More Clarity Than Normal

There surely seems to be a first division and a second division in Big East Football this year. Fike and Hunt with two weeks to go have clinched championship game quarantees against each other two weeks from now even though both have one game to play between the final game of the year. That has not been the case for the past five years or so. It has come down the last game we must win in order to win championship but a loss might knock us completely out of the playoffs. it has been that tight. Fike has shown to be the best offense in the league. Their wide open spread the field offense is hard to practice since they are the only team to run that offense entirely. It's like playing Georgia Tech and the wishbone. It is the only time you see it all year and hard to defense in one week. It's hard especially as well as Fike runs it. Hunt despite losing three times in non-conference is right where they always are playing for the conference crown. No they are not as good as the past but right now who other than Fike is better? Southern Nash loses their quarterback and that means they have lost the entire backfield to injuries this year. Yet, they are in every game right down to the end. They have the best offensive and defensive lines in the league and that is keeping them in games. Rocky Mount has given up 85 point the last two games to the two big dogs of the conference. Where has the running game gone? Where has the defense gone? Just maybe against great teams the Gryphons are limited. Now that Northern has finally gotten over the hump and stopped a conference losing streak let's see if it turns into more wins. They just might have the best defense going against the best offense in Fike. This game will really tell us a lot about Northern for the remainder of the year. As far as Nash Central is concerned basketball practice starts Thursday so Bulldog fans can turn their attention to that. Yesterday ended the tennis season for the Big East as Rocky Mount lost their third round duel match at Terry Sanford 5-1.

Gryphon Tennis Heads South

Today Lady Gryphon tennis heads to Fayetteville to take on Terry Sanford in the third round of the 3-A duel championship. The sister team of Chandler and Tanner Brice lost in the semi finals on Saturday in the state doubles. The 3-A regional cross country run Saturday both the boys and girls teams from West Carteret won their regional. The Northern Nash boys and Rocky Mount girls ran well enough to qualify for Saturday's state championship. Today Allie Martin is in Pinehurst where she will take part in the 3-A girls golf championship. October 30th starts the first day for all winter sports to begin practice. As basketball season begins I would like to remind everyone that this is an even year by the end of basketball season and Rocky Mount has won the last two state titles on even years 2010 and 2012. I have not heard or seen any preseason rankings but I suspect the Gryphons will be the preseason number one in 3-A. They have most of their scoring coming back from a team that made it to the regional finals last year. Here is an update on the two Rocky Mount Gryphons playing pro baseball. Brian Goodwin is again in Arizona playing in the Arizona Fall league. According to the Washington Nationals website plans are to start Brian out in the spring on the AAA roster. Hobbs Johnson is not in Arizona as after the college baseball season and his performance in the rookie league and even once he moved up the Milwaukee Brewers are totally happy with his performance and told him to rest this winter. Hobbs is back at Caroilna trying to take more college classes. Good for you Hobbs.

