First One Ever

 Tonight Rocky Mount High School played their first basketball games ever in the new gym and just like last year they won the last games at the old one and they are perfect in the new gym as Rocky Mount High sweeps Hertford County.

The Lady Gryphons go to 3-0 on the season as J'Kyra Brown  scores 33 to lead the Lady Gryphons to a 71-44 win.  Carman Richardson scored 18 while Kelsey Daniels  was the only other double digit scorer for the Ladies with 10.

Rocky Mount boys also go to 3-0 on the season as they beat the Hertford County boys by a 71-55 score.  Donte Battle lead the way for the Gryphons with 16 and M J Gainey who seems to have made an excellent recovery from his season ending knee surgery last season had 13 points.

I say season ending remembering the tearful layup made by M J at the end of the State Championship game in Chapel hill last year when dad Mike Gainey put M J in the game in the final minute as he put every player in the game to enjoy the spoils of victory in the State Championship win and to be able to score as the buzzer sounded couldn't have been a better ending .

Tonight New Bern representing the East in the 4-A state champions game in Chapel Hill scored with 26 seconds to play in the game to beat Porter Ridge  39-38.  The Bears finish the season at 15-0

The Tarboro Viking football team goes for their fourth straight 2-A football championship Saturday morning in Winston Salem.  East Lincoln stands in the Viking way. You can watch the game on the internet at News14.com.  That's the Time Warner cable state wide news channel.    Once the home page pops up I am sure it will be easy to click on the game.

Tarboro Viking fans I am sure will try to get to a TV set after the state championship game.  Todd Gurley  former Viking and the Georgia Bulldogs play for the Southeastern Conference Championship and if they beat Alabama in Atlanta should get a shot to play for the National Championship in January.

I don't know what the final score was but I heard during the night that Northern Nash girls were beating SouthWest Edgecombe by nearly 40 points in the third quarter and the Lady Cougars at that point had scored only four points.  They had a similar fate last week when they played Nash Central.  Theses are some tough times for the Lady Cougars and Sandra Langley.  I don't care how good of a coach that you are when you don't have the players it simply not easy to coach.  This years senior class at Northern had a tough freshman year and Pam Gainey at Rocky Mount has had a season this century that she won only single digit games for the season.

The Matchup

Tarboro High School goes for their 4th straight 2-A state football title Saturday in Winston Salem where they will meet East Lincoln High School.  It will be the third meeting in four years of the Eastern Plains conference(Tarboro) and the Southern Piedmont.  The Vikings met Lincolnton last year and Mountain Hertitage in 2009 who also represented the Southern Piedmont. 

East Lincoln is located in Lincoln County population 78,000.  East Lincoln High is in the unincorporated town of Denver population 13,000 which is located 25 miles west of downtown Charlotte.  Tarboro population of 12,800 of course is located in Edgecombe County populations 58, 000.

Tarboro's five visits in a row to the state championships this is the second time they will face off against another team that comes into the game undefeated.  The 2010 game against Carver they were 14-0 and East Lincoln will be 15-0 at game time.  East Lincoln  beat Lincolnton in conference play this season 13-8 and of course Lincolnton and  Tarboro had a classic 39-36 game last season for the state title.  Lincolnton finished the season this year 7-6.

 Here is one of those meaningless stats that is a fact.  East Lincoln played on their schedule this season three of the four teams that Tarboro has faced in the last five championship games.  Newton-Conover, Mountain Hertitage and Lincolnton.  The only team missing off of East Lincoln schedule is Carver.

This games looks to be a game where it should be and offensive show. East Lincoln has score 629 points in fifteen games and is averaging 41.3 points per game.  In their fourteen games Tarboro 42.3.  The defense just might be where this game is won and that will be which team stops the other once in a while.  East Lincoln is giving up 16.4 points per game while the Vikings 15.7.

If stats can give us any indication at all this one could be a high scoring nail biter just like last year if not even more scoring if that is possible.  I am of the opinion that of the five teams  in a row that Tarboro has sent to the state title games that this team is the best of the bunch.  That does not however guarantee  victory.    I have to say this any team that has won 23 in a row since their last lost and have won in the past five years 23 of 24 playoffs game it will be hard to bet against.  I'll take the Vikings 42-34 over east Lincoln. 

GO VIKES

Power House ACC Basketball?

Don't look now but ACC basketball could be just as bad as football if the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and the first couple of weeks are any proof about the future.  The ACC loses four out of six to the Big Ten last night and Duke host Ohio State a team that drubbed them in the challenge last year.  However the game is in Cameron this go round.

