There Is A New Favorite Sport Coming

I have said this here on this blog before that I think in fifty years soccer will replace football as the #1 sport in America.  Those of us that say oh that will never happen just think of this.  100 years ago I bet the people that made wood matches thought that was a great business to be in.  People had wood stoves to cook and needed matches to light it.  How about the clothes pin maker.  Everybody had to hang their clothes out to dry.

Today with the invention of the Bic lighter you can't find matches in a grocery store.  They are on one shelf right beside the five packages of clothes pins as every one practically has a dryer and don't hang clothes on the line any more.

Football's violence and with insurance getting to the point that people will not be able to let their children play football because injuries will cost so much when someone has an injury.  Soccer is already a world wide sport and America is just now getting into the World Cup Scene.

I have told you before that I have two grand children that play in the CASL league in Raleigh.  The complex at the WRAL soccer complex in North Raleigh has like 40 fields and that is just one complex.  Today I was talking with Lynn Driver Rocky Mount Athletic Supervisor about what he had going on this late in the fall that we might record some shows for the Stretchlon Sports Show.

Lynn told me a statistic about participation in the Rocky Mount rec that stunned me.  He told me that the Rec department had 500 people in baseball and 700 in soccer.  This is the second year that the soccer fields have be open and already more people in soccer than baseball?  Rocky Mount is a baseball town and to already been past by soccer is astounding to me.

Rocky Mount and Nash Central will now play round three of the State Duel Tennis Championships at 4.00pm Tuesday weather permitting at Nash Central.

The Telegram on Sunday had a great article on Colt Brake and his life a year removed from his spinal injury playing football.

Today's paper had a great article on Former Rocky Mount Cross Country State Champion Nick Winkel who is now an assistant coach for Dee Davis.  Nick was an inspiration for my son Brooks who was on the cross country team as a freshman the year Nick won the State Title.  Nick was Brooks' big brother and Nick helped mold him for his love of running and now years later it helped lead him to coach long distant running at the Olympic level.

A Near Miss

Rocky Mount's boys cross country team who won every week during the conference season needed to finish fourth in the Regional at Gillette Park in Wilson and the Gryphons come up short finishing 5th.  The Big East girls had a better showing as conference Champs Fike finished second in the Regional and Nash Central 3rd both qualifying for next week's State Championships.

Every runner wants to goes out every day and wants to  run their  PB( Personal Best) and Gryphon Junior Mason Holt did that breaking the 17 minute plateau running at 16:48 which was good for third spot in the Regional.  The top four teams go to the State and then the top runners who make the top 15 who's team is not going also earn a right to run next weekend and Holt is in the State Finals.

He could be joined by teammate Paul Lilley who finished 9th.  Lilley a part time cross country runner qualified  next week running a 17:01 but he may have a conflict with Rocky Mount's soccer team may be playing their first round soccer game on Saturday.  Lilley has run cross country only during times when it did not conflict with soccer.

Southern Nash's Neopolian Patel the Big East Conference champion finished 5th to qualify next week as well as Dillion Warren of Nash Central who finished 8th.

Jentzen Jones of Fike finished second in the girls run while Micheala Williams of Nash Central was 3rd.  Also making the trip next weekend to the Cross Country Championships will be Rocky Mount's Neferti Conyers-Thigpen and Northern Nash's Lacie Piekarski .

Southern Nash's girls golf team is heading to Pinehurst today to prepared for the State Golf Championship Monday and Tuesday. Rachel Bissette, Allison Pitts, Casey Lyles and Alexis Barrett will not only be trying to win the individual title but will be playing for the team title too.  Northern Nash will be sending Khadijah Barfield and Ally Glover to play and Rocky Mount has Alli Martin taking part in the golf.

Nash Central host Rocky Mount in round three of the tennis Duels on Monday.  Start time is 4pm at Nash Central.  The Big East will have a team in the 4th round for sure.

Nash Central/Southern Nash Travel in Playoffs

It is now official  for the high school playoffs that  only Hunt has a home game in the opening round from the Big East. Hunt will host West Brunswick next Friday in the 3-AA bracket.