You Never Know Who You Might Run Into

This past Tuesday night we headed to Buies Creek to watch Campbell and South Carolina State play Volleyball which Campbell won. While the introductions were going on I noticed a man enter from a side door and walk up to the first row of seats where one of Campbell's players dad Dwight Tart was sitting. Dwight is a former coach at Triton and this man walks up to Dwight and shakes hands and as I sit on the fourth row I'm staring at this man because he looks awful familiar. This man sits with Dwight an I am thinking about who this guys is more than I am focused on the team introductions. Halfway through the first game I notice this lady comes through the same door that the gentleman had. As soon as I saw her I said to my wife Pat that's Jane Burke. Jane is the former principal of Hertford County High school and Superintendant of both Hertford County and Roanoke Rapids City schools. She goes and sits right down beside that gentleman who I am trying to figure out who he is. I look at Pat and say I know that's Jane Burke but I'm trying to figure why she would be at a Campbell Volleyball game. The more I thought then it struck me. She was sitting beside her Husband Bob who was the basketball coach at Chowan during their Junior College Heyday. Bob who now is totally gray not that pitch black hair of twenty years ago. From three rows behind them I say out loud Jane Burke and she turned around an saw both Pat an myself. Bob turns to see who is talking with his wife and lord it is old home week for the rest of the volleyball game. Don't you just hate to go to a ball game and people near you never watch the game because they are talking about something else the whole game. I know Dwight was annoyed as he is trying to watch his daughter play and by now I have hugged Jane and now sitting beside Bob who is beside Dwight and Bob has a million stories to tell Dwight about me being his radio play by play man at Chowan. Jane and Pat have moved down on the front row and they are having their own old home week while Bob and I talk about the past. All I know about the game is Campbell won. I didn't see any of it. Bob Burke is the winningest basketball coach in Chowan History. He left Chowan to be an assistant coach at Hawaii. They then moved to Portland to scout for the Portland Trail Blazers and while a scout there one of his former players Nate McMillan of Chowan College and N C State becomes the head coach and hires Bob as an assistant. After Portland it is retirement to Wilson where Jane's mother and sister live. Coming home from the game all Pat and I talked the whole way about how odd it was that we would run into people at Campbell that we have never run into living 20 miles a part. You bet we made plans to go to dinner and and resume friendships long lost. By the way Both Jane and Bob both graduated from Campbell. They went to Campbell as they have a granddaughter who is a junior in high school that plays volleyball and they came to scout whether to try to convince her to come to Campbell. Bob told Dwight the story last night of the first time he met the late great John Wooten. Wooten way back in the fifties and sixties had a basketball camp at Campbell in Carter gym and Bob as a player was helping with the camp. Bob was told when to be there and he would be helping Johnny Wooten. Bob is from Queens New York and back in the sixies for a New Yorker the NIT was a bigger basketball tournament than the NCAA. Bob has no idea who Wooten is so on the first day of the camp here is this Campbell basketball player walking in the gym and he walks up to this man mopping the floor and say do you know where Johnnie Wooten is. The man looks at Burke and says thats me. I can't tell you in mixed company what Bob said but he says to Dwight that the man who won 10 national Championships was in Buies Creek mopping the floor. If I have one disappointment in my life is the fact that over the years and this includes high school that there are so many people important to you and yet we lose contact with them and we only have the memories. Like the Bible says you have 99 sheep and lose one. When the sheep returns you rejoice. Today the Doughtie household is rejoicing with the return of old friends.

Brice Sister Make Final Four In Tennis

The Rocky Mount High sister team of Chandler (Sophomore) and Tanner (Senior) have advanced to the semi finals of the state doubles tennis championships in Burlington. They beat a team from East Gaston 6-4-6-3 to advance to the quarter finals beating a team from Terry Sanford 7-1 retired. They start in the semi's at 10am this morning having to play a team from Cardinal Gibbons who you know from the past I am against Gibbons being allowed to play in public school championships. The Gryphon team of Fike/Thompson lost in the opening match of the doubles competition. Kaley Price of Nash Central was knocked out of the fray in her opening singles match while Hunt's Taylor Love won her opening match but did not survive the afternoon match. This morning ar Red Oak Middle school the Regional 3-A Cross Country championships will be held with several local teams and indivuals hoping for spots at next week's state championship. Fike and Hunt have seperated themselves from the pack with big wins last night in Big East football and by doing so in two weeks the winner of the Hunt-Fike game will win the Big East title. Fike clubbed Rocky Mount 37-13 while Hunt took care of business against Southern Nash 23-13. Fike and Hunt are the only unbeaten teams in the conference while Northern, Southern and Rocky Mount all have two conference losses and can't catch both by the end of the season. Rocky Mount found themselves down 14-0 in the first quarter and 24-0 at the half and never recovered against the Golden Demons. Since Halftime of the Hunt game last week in six quarters Rocky Mount has given up 71 points. Hunt found themselves trailing early but played Hunt football and pulled away from Southern Nash. In order for Hunt and Fike to head into the final game of the season unbeaten in conference they have Northern Nash and Nash Central to contend with next week. Northern Nash dominated Nash Central in picking up their first conference win of the season 21-0 at Nash Central. Nothing seems to be working for the Bulldogs but Northern sits in a position to grab third by seasons end but they have Fike and Rocky Mount to end the regular season. Tarboro got probably their toughest conference test of the season last night and the final was 48-0 Vikings. North Edgecombe was plastered by Northampton County 52-14 while SouthWest Edgecombe knew going into last night's game that they were playing a resurgent Farmville Central team. Farmville took the Cougars hope of winning the conference title away beating the Cougars 21-7. Rocky Mount Academy ended their regular season last night pounding Cary Academy 52-6. Seedings for the private school playoffs could be known today.

