Vikes Scrimmage Gryphons

Last Night the two teams that played in the Eastern finals at home last year in the playoffs, squared off in Tarboro in the first contact of the season hitting someone other than a person in the same uniform.

Tarboro was the host team in the 2-A Eastern Finals and Rocky Mount hosted the 3-A Eastern Finals. Tarboro lived to play one more week in the State championship 2-a game.

We are only at the point in practice time where you had to have so many practices in order to play last night. The Gryphons had six potential starters who didn't suit up last night because of practice time. I am sure Tarboro had the same problem.

Tarboro showed the home fans that a back to the State Championship game is possible while Rocky Mount had moments of brilliance's and moments of this is a rebuilding year.

Marquavis Alston, Jordan Ford the two returning thousand yard rushers for the Gryphons gave fans hope that they may repeat for the first time ever having two backs on the same team getting a thousand yards a piece.

Collins Cuthrell Gryphon returning quarterback found that the deep ball without Keith Strickland may not be as easy this year but tight End Spencer Bell may be his favorite target across the middle.

Glad to see Spencer is out of that face mask that he had to wear during Junior legion. Spencer and teammate Chris Pittman collided during the last week of high school baseball season and Spencer had to wear a device over his nose to make sure it healed properly in order to be ready to play football. I hear Spencer had six catches last night.

The offensive line is a work in progress. Defense was better than expected but mighty young in the secondary.

Gryphons will work on mistakes Thursday and Friday and try again on Saturday at Kinston.

The Big East 3-a coaches voted in their coaches meeting this week at Hunt High school and the Gryphons were picked to finish first. Newest member Hunt was second and a major surprise Southern Nash was third.

Got word last night from Randy Langley big Northern Nash supporter that the booster club cooked over three hundred hamburgers for the team Wednesday night. Northern was suppose to play D H Conley in a scrimmage last night and the booster club was feeding both teams after it was over. If they cooked three hundred for Northern Nash's players, how many would they have cooked if both team had of been there? Conley pulled out on Northern earlier this week.

Don't forget Sunday night at 8.00pm the four football coaches of our area high schools will talk football on WHIG-TV.

I will be out of town the next couple of days as I am taking advantage of the last free weekend before football cranks up. Heading to Ocean Isle. Our plans are Friday to go back to Southport where we went about three weekends ago and sit in those swings on the Cape Fear River in downtown Southport.

I know you can tell it doesn't take much to keep me happy.

Sunday Night Football Show

I have been trying for about a week now to make contact with Coach Mickey Crouch at Northern Nash in order to invite him to be part of a preseason coaches show on the " Stretchlon Sports Show" this Sunday night. We have played phone tag and yesterday I went by practice at Northern to seal the deal.

There is no telling how many times just this summer that I have driven through the parking lot at Northern to go do PA at the American Legion games. I had no idea that Northern's practice field was tucked away in the woods just beyond the football stadium.

I really like it being the way it is because it is really private. Out of the way so to speak.

This Sunday night we will have coach Crouch on live from 8.00-8.22pm. He still has a home in Myrtle Beach which he is trying to sell and if he is back in time he will be live with me in Studio to talk Knight football. If he is still traveling we will talk by cell phone.

8.24 pm Kevin Crudup head coach at Nash Central will be on as he will get a chance to talk about his second team at Central.

He will be followed by at 8.47 by Andy Jackson at Rocky Mount Academy. This is Andy's first team at RMA and we will look at eight man football.

The final coach of the night will be Dickie Schock of Rocky Mount. He will take us to 9.30pm talking Gryphon football.

As you can see we have tried to keep the coaches alone where they will not be giving up secrets to each other.

We have gotten all the the Rocky Mount area football coaches together. Oddly enough three of the four are brand new to the job this year. This will give fans who haven't met them yet a chance to eye ball the coaches and get to hear them talk football

That's Sunday night at 8.00pm on WHIG-TV.

New High School Push Is On

Last night as a parent of a Volley ball manager, I attended the parent meeting for all athletes at Rocky Mount High School.

Mike Gainey athletic director lead the meeting which went over several items of business concerning eligibility, attendance and insurance.

There were maybe three hundred people in the auditorium and coach Gainey had to apologize for not having air conditioning. The lights had been turned down as low as possible to minimize the light heat added to the room. There was a few minutes given to Mr. Lilley a former school board member who talked, using the conditions last night with no air conditioning as reasons for the need for a new Rocky Mount High school.