Nash Central second in the Big East behind Hunt will hit the road as they will travel to Gray's Creek as they are 9-1 on the season.  Should Hunt and Nash Central win their opening round games they would meet in the second round.

Southern Nash will begin the playoffs on the road at they will head to Dunn to meet Triton who carries a 9-1 record.  The only other team for the Big East to make it is Fike who will play in the 3-A bracket and they will travel  to Morehead City to play West Carteret.

Rumors abounded that Rocky Mount at 3-6-1 was going to make the 3-A playoffs but I think the committee that sets up the seeding  decided a team that hasn't won a conference conference game should not be in the playoffs.  I have no argument with that at all.  I am sure there is plenty of support from Northern Nash that Rocky Mount not get in after Northern's victory over the Gryphons last night.

Tarboro's road to the State Championship will get real tough right off the bat as they hit the road the first game traveling to East Duplin a team they place last year in the playoffs.

North Edgecombe winners in the Tar Roanoke will have a home game playing Northampton East also of the Tar Roanoke.  SouthWest Edgecombe is in as a #16 seed and their reward a trip to Kinston to play their own conference foe and champions of the Eastern Plains .

The State Championships in tennis did not end the way the Price Sisters of Nash Central dreamed.   Rain for the venue change  to go inside and doing so Randi and Kaley fell in the semi finals 6-2,6-1.  The Price sisters will rejoin their teammates Monday as they host the third round of tennis duels as they take on conference foe Rocky Mount.

Price Sisters Playing On Saturday

Four Nash Central girls headed to Burlington and one from Rocky Mount as Friday was the round of 16 and quarter final round of the 3-A girls tennis.  Rocky Mount's Mackenzie Warner the lone player taking part in the singles was ousted in her opening match by Mari Fujino of Northern Guilford by a score of 6-1-6-1

All four girls from Nash Central were playing doubles and  a #4 seed the team of Dana Kelly and Caley Bass fell in their first match to a team from Burlington Williams(Edathil-Brooks) by a score 6-3, 6-4.  Now for the #1 seeds from the East Randi and Kaley Price.  Their  opening match of the day they lost the first set to a team from Raleigh's Cardinal Gibbons High of (Knors and Freeman) by a score of 5-7.  The second set was win or the dream ends and the Price sisters were able to take the second set 6-3.  Now the big set and neither team felt like heading home so early in the day but  by game 17 the Price sisters prevailed 10-7.

The Price sisters met up with another set of sisters in the Kesslers from CharlotteCatholic who had won their first match in two straight sets.  Were the Price sisters tired after having to fight for their life to make  it to the second round?  They must not have been as they win the quarter finals in two straight games 6-4,6-0.

The Price sisters are in the final four and Saturday morning they face a team of  Brooker and Smith from Cardinal Gibbons.  Should they win they play for the Stae 3-A double title in Tennis Saturday afternoon.  YOU GO GIRLS!

Oh yeah, now the football:

Hunt was voted by the coaches the preseason favorite in the Big East and Randy Raper's squad did not let down those that voted for them.  Hunt broke a 14-14 second half tie with Fike to win the Big East Regular season championship by a 28-14 score. The Warriors finish a perfect regular season at 10-0  Now that the high school playoffs have this pod system don't be shocked that Hunt has to play Southern Nash in the opening round of the 3-AA playoffs.  They will have to win the Big East a second time as they probably will play Southern Nash and Nash Central by the end of the third round

Nash Central did all they could do beat Southern Nash 34-14 and hope for help from Fike which was not coming but the Bulldogs grab second in the Big East .  Fike's  lost to Hunt was their second in conference play but they will finish 3rd at 3-2 in the conference.  Southern Nash after scoring almost 100 points the first two games of the season finish up conference play at 2-3 and 7-3 over all.

The game that nobody cared about except the two teams that play in it.  Northern Nash double their wins on the season as the offense scored four times as the Knights beat Rocky Mount 28-0.  Northern season is probably over going 2-8 while a 3-6-1 Rocky Mount  will more than likely play somewhere next week in the 3-A and they will be joined by Fike(4-6) in the 3-A playoffs.  Hunt, Nash Central and Southern Nash will more than likely all be in 3-AA.