State Tennis Titles up For Grabs

This morning at 9am at the Burlington Tennis Center local Big East players get their shot at state tennis titles. In the singles Kaley Price of Nash Central who has been in the semi's before with her sister tries it on her own in singles as she will meet Adrienne Hayes of Asheville in the quarter finals. Hunt's Taylor Love tangles with Forestview's Kaelan Forbes. The doubles team from Rocky Mount will send their top two teams as the sister act of Chandler and Tanner Price get going in their top 8 match against a team from East Gaston. The doubles team of Eliza Fike and Mary Blair Thompson open their chance against a team from Weddington. Winners will play semi final matches Friday afternoon and if they win that round they have two more rounds Saturday to be State Champions. Yesterday in the second round of the State Volleyball playoffs Northern Nash made the three hour and ten minute bus ride to Topsail and lost a tough five set match losing the last game 25-20. We are over the hump in college football and most teams begin this weekend with the back side of their football schedule. Some still have a shot at conference crowns and a few still looking to go Bowling but for most North Carolina football teams the end of the regular season will end football for 2013. I was 8-0 on the college picks last weekend jumping my record to 46-16. Hope I am that good this week. Wake Forest at Miami: Wake is playing better football but with the news that Miami didn't get the death penalty from the NCAA and can play in a bowl game this year I think that will spur the U on. Miami 35 Wake 24. N C State at Florida State: The Pack gets their starting quarterback back who looked great in the one quarter he has played this year. The Pack needs to hope for a major letdown if they have any chance. This could be awful or entertaining FSU 46 Pack 26 Boston College at North Carolina: This is a match up of the two surprise teams in the league. BC is better than anyone could imagine and Carolina is worse than anyone could figure. I think Carolina gets this one but barely. Tar Heels 28 BC 23 Pitt travels to Navy where Duke was recently. Pitt wins 35-20 Virginia Tech at Duke: Now here is the interesting game of the week. VT defense is outstanding but Duke's offense isn't bad. If Duke could find enough defense to hold the Gobblers to under 20 they might have a shot. VT 31 Duke 24 Georgia Tech at Virginia: If The Rambling Wreck fumbles a lot it is close one but if they don't cruise control on a convertible. GT 35 Virginia 13 Clemson at Maryland: Ok both of these teams were exposed by FSU. I think this one will be either Clemson bubble bleeds for another Saturday or they act like a grown up and pop Maryland. Clemson will be mad 46 Maryland 21. Finally NC Wesylean at Huntingdon: The Battling Bishops need a win badly as they travel to Montgomery Ala to meet the Hawks. Looks to me in the matchups it Huntington 35-16.