I honestly don't see Carolina being much more than a 20-12 type team.  I don't like what I see in their guards and missing this year is that man standing back at the goal ready to swat every shot going to the basket.  State on the other hand has played their first five and a half games like teams were suppose to lay down when they stepped on the court.  Finally the second half last night they played like I would like to see every game.  Also remember my goal for this team was to have single digit losses when the season was over so I didn't think this team was quite ready to make it to the final four.

This morning the ACC asked Louisville to join the conference and they accepted.  The ACC will have 14 full time member still when Maryland pulls out.  Heard this on the David Glenn show today that Louisville will be the first ACC member ever that is not ranked in the top 100 of academic institutions in America.

Last night Northern Nash opened it's basketball season playing at D H Conley.  The boys lost by only five and after having won only one game all  last year when they hardly ever stayed in any game as close as five points this is a really good start for them on the road and almost winning.  The girls you know are preseason Big East girls favorite and they beat Conley some where around forty points.

The Tarboro Vikings are heading to their fifth straight State Championship game Saturday in Winston Salem and the rumor mill is hot and heavy about Jeff Craddock leaving Tarboro at the end of this year. Some are saying what does he have to prove with Tarboro going 1-A next year.  I have even seen he was going to be on the Ohio State staff next year.   Let's let him win his fourth championship Saturday and then we will decide where we want him to go.

Finally The Big East /Halfway

Today the Pirates of ECU got their wish and moved up in the football world leaving Conference USA for the Big East in football only.  If you remember in my article last week about TV sets rule then you could ask the question why did the Big East take Tulane in all sports?  The answer the city of New Orleans despite having lost 100,000 that left town because of Hurricane Katrina they still have 377,000 in New Orleans and 3/4 of a million in metro New Orleans.  All other sports the Pirates will stay in C-USA.

The way the world of college football is heading and if there are only four super conferences and those conferences wind up being football only then ECU just might be ahead of the game being in what ever Big East football becomes in the future.  Sure does look like before most of our life times are over State, Carolina and Duke might be in a Super football conference and the ACC will be all other sports.  I hope that is not where we are heading but it sure does look like it.

Bubba Cunningham  Athletic Director at North Carolina announced today that North Carolina is not considering moving to any conference other than staying in the ACC.   Today the office of the ACC sued the University of Maryland claiming that they will have to pay the full $50 million to get out of the ACC.  I don't see that the conference has any choice but to do this.  If they let Maryland go for say 20 million whats going to stop Florida State or Clemson getting out at a cheaper rate too. 

What is the state of ACC football this year?  David Cutcliffe was named ACC coach of the year and his team lost their last four games in a row to end the season.  We do how ever understand that Duke winning six games in football is like the Carolina Panthers playing in the Super Bowl.  Great job by coach Cut.

Speaking of the Panthers they won on Monday Night Football last night.  Speaking some more about a former Panther,  Campbell University name Mike Minter their new football coach today.  Minter the former Panther safety has been the special teams coach at Liberty this past season.  Just where Campbell is they probably got a good coach with name recognition who hasn't  proven himself yet to even be considered by N C State but he just might be a great pick for the Fighting Camels.

N C State has called  for the Board Of Trustees to meet at 4:30 Wednesday afternoon to discuss a football matter.  Lord have mercy has Debbie Yow got a coach already?

Five Star Over Three Star

Just a couple of weeks ago while eating dinner at one of my favorite places ran into a parent who was telling me about her five star student.  I was amazed to here that her son who had made a 98 on a recent test had asked to retake it to get a higher score.  He did by the way make a 100 the next time. When I was in school as a three star student if I got 85 or better I knew I was getting about all I could get.

Debbie Yow dismissed Tom O'Brien as the head football coach of N C State on Sunday and reading between the lines she feels that State can get it's share of five star athletes who call North Carolina their home instead of watching them go out of State.  Tom O'Brien liked to recruit three stars athletes and try to mold them into fours and fives.

A five star athlete most of the time can run a forty yard dash in say 4.3 seconds. When he is having a bad day he may drop down to a 4.45.  A three star athlete just might run a 4.5 on his very best day and then on those days his  body can't get 100% he runs a 4.7.  On his worse day a five star still is better than a three star at his best.  That equates just like that five star student  bad day makes a 98 while a great day for me was above 85.

That just might explain  why N C State could beat a Florida State once in a while and turn right around and lose to Virginia the next.  The threshold of the average players is not as high as those that are great.  This might also explain why the ACC got drubbed this weekend by the SEC in every football game they played against each other.

Boston College is looking a new coach and Wake Forest has a news conference at 6pm so something is up there.  All of this talk about conference realignment and who can pay for this coach and that State is looking for a football coach early but will they have the same problem finding a coach like they did in basketball when all the big names went else where. 

