Big East Faces Tough Night

If the weather cooperates with Rocky Mount Friday night there is potential to have an extremely large crowd. Rocky Mount is the only Big East team that plays at home.

What a game to have to recover from your first loss of the season hosting the Cougars of Southwest Edgecombe. A loss Friday would make the Gryphons 2-2. That will not mean they are a bad team just that they have played two awesome teams back to back. I think it will be close but the Cougars prevail 22-14

Hunt who really has the most to prove Friday night after they were taken to the cleaners by Southwest travels to cross county rival Beddingfield . Hunt gets back on track but not by much 28-20

Fike travels to C B Aycock. There are not many opportunity for wins on the Golden Demons schedule the rest of the season. They will take advantage winning 20-7.

Northern tries to get a W with a visit to South Johnston. Not this week at the oh for the season continues for another week. South Johnston 28 Northern 6

Thus far the Firebirds of Southern Nash have won four games without a loss. They are the only Big East team that can say that, but not after Friday 28-22 South Granville.

Nash Central has had two weeks to come up with a new game plan. They travel to Bertie which is never a good place to play whether they are good or not. The bulldogs come close but the Falcons sneak one out 28-26.

I told you yesterday of the best laid plans of both Tennis and Volleyball traveling together to save on expenses. When one team plays inside and the other outside, one can play in the rain and tennis stayed home. They play at 4.00pm Friday at Southern. Soccer was also washed out at franklinton but no make up date is yet made.

Volley ball did manage to beat Southern in Volley ball to go to 4-0 in conference play. It was a five set match. It was their 10th win in eleven tries.

Coverage of SWE and Rocky Mount football begins at 7.00pm on am 1390. I think if the weather is near anything like today the game will be played.

Time To Play Southwest

I had to chuckle tonight when I looked at the weather forecast for the next seven days. Rain! That must mean that it is time to play Southwest Edgecombe.

The last four years each Friday night during the Southwest game they have been postponed to Monday of the next week. Those of you that recall, there was an effort to make the game happen in a different week twice. It wasn't because of the rain but because it was the first conference game. It was felt that since SWE and Rocky Mount were the best teams in the conference they needed to change the schedule so it wasn't the first conference game in 2007 and 2008 but they still got rained out.

Let's think about this, in 2005 moved to Monday. Rocky Mount won 21-7. 2006 moved to Monday at Southwest Edgecombe and the Cougars won 20-16. 2007 back to Rocky Mount and maybe one of those all time great games as Rocky Mount beat SWE 15-12 when Brian Goodwin caused a fumble on the five yard line late in the game. Of Course last year no way we will get rained out again 7-0 Rocky Mount on a Monday.

Looking at the weather forecast Friday rain is expected but for the next seven days Friday is the best day of the next seven to play. If I were a betting man I think we will not play Friday. It is just no way. We don't know how to play Southwest on a Friday.

Boys soccer adds another victim, they were a 4-1 winners over Eastern Wayne early in the week. In what has become the title match in girls tennis Fike beat our girls 7-2 to give tennis their first conference lost.

I found out tonight that volley ball is 9-1 instead of 8-2. They won last week at Southwest when I had heard they lost. That night Morgan had a Tar River event so she did not go to Volley ball.

In what might be a sign of the future in high school sports. Thursday Volleyball and Tennis play at Southern Nash. They will ride on the same bus to the match to save on having to send two buses there. In the future that might not be a bad idea that all sports play at one sight on the same day.

Finally tonight, if you didn't see the special TV program on Hurricane Floyd on channel five you need to go on line to WRAL.Com and view it. Bill Leslie host the show and some of it is filmed in Rocky Mount and it shows what we went through ten years ago today. Worth watching! Go to the story about Hurricane Floyd and when the story comes up click on Floyd Documentary. It is twenty one minutes long but well worth the sit through.

Injuries Mount

This young Gryphon football is not a bad team at all. Yes, they are young and inexperienced. Whenever you are having growing pains the one thing you can't stand to happen is injuries. We are already inexperienced enough and the replacement for the injured has less than the persons who are sidelined.

