The Pounding Has Begun

Tonight the Rocky Mount Gryphon football teams gets to knock heads with someone besides themselves for the second time this week. . It is really hard to tell as a fan watching scrimmages what coaches are actually trying to accomplish in these events.


If you are a coach that is really loaded you may want to tone down the outcome to not make it so obvious how good you really are. A coach has to have some idea of the mental make up of his team. You don’t want them to get the feeling coming out of a scrimmage they are unbeatable but you also don’t want the opposite to happen either that every player walks off the field feeling like the season is already lost.

Wednesday the Big East Conference coaches met and in that meeting they all vote for who they think will win the championship. I wonder how many really vote the way they think. I am sure they try to down play their teams ability and uplift others in order to put the pressure on somebody else.

Most of the expectations of pressure have fallen on Hunt as they have been voted the preseason favorite. They won the conference last year and historically are good every year so Hunt is a good pick to be near the top because they always are. Southern Nash, Northern Nash and Nash Central have been voted 2-3-4 by the coaches. Rocky Mount and Fike were tied bringing up the rear.

Since Nash and Wilson Counties came together as the NEW Conference and SouthWest Edgecombe was part of the league not only are the schools close together by mileage but they have been hard to separate from top to bottom. Rocky Mount and Southwest you pretty much could pick to fight it out at the top.

Since Hunt joined the Big East taking SWE spot they have maintained that expectation SWE had of fighting for the top. Rocky Mount has fallen back into the want-a-be category. One thing has proven out ever since our counties joined together that is doesn’t matter where you finish that this league or leagues were good enough to get a team in the Eastern finals year in and year out. Come to think of it that is true in all sports in this league.

Northern Nash returned with their best team in several years last season and like all teams that hit the skids once they return to the good times they are going to do everything they can to be playing again on Thanksgiving Friday. It always helps to have a returning coaching staff that was has shown the way in the turn -a -round.

Southern Nash may be didn’t live up to their expectations last year after their turn-a-round season in 2009. One problem any team has who in most years can only say they have been average at best. It is a different world when you are the hunted instead of the hunter.

The Big East coaches voted Nash Central 4th. If they were in any other conference other than the Big East the Bulldogs might be the conference favorite but Big East football as shown last year was first tonight and fourth next week just because of one loss.

Rocky Mount had as good of defense as any  in the league last year but could not score a lick. They had only two games all year that they were out of the game by the fourth quarter. This year their offense will be better but just could be the defense is not quite as good as last.

Fike has a new coach and with any new coach comes change. The past couple of years have been heart breaking for many who expect Fike to be a contender every year.

I see no reason why this Big East football season will not be like the others have been. One major injury to a contender and they become a pretender. If there is a surprise team then that will send someone to take their place and they will become the disappointing team.