Lady Gryphons Come To Play

There are those times in sports when you practice to play a certain way and when you go out on the field of play and all the pieces fall in place and you wind up looking like the greatest team ever.  It  happened tonight for Rocky Mount.  I heard comments like "this is the best that we have played all year". 

The Lady GryphonS started this season when they were 6-0 in conference play they forgot what made them 6-0.  They played flat footed and Hunt sent them to their first loss.  Spinning having lost a 26 game conference win streak Fike took the Lady Gryphons to the wood shed two days later.  Last Thursday at Northern playing for the conference regular season crown they played better but were beaten by a better team.  Tuesday's semi final game against Hunt that old Gryphon team showed up but if it wasn't for that old team showing up they never would have outlasted Hunt to make it back to Northern.

Playing with speed and aggression the Lady Gryphons take out Northern Nash 25-19,25-19, 25-22 to win 3-0 and win the Tournament title.  They now open the 3-A State Playoffs Thursday at Rocky Mount against either White Oak or Jacksonville.

The score was not the only thing to sting the Lady Knights as Deja Lewis fell in the middle of the third game and had to be taken to the hospital.  Her ability to play in the opening round is highly questionable for the Lady Knights Now.  The good news for Northern other than having to lose to their hated rival they still sit as the #1 seed and will play a home game next week.

Got to the JV football game tonight and when Rocky Mount came on the field it was half empty on their side of the fifty yard line.  Several JV players have been called to duty on the varsity as in the last three weeks the football has lost four players to injuries and are out for the year.  Several more will not play at Fike Friday due to injuries keeping them on the sidelines.  Seems as if "Hawkeye" Pierce and the 4077th Mash Unit is getting a workout on the Gryphon football team.

Fike beat the Little Gryphons 21-12.

There is not a bad game to be played anywhere in the Big East Friday night.  Rocky Mount is at Fike.  Nash Central at Northern Nash and Southern Nash travels to Hunt.  I think at least one of the unbeatens falls Friday.

It's Rocky Mount -Northern

Tonight neither team can improve their standing position in the state playoffs which begin on October 22nd.  Rocky Mount travels to Northern to play another championship game as the top two teams in the Big East collide for the Conference tournament Championship.   Northern hopes the results are the same as last week and they can take both the regular season and tournament titles.

Regardless of the outcome Northern will host the #3 team from the Coastal conference and by reputation alone the Coastal is the best conference in Volleyball east of I-95.  Second place has Rocky Mount hosting the #4 seed from the Eastern Carolina conference an since Rocky Mount has been ousted the last two years by lower seeds from the Coastal  last year the first round and in  the second round the year before they seem to have gotten a break in the opening round.

Friday night high school football begins to get  serious now as all three games Friday have playoff implications.  Rocky Mount having  already gotten Nash Central and Hunt off their schedule a month ago was thinking they had a chance for a win at Fike but lo and behold  Fike has proven they are getting better every week having knocked off one of the big boys in Southern Nash  and scared the heck out of Nash Central.  They are 1-1 and Rocky Mount has now loss three in a row even though those losses were Rose, Nash Central and Hunt.

Though they have lost only once Nash Central's two victories have come again Rocky Mount and Fike and both were tagged as second division when the coaches voted in preseason.  They walk over to Northern Nash  and face a team that has not found out that both sides of the ball are required in winning.  Their defense is the best in the league and their offense is the worst.  Despite all of that don't count Northern out Friday night for if they catch Nash Central looking to the Hunt game next week there may be an upset brewing.

Now for the biggie of the week Hunt hosting Southern Nash.  This game could easily be 35-34.  Southern has proven all year that they like to put the ball on the ground and you can bet Hunt will gladly take a couple of turnovers deep in Southern territory.  The key to this game is keeping the hold of the ball.  If Southern holds on to the ball they can win this one but if they don't Hunt would love to get a lead and pound- pound -pound in the second half.  My guess on this one will be who has the most turnovers will be the loser.

There is not a cupcake to be found this Friday night as the Big East hits the halfway point and will there be any team that still hasn't won a conference game after Friday?

VolleyBall Tournament Title Set

Tonight's semi finals of the Big East Volleyball Tournament was Wilson County versus Nash County on the floor of the Nash County schools and when all the points were added up the two Nash County Schools will collide Thursday for the title.

Top Tournament seed Northern Nash disposed of Fike who had earned their trip to the semis after beating Nash Central last night.  Northern played like the top seed and won 3-0.  All they then needed to do was know who would they play and the answer to that question was in doubt until the end of the fifth game.  You know if Rocky Mount and Hunt are playing volleyball against each other they are playing five sets.

Hunt the number three seed dominated the  net in the first two games as their tall front line blocked all attempts by Rocky Mount at the net and when they had the opportunity they had kills of their own to take command 2-0.

Rocky Mount survived the third game to get it to game four and by game four the taller Hunt players were beginning to show fatigue and those crisp kills were now being blocked by Tia Hudgins and company.  Game five saw Rocky Mount use it quickness to their advantage to win the last three games to advance to the finals against Northern Nash.

I saw all three of the Hunt/Rocky Mount VB games and the front line for Hunt has improved drastically since that 32-30 fifth game at Hunt earlier this year.  There is no doubt that Northern Nash has improved more than anyone else and their size will give Rocky Mount all they want.  Tonight Rocky Mount maybe even in the first two sets played the only way they can beat anybody and that is be athletic  but by games three, four and five their speed and athleticism  paid off.