Sometimes injuries are a blessing in disguise. If they happen early enough and before the season is over some of those injured come back and those that played while they were out improve. The best example of that was the 83' State basketball team when Derrick Whittenberg broke his foot midway through the season and he got back just in time for the tournament and all those who had filled in for him played bigger roles in the playoffs leading to a National championship.

Time will tell with this Gryphon football teams health.

Volley ball moves to 3-0 in conference play as they take Fike 3-0 tonight in the Gryphon Gym. They are now 8-2 and travel to Southern Thursday to meet the Firebirds again for the second time. Thye beat Southern in the County Tournament earlier this year in four sets.

If you lasted until 2.00am this morning then you had the pleasure to watch the two most clutch quarterbacks in the NFL do their thing last night.

Despite not liking New England you have to give Tom Brady his due. It seemed to me he short armed a lot of throws last night not stepping into his throws because of his knee. But, when the game was on the line he way money.

During the Charger game in the third quarter they lost two linemen to help protect Philip Rivers. They looked like they had not practiced all year. In the last seven minutes River took the Chargers down the field twice with an assortment of flips, side arm passes and on the money throws. During his three plus years as a starter in the NFL Rivers has the best quarterback rating in the fourth quarter almost 115. Last night was also his tenth comeback win in forty nine starts.

Too bad the Panthers don't have him as their QB.

Volley Ball Falls

So far this fall season the athletic teams of Rocky Mount high are doing extremely well. Today was not a good day for Volley ball as they fell in non-conference action to South Central. This drops their overall record to 7-2 and 2-0 on conference action. Volley ball has a conference match at home Tuesday against Fike.

We haven't spoken too much about girls tennis so far but they are 7-2 on the season and also are 2-0 in conference play.

The team that is on fire right now is Soccer. Through ten matches they are unbeaten at 8-0-2. They are playing tonight at Eastern Wayne. They don't begin their conference play until next Monday.

I was unable to get to football practice today to get a feel of how the team is responding after getting whacked at Hertford County. Will try to get an injury report.

Sunday's NFL action saw Drew Brees who could be the best passing quarterback in the NFL throw six touchdown passes. It also saw the biggest motor mouth of the off season Jay Cutler throw four picks Both of those stats lead the NFL in week one going into Monday night's double header.

Brees could very well be the Sonny Jergenson of the 60's or the Dan Marino of the 90's. A lot of yards but no championships.

Need to take a nap. Chargers and Philip Rivers don't come on the tube until 10.15 which means it will be after one am before the game is over. 5.15am comes early at my house.

Panthers Declawed

Is it me or does Jake Delhomme look like he's 40 years old or what. His last two games at Bank of America Stadium he has thrown nine interceptions.

The Carolina Panthers have never had back to back winning seasons in their brief history. The way they played today don't count on this being the first time to have back to back winning seasons.

What in the world is Donavan McNabb doing running with the ball ahead by 21 in the second half?

If Brett Farve only throws the ball 20 times a game like today the Vikings will win the Super Bowl.

You had better look out for the Forty Niners. Kind of reminds me of Tom Coughlin in New York. Do you remember the team almost revolted because practice was too tough.? When they finally bought in they won a Super Bowl.

Mike Singletary pulled his britches down in one practice to prove a point. I bet they make the playoffs this year.

If you pull for N C State then you got a chance to see Mike Glennon throw a few in State's win over Murray State. If Russell Wilson goes down State will be in good hands. I saw a couple of throws last night that no State quarterback has made since 17 played there. For you non Wolfpack Fans that's Philip Rivers.

There are just some people that it is hard to pull for them. I like Notre Dame but I find it hard to pull for their coach.

Jay Cutler is my most hated NFL Player. He is cocky, arrogant, and in the clutch a loser. I just don't know why the media loves him so much.

The injury report will have some new names for Rocky Mount next week. I'll fill you in tomorrow.

I picked Southwest to beat Hunt but not by 34. The only undefeated team left in the Big East is Southern Nash. They have not been 4-0 since 1990.

