they wanted but come up short. NN, with the game tied at 22-all very late in the game, went for a 4-and-3 on its own 35 and was denied. Very soon after, the Falcons scored the winning TD.
Bertie 28, Northern Nash 22
Southern Nash spotted Hunt a 7-0 lead, but scored twice and held Hunt out of the end zone after that to pick up a 13-7 victory over the Warriors.
Fike remains the only undefeated team in the NEW 6 battering C.B. Aycock 35-6
SouthWest Edgecombe hammmers Southern Vance 45-13
Nash Central found an offense, but its defense continues to play well as Nash Central pounds Washington 34-zip.
Tarboro traveled to the land of the pulp mill - Roanoke Rapids and continued to thrill the Viking faithful 48-0 over the Yellow Jackets.
Now that we are four games into the season, trends are developing with this Rocky Mount team and the most impressive trend is when those players get off the bus, they are ready to play.
Championship teams play great defense and giving up 14 to one of the highest scoring teams in the state is very impressive.
If this Gryphon team stays healthy, you might need an overcoat in December to go watch the Gryphons play.
I was in the booth covering a game against the team that I basically covered for 22 years. It all started in 1971 covering then-Ahoskie High School and ended 1992 as Murfreesboro and Ahoskie merged in 1988 to become Hertford County.
Earlier this week, I had done a radio interview with old friend Gattis Hodges, who took my place behind the mike and has a Thursday night hour of sports on the Murfreesboro radio station.
Once I left Ahoskie and moved to Fayetteville in 1992, I came to Wilson one Friday night and Gattis let me do the play-by-play for the whole game.
I think it was 1994 when Hertford County played Conley in the in the playoffs and Gattis, his color man, could not be there and I filled in for him on a Thanksgiving Friday night.
We were able to greet each other in the press box. I hadn't seen Gattis in a while. I think the last time we were together was during the Watermelon Festival, which is in Murfreesboro in August several years back. Gattis was doing spot reports for the radio station and we happened to bump into each other while walking through the crowd. Gattis interviewed me on the radio that day.
Once the kickoff occurred, the Clash of the Titans became a re-run of Gryphon first-half highlights.
So far this season, the Gryphons have been scoring 24 points in the first half of every game and this game proved no different. Twenty-eight points raises the Gryphon average to 25 in the first half and a disappointing score for Hertford on the last play of the half ruined what has been a perfect season in the first half for the D-Block - giving up its first points of the year in the first half.
Hertford County came in scoring 50 per game and its average dips while the Gryphons came in averaging 41 and they got it again.
If there has been any question about whether Rocky Mount might return to the eastern finals again this year, this squad looks more and more like anybody who wants to win the state championship will have to beat Rocky Mount to do it.
Rocky Mount 42, Hertford County 14
Northern Nash traveled to Bertie and gave the Falcons all they wanted but come up short. NN, with the game tied at 22-all very late in the game, went for a 4-and-3 on its own 35 and was denied. Very soon after, the Falcons scored the winning TD.
Bertie 28, Northern Nash 22
Southern Nash spotted Hunt a 7-0 lead, but scored twice and held Hunt out of the end zone after that to pick up a 13-7 victory over the Warriors.
Fike remains the only undefeated team in the NEW 6 battering C.B. Aycock 35-6
SouthWest Edgecombe hammmers Southern Vance 45-13
Nash Central found an offense, but its defense continues to play well as Nash Central pounds Washington 34-zip.
Tarboro traveled to the land of the pulp mill - Roanoke Rapids and continued to thrill the Viking faithful 48-0 over the Yellow Jackets.
Now that we are four games into the season, trends are developing with this Rocky Mount team and the most impressive trend is when those players get off the bus, they are ready to play.
Championship teams play great defense and giving up 14 to one of the highest scoring teams in the state is very impressive.
If this Gryphon team stays healthy, you might need an overcoat in December to go watch the Gryphons play.
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