Championship Week Begins

This morning all of the teams left still vying for the State Championship their coaches, principals and Athletic Directors meet to have news conferences with every major news outlet in North Carolina will meet in Durham  to probe and question them about there teams. Mike Gainey will be in the spot light for the Gryphons.

Tickets go on sale at 8.00am Tuesday in Coach Gainey's office. Advanced tickets are $9 and if you wait when you walk in the Dean Dome Saturday they will be 10 bucks. Just like two years ago the 3-A game is the prime time game and is scheduled to start at 7.30.pm.

The Gryphons will be the visiting team  and will wear blue.Coach Gainey wants every one wearing blue  to the game.

The Gryphon boys remain undefeated 18-0 in 2012. Saturday's lost broke a 19  game winning streak for the girls.

The boys five playoff games they have won by 17 points per game.  The closest being 14 points.  I sure would rather have had a 68-66 game along the way.

Burlington Williams in their zone defense deployed one of their taller girls on the point which caused the Lady Gryphons to shoot over a taller player on most of their outside shots. The Strategy worked.

Chant heard from Hawks crowd before the game  " We Believe"------"We are going to win".  "We believe"---"We are going to win".  Chant from Gryphons fans near the end of game.  "We Know"---"We have won".  "We Know"--- We have won".

Two locals refs that I know about called games in Fayetteville this week.  Ron Fly who now lives in Goldsboro  but formerly of Rocky Mount  was one of the refs in the girls game that followed the Gryphon boys.

  D J   Don Johnson had games in the Arena last week.  He had earned the Rocky Mount game Wednesday night but being a Graduate of Rocky Mount , his wife  Wanda a grad and all three of his sons graduated Rocky Mount, D J asked to be moved for a possible conflict of interest.  If you ever saw the Andy Griffith Show where Andy is asked to umpire a championship in which the umpire is sick and Andy fills in, and Andy calls Opie out at home where weeks later a picture taken by Helen shows Opie safe.  Don didn't want any part of the Rocky Mount game cause that a call he might make go against the Gryphons and all the Gryphon Nation be upset with him.  Conflict of interest works both ways.

I sure hope the Pep Band  goes to Chapel Hill again this year.  That really added a lot to the atmosphere for the 12,000or so that were there.

More news to pass on.   Gryphon baseball had three home games last week and lost all three.  14-1 to Rose.  3-0 to Southern Wayne and 15-1 to Riverside.  So far two runs in three games.  The Grypons are young and tender this year.

Girls softball is 0-2.  They lost to Tarboro 9-7 and to Louisburg 8-1.  They are improved this year and were playing with four or five starters still playing basketball.  They will be joining softball       
   this week.