I understand Southwest fans are already in line to get into the game Friday night with Rocky Mount. I know it is only Sunday night but I think you had better start thinking of being at the game by 6.30.

Don't give up on the Gryphons yet.

If you pull for Northern they need your support more than ever. The players for Northern are giving it all they have. They need for a lucky play to go their way and you had better look out when it happens.

Big Four Wins.

We will have to go back into the history books to see the last time all four of the ACC's North Carolina teams won on the same Saturday.

Wake won it's first game of year by beating Stanford in an ACC-Pac-10 show down. Wake down 17-3 shuts out Stanford in the second half to win 24-17.

Duke went up the Hudson River in one of those special places to play football at Army and comes back down the river winning 35-19. It's their first win of the season.

North Carolina uses a holding penalty in the end zone by Connecticut with a minute to play to fly past U Conn 12-10. Can't wait to hear from you Carolina fans at what a great job Butch Davis is doing. Carolina is now 2-0

North Carolina State failed to get a touchdown last week against South Carolina but score twice in the first four minutes against Murray State. 65-7 was the final. The Wolfpack defense has only given up 14 points so far this year.

Terrell Hudgins makes 11 grabs Saturday and scored a touchdown to go along with 134 yards receiving as Elon goes to 2-0 as they beat a church team Presbyterian 49-0.

Stephan Virgil sat out today a Virginia Tech. He got hurt with 29 seconds to play in the Bama game and I guess he missed today from that injury.

ECU who got a scare from App State last week as the Mountaineers came back in the second half, today ECU is shut out in the second half and lost at West Virginia 35-20.

There are those who will tell you that they love watching games on TV and they don't have to worry about traffic and the ride home. There is so much at a football game that TV never shows.

I went to the NC State game tonight and today was armed forces day. From the parachute team who landed on the field to a half time show saluting the our service men with an American flag covering the entire field there is something about being at college football games. Whether you have season tickets or go when you can college football games are a lot more than what the TV shows you.

Gryphons Get Gryphoned By The Bears

How many times in the last five years has a defensive player for the other team think they have made a play and Rocky Mount would get twenty yards or seventy five yards.

Tonight Gryphon football got a taste of their own medicine as Hertford County made the big plays when it looked as if Rocky Mount had made a stop.

What did this game mean to Hertford County? With less than a minute to play HC Coach Scott Privott got a gatorade bath from his players. This is only the fourth game of the season and no trophies were given out Friday night, but Hertford County ended a five game losing streak to the Gryphons when in all five of those loses HC thought they could win even though in some cases the scores were routs.

Talk about making big plays Hertford County picks a Gryphon fumble out of the air on the one yard line and rumbles seventy yard.

A bad snap from center on a extra point results in a two point pass play for the Bears.

As time is running out in the half Rocky Mount deflects a pass in the end zone caught by the intended receiver as he laid on the ground.

I can't count the times the Gryphon defense had HC in 3rd and twelve and they got a first down.

Tonight Hertford County made the plays and Rocky Mount paid the price.

If you look back over the years Rocky Mount has had a tough time defensing a scat back quarter back and tonight Rocky Mount had no answer for Antonio Vaughn who by the way got a hundred yards against us last year.

HC rushed for 268 yards and I would suspect most of that came on third down. Rocky Mount was held to 161 rushing but I bet they had several running plays that lost ten yards or more.

Collins Cuthrell passed for 102 yards on 9-17 passing but he was pressured all night in fact he had to make a throw left handed on one pass which he completed.

Too much Hertford County as the Bears whip Rocky Mount 41-21.

In other local action Northern Nash loses another close game 13-7 to South Central. Tarboro took it easy on North Edgecombe winning 46-6. Hunt also drops from the unbeaten ranks getting ripped by Southwest Edgecombe 42-8. Beddingfield beat Fike 27-7.

The only conference member to win was Southern Nash a 21-16 winner over Roanoke Rapids. I don't want to burst any Southern Nash fans bubble but that is not a good score for Southern. Southern is now 4-0.

Good news for Nash Central fans they did not play tonight. Almost all that did play wish they didn't as the Big East goes one win and four losses. Tough night to be from Nash County