Who's Up Next

Yesterday I Mentioned that the 28 points the Gryphons scored on Southern Nash was the most scored on the Firebirds all year.  Looking at Middle Creek the Gryphons scored 25 on the 4A school which stands at 13-0 on the season and have not given up more than 14 points in any other game.

There is one big problem any running team has whenever they get behind by more than a touchdown.  The Firebirds first score of the second half took almost eight minutes of the clock.  The next two trips by Rocky Mount produced field goals and each drive lasted over four minutes.  Running teams cannot afford to get behind more than one score.  Just too much time comes off when they grind it down the field.

So far this year the Gryphons have not shown that if they are trailing in the fourth quarter and the running game is not working they have the ability to move the length of the field.  If you recall the state championship game last year the Gryphons only rushed for 120 yards the entire game and needed a passing game to stay in the game.

This week the Gryphons head down that I-85 corridor which during this century has been a familiar territory have played in Mebane, Gibbonsonville, and now back to South Greensboro in the playoffs They will be playing a coach who had a heartache against the Gryphons just last season as the head coach Earl Bates was the coach of Eden Morehead who the Gryphons beat on the last play of the game in the third round.  Either Bates saw the well running dry in Eden or it shows you how great a coach he is as Eden Morehead did not win a game this season.   They scored only 88 points while giving up 488.

Let't look at what the Gryphons face In the Storm on Friday.  They are 11-2 on the season with 10 wins in a row. They have scored 340 points which is a 26.4 points per game.  They have allowed only 148 points or just a little over 11 per game.

They average 211 yards rushing per game and their leading rushing attempt guy only carries the ball 10 times per game. They play a lot of running backs combining for their 2534 yards rushing on the season.  They average 5.9 yards per attempt.  Throwing they have completed 51-102 for 670 yards or 55 yards a game.

The Gryphons come into game 14 averaging 280 yards per game rushing.  The passing game has added 68 per game. BJ Sanders went over 1000 yards rushing on the season against the Firebirds.  He missed the first conference game because of illness and then the week off for the hurricane it seemed as if he had lost his speed.  It definitely looks as his speed is back in the two playoff games. DeAngelo  Collins has rushed for 850 and another 650 from Charlie Williams.

The Gryphons are scoring at a 32 points per game pace on 402 points.  They have allowed 221 points on the season but 78 came against Middle Creek 37 and Rose 41.  They did hold Rose under their season average of 46.  The other 11 games they are yielding 13 per contest.

We are to the point in the season where every win from here on out will have to be earned.  The 5-7, 6-6 teams are now wrestling and playing basketball.  This is a tough travel game due to the fact in order to be there on time you have to fight the Raleigh traffic and catch parts of the Greensboro jams in order to get to Southern Guilford.

I will not be able to be in attendance Friday night and help coach the Gryphons to victory from the stands.  Will be behind the mic at the Roger Taylor Invitational at North Carolina Wesleyan.  Same thing happened last year against East Alamance.  The Gryphons did rather well without me  in that one.  Expect the same type results from the Gryphons in Greensboro in order to return to coaching in Vanceboro or Havelock with all the other Rocky Mount fans/coaches who sit in the stands.