Championship match is 6pm Thursday night at Northern Nash.

Need to give a call out the the Rocky Mount tennis team who beat Hunt Monday night to get second place in the conference standings. Only two teams from the Big East are guaranteed a playoff spot so since RM/Hunt tied they had a sudden death playoff for that second spot.  Hunt now has to wait to see if they get invited as the best of the rest when it comes to filling out the remaining slots in the playoffs.

I hope you saw the Rocky Mount Telegram I think it was on Sunday when they ran a story about Gryphon Baseball/Soccer player Sam Lilley.  The story was about his come back after being beamed by a line drive in baseball during the last regular season baseball game at Hunt.  All of us in attendance that day thought we had seen someone killed on the field in front of our eyes.

Praise the Lord for the work of the doctors as you can't even tell that Sam was ever hit.  He has shown courage already having taken the mound in baseball this fall and is a top defender on the Gryphon Soccer team.

Wednesday afternoon the Stretchlon Sports Show cameras will be at Nash Central covering soccer between NC and Northern Nash.  These two went double overtime the last time they played and played to a tie.

I got a big dilemma for Thursday night.  Got JV football PA to do at the Rocky Mount- Fike game while the VB championship will be at Northern.  I hate to say this but I'm praying for rain Thursday night.  You know VB is inside.

The Early Leader Is?

If the MVP vote in the NFL was given out after five games the run away winner this year would be Aaron Rogers of the Green Bay Packer.  Right now Green Bay is on cruise control  but man it's way too early  in the season.  Twelve more weeks until the playoffs and if the Packers don't get a boat load of injuries they are a shew in right?  To me they are playing too good to early to keep this pace up all year.  Just think of the 18-0 New England Patriots.  The season really hasn't started yet.

Florida State travels to Duke this weekend and  when has this ever happened?  The Blue Devils have a better record than  the Seminoles.  Duke is 3-2 and Florida State is 2-3 losers of three straight games.

Rocky Mount's Andrew Morales 11 games into his college soccer career is now playing on a top 25 Blue Devil team.  He has racked up the second most minutes played on the team and has 4 assists on the season.  He has taken 16 shots but not one has found the net as of yet.

It took a while but the ECU Pirates defense looks like the 2010 defense.  The Pirates have a major problem as all of a sudden they can't score and when you combine they can't  stop anybody OH BOY!

TCU has said yes to the Big 12 stopping what would have been a Big East member next year.  This surely opens the door for ECU but if I am the Pirates I would wait if the Big East comes calling until you know what Notre Dame, Rutgers and Connecticut are going to do.  Why move to the Big East if Conference USA and the Mountain West combine.  They could get the BCS qualification away from the Big East and if that was to happen what have the Pirates gained by moving?

What a difference three weeks make.  Rocky Mount soccer took it on the chin at Hunt 8-0 but last night in Rocky Mount Hunt escapes winning 3-2 over Rocky Mount.

Tonight in the gym the Rocky Mount Lady Gryphons host Hunt in the semi finals of the Big East Volleyball tournament.  First serve is set for 6pm.  The past three years these two teams have played each other fives sets six times.  Hunt beat Southern Nash in three sets to advance and in a real thriller the   #5 seed Fike came to Nash Central and beat the Lady Bulldogs in five sets to advance to the playoffs next week.  Fike now comes right back to Northern Nash tonight.

The two winners tonight collide for the title at the highest seed left Thursday night

Big East Volleyball Tournament Begins Tonight

The Big East is changing the format over other years in several conference tournaments this year as the highest seeded team will be the home team in every game.  That being said Volleyball is the first under the new format and it begins with the #3 seed Hunt Warriors hosting the #6 seed Firebirds of Southern Nash.  #4 seed Lady Bulldogs will host Fike.  Both games begin at 6pm Monday.

Monday's winners will then travel Tuesday to the #one seed Northern Nash as they host the Nash Central/Fike winner and Rocky Mount will play as the home team against the Hunt/Southern Nash Winner.  The two Tuesday winners play for the tournament title Thursday night at the home of the highest seeded team remaining after Tuesday.

You may ask what is the importance of the conference tournament.  Technically the playoffs start tonight and and the Big East has four teams in.  Tonight when Nash Central and Fike play as a 4/5 game the winner gets in the state playoffs the loser is out.  Should the #4,5 or 6 seed win the tournament Northern Nash will stay as the #1 in the playoffs and the winner of the tournament would move up to #2.  The whole purpose of the tournament is establishing seeding or holding on to what you already have.

This year the #1 Northern knows they will meet up with the #3 from the Coastal next week when the state playoffs start.  We all know the best Volleyball league in the east is the Coastal so playing the #3 from the Coastal is no gimme for Northern.  If Rocky Mount maintains the #2 seed they would face off with the #4 Eastern Carolina.  Rocky Mount of all People knows how strong the Coastal is so facing someone else beside the Coastal in the first round is a break for them.  Hunt if they stay at #3 would travel to Mid State #1 and of course the Mid State is one of those Alamance County schools.  Who ever winds up as #4 draws the #1 from the Coastal.

Rocky Mount was schedule to play this weekend at South Central's Volleyball tournament for  the Susan G Komen Foundation but it has been cancelled this year.