What we have found out is graduating all of your senior class doesn't mean as much as 1,000 less season ticket holders.  Going to a bowl game is not what Joe Average University is looking for these days.  Where ever State goes to a Bowl game they will probably need to sell 25,000 tickets to break even and if only 12,000 go then the bowl game is a bust.  BCS games baby is where the money is and until Carolina and State can get there  8-4 and 7-5 is no longer a good football season.

A Lustrum To Remember

Next Saturday the Tarboro Vikings head to Winston Salem where they will attempt to win their fourth straight 2-A State Championship.  There is no way if you are a Tarboro Viking fan that you could ever expect that there to ever be a five year period as great as the past five. 

But do you remember that five years ago Jeff Craddock was on the hot seat.  The previous four years Tarboro had a record of just 24-22.  They had not in the previous fours scored 300 points in any one season.  In one short Lustrum Jeff Craddock has gone from hot seat to the Pent House as he is now the greatest coach in Tarboro High School history.

The Vikings will attempt Saturday to win their fourth straight State Title.  They will be shooting for their 23rd straight win.  Since the beginning of the 2008 football season Tarboro has won 72 football games and lost only five. They have not lost a home football game since September 21st 2007 when they lost to SouthWest Edgecombe 28-14. Their home winning streak has reach 44 straight games, the last two in 2007 and all 42 during this five year run to greatness.  The Vikings are 27-3 on the road during this stretch.  So far 3-1 on neutral fields where the state championships are played.  Saturday will be their 25th playoff game in five years and right now they are 23-1 just in playoff games.  25 games that is an extra two and half years of extra games added to the schedule.

They lost two years in a row to SouthWest once the Cougars returned to 2-A.  2008 the Cougars won a non-conference game and the next season Tarboro returned back to SWE and lost again in a conference game..  Two of their five losses have come from their top rival SWE.  Kinston put 54 on the Vikings in 2011 so during this five year run the Vikings are 28-2 in conference games.  Nash Central gave the Vikes their fourth loss in 2011.  The fifth loss was the State Championship game to Newton-Conover  in 2008.

Out of no where the Tarboro T has exploded during this five year run and the worse of the five they still scored 496 points  in 2009.  That's more than 200 more points than any year from 2004-2007. Should the Vikings score nine points Saturday they will hit the 600 mark for the second time in five years.

There is no doubt that Tarboro is a football town.  Over the years as other football towns have lost their identity  with County schools Tarboro is still Tarboro High.  The purple and gold reins in the city.  There are many in Tarboro and Edgecombe county out of work  but there is one thing they can say.  They sure do know how to play football in Tarboro.

Gryphons Dominant Knightdale Tournament

Last season the Lady gryphons made it all the way to the East Regional Final and the boys were the state champs.  Both have begun the 2012-13 high school basketball season taking the titles at the Knightdale 2012 Tipoff Tournament.

The Lady Gryphons won Friday night over 4-A Raleigh Enloe and tonight took on the home standing Knightdale team and for three quarters this game was up for grabs.  The Lady Gryphons finally took charge in the fourth quarter to win the championship 48-40.

Having won the most outstanding performer in the 3-A State Championship game Junior Donte Battle returns to lead the Gryphon boys who last night took down East Chapel Hill behind 34 points from Battle.  Tonight against the home team Knightdale the Gryphons shot off to a 10-0 lead but before either team got 20 Knightdale had taken the lead.
 
  Rocky Mount dominated the boards winning that battle 40 to 21.  Jaquel Bryant lead the rebounding getting 13 while Battle pulled down 11.    Rocky Mount also won the turnover game making 24 while the Gryphon defense could only cause 17.  Miss handling of the basketball kept this one within reach for a while until the Gryphons put it away early in the fourth quarter.  The biggest lead of the game came on a Knightdale turnover in which Brodrick Caudle was heading in for a snowbird layup but instead laid the ball off the top part of the backboard and Donte Battle flushed home a slam dunk to give the Gryphons a 16 point lead with four minutes to go. 

Donte Battle lead the Gryphon scoring with 23, Mason Hines 15, M J Gainey 14 and Jaquel Bryant had 11 giving the Gryphons four double digit scorers.     Final Gryphons 82- Knightdale 68

North Carolina finishes their 2012 football season beating Maryland to give Larry Fedora an eight win season in his first year in Chapel Hill.  N C State finished it's regular season with a 27-10 win over BC.  The Pack 7-5 waits now on where it will go bowling.  Heard this on the pregame show when asked about his 16 seniors playing their last game Tom O'Brien lamented that all 16 will graduate.  Two already are in graduate school 12 will graduate in December and the last two in May.  Despite how fans feel about wins and losses it would be hard to fire a coach who is graduating his team.  This senior class was Tom O'Brien's first fully recruited class at N C State.