Put Up Or Shut Up Time

Last week during the high school pick I missed only one and that was the Hunt Rocky Mount game. Somewhere along the way I left off my pick of North Edgecombe and Riverside-Martin but if I had of picked it I would have missed it after the Warriors got scalped. Heading into this week I am now 57-10 on the year. There are two unbeaten teams in the Big East and both will be playing the only two teams with one conference loss. Fike host Rocky Mount and Hunt host Southern Nash. As for Rocky Mount and Southern Nash you might as well call this their championship games because if they lose there in no chance of winning the conference championship. If either or both win then there is a mad scramble with two weeks to go. Rocky Mount at Fike: This will be an interesting week to see the come back ability of the Gryphons after a poor second half against Hunt. I am still not quite sold that Fike is the cream of the crop in the Big East. Fike with their spread offense seems to catch everyone off guard with their attack early but have to hold on in the second half. The speed of Fike's offense against the speed of Rocky Mount's defense. I'm picking Fike in a close one 28-24. Southern Nash goes to Hunt and you can see that Hunt is each week getting better all along. Southern is still hampered with running back injuries. The Firebirds have given Hunt the best games of everyone in the Big East since the Warriors joined the the league. I think the Birds injury list is too long to make a difference this year. Hunt 21 Southern Nash 16. Northern Nash at Nash Central. Northern is right there on the cusp. One itty bitty hill to climb over. Nash Central is no where near any cusp, yet the Bulldog defense can give the Knights plenty of trouble. The question in this one is can the Bulldogs score enough to win. I say no Northern Nash 14 Nash Central 7. Tarboro just might get the best test Friday that they are going to get during the rest of the regular season. Riverside Martin the team that slapped North Edgecombe rather hard last week. I think Riverside will find it hard to slap a team they can't catch. Tarboro 38 Riverside 7. North Edgecombe travels to Northampton County to play a decent team. If you match up the teams that both had played it would indicate to me that Northampton wins 26-14 SouthWest Edgecombe travels to Farmville Central and this could be a really tricky game for the Cougars. Farmville is as good as they have been in several years and the Cougars coming off a defeat to Washington who looks to be maybe the cream of the crop in that conference. I know Beddingfield still has a say. The Cougars can't afford to lose this one but it is close. SWE 26 Farmville 21.

Gryphon Tennis Cruises

Rocky Mount High school tennis team traveled to Triton on Tuesday for the second round of the Tennis Playoff duels and the Lady Gryphons blast the previously unbeaten Hawks 6-0. That of course means each Lady Gryphon won their singles match and due to the fact that Rocky Mount has already clinched victory there was no need for the three doubles matches. The Lady Gryphons 18-2 will travel in the third round to Terry Sanford 12-0 next week. What did you expect, the NCAA investiagation into the corruption of Miami University was halted when evidence was presented that in order to find out what was going on at the U the NCAA did improper actions in order to dig up the dirt they found on Miami The U will lose 3 scholarships a year for three years which is a tap on the wrist at best. Former basketball coach Frank Haith will be suspended for five games as he is now the basketball coach at Missouri. Basketball will also lose one scholarship per year for three years. Somewhere along the way the NCAA has lost perspective on how to deal out punishment. Teams five years after the infraction are punished for what others ahead of them created. The NCAA has to suspend coaches or any person in a program who knowingly violates the rules must be suspended for at least a year for their first violation and for life if it happens again. Haith getting punished now at Missouri punishes Missouri more than Haith. The NCAA must find a way to move faster whenever violations are reported. It should not take three years to report whether a booster gave money to an athlete or not. When the findings comes out that a booster gave money he should be banned from all college facilities for life.Until the NCAA sticks some power in the action people will continue to cheat when they know not much is going to happen to me. If coaches or University officials are involved they must be put out of business for a year and any other violation banned for life. After the way the NCAA screwed up the orginal Miami investigation and since Miami already served a self imposed ban on bowl games the NCAA needed to do something but as we all say when fussing with referees about calls they make. For the NCAA this was a make-up call. Not that long ago we were digging the grave of Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe. One of the great things that coaches love is to see players and teams mature right in front of their eyes.Guess it is life watching your child grow up. We all have a good feeling when we see what we have been trying to create in a child or a team finally starts showing. Wake Forest has the right coach for the program what they want to have. They are not going to get five star recruits to play for them but they get plenty of intelligent three stars players who know how to play as a team. We were all putting Grobe to pasture in early September and right now Wake might be the best team in North Carolina. Duke is one win away from going to their second Bowl Game in a row. I know that the last 40 years Duke football has been on skid row but back in their heyday they never went to a bowl game back to back. Coach Cut has changed the culture in Durham.