There was also a power point presentation given by Coach Gainey through the North Carolina High School Athletic Association stressing attendance, eligibility, insurance and most of all the health of athletes.

The Nash County American Legion Post Coleman -Pitt post 58 held an awards dinner Sunday night honoring the first legion team to ever play in the North Carolina Legion State Tournament. Coleman-Pitt Post 58, even though they had won the State title in1973 had won that year winning a four out of seven series for the State title. The Legion State tournament was established in 2000.

MVP: Ben Fish and Xavier Macklin-

Pitching Award: Brandon Denton-

Offensive Player: Tyler Clark-

Coaches Award: Cameron Ramsey-

Last night Rowan County beat Alabama to win the South East regional 3-2. Earlier in the day they had beaten the host team Sumter South Carolina to move to Monday night's championship game. The American Legion World Series starts in ten days in Fargo North Dakota.

Nash County never faced Rowan in the North Carolina State Championship in Greenville.

D H Conley has pulled out of their scrimmage with Northern Nash on Wednesday night. Word is they don't have enough players who have practiced the required number of times in order to take part in a scrimmage.

A Topper To The Summer

Last night I had the pleasure to host the 'Stretchlon Sports Show" as we hosted the 2009 Tar Heel Little league Champions.

The Rocky Mount Senior little league all stars.

If you remember the 2007 team that won the state title they had a dinner for them at the Ruritan club and Ray Peace the head coach moderated that which we filmed on the "Stretchlon
sports show". They are going to celebrate again on September 12th at Braswell Library.

Any time you are the person who ask the questions, the one thing you would like from the responder is something more than a yes or no answer. Sam Toler and Norman Chambliss took care of their end of the bargain as all I had to do is move the show forward. Sam and Norm showed their love for the game of baseball as they talked us through the show and presented the State Champs.

It seems that more than half of these all stars are Headed to Rocky Mount. Northern will have three baseball prospects in the future and Nash Central and Southern Nash will have one a piece.

This week starts the week where regardless of the sport you can have a scrimmage with someone. I know Northern Nash host D H Conley Wednesday night and afterwards the boosters of Northern are cooking hamburgers for both teams.

Dickie Schock becoming the head coach of football in Rocky Mount in July, his main focus has been getting to know the players. Just in the past few days he has gotten with Tarboro and will scrimmage the Vikes Wednesday night in Tarboro.

Those of you that are keeping up with it Rowan County the North Carolina American Legion Champs have played three games as of Saturday in the Southeast regional American Legion baseball tournament in Sumter South Carolina.

Rowan won on Thursday, lost 8-7 in the bottom of the ninth Friday night to Alabama and in the loser bracket on Saturday whipped the host state South Carolina 15-0. They are in the final four when play started Sunday.

Starting this week looking forward to going to Ocean Isle on Thursday afternoon. This is the last weekend of freedom before football becomes a Friday night thing to at least Thanksgiving and maybe longer.

Who Will Replace Hahula?

Most of the talk during the off season for Rocky Mount High School football was replacing the offensive line. Four all conference performers gone and a second team all conference player missing this year.

I think there is one player who will be harder to replace than any of the linemen Kicker Nick Hahula.

It is hard to believe that Nick kicked for the Gryphons for four years. If you have ever seen Nick with out a uniform on especially he has shorts on, he would be the least likely person to even be an athlete.

The word fire plug comes to mind when you think of Nick. In his basketball uniform his shorts hang down to his ankles. Dressed for baseball he looks like David Wells. Wearing his football gear, kicking would be the last thing you would think he could do.

Yes I see Nick as a fullback getting four yards up the middle, not as a fullback going eighty some yards against Western Alamance. Not only is Nick Hahula a well rounded multi talented athlete, but he was multi talented football player for B W Holt on the football field.

It started as the extra point kicker as a freshman. His sophomore season he dabbled at fullback as well as at linebacker to go along with his kicking duties.

His junior year brought on a starting job at fullback and as a senior punting was added to his repertoire.

Last season Nick's punting, our opposition returned the ball twenty three years the whole season. Brian Goodwin got twenty three yards on just one punt return. All fifteen of the Gryphon foes averaged less than a yard a punt return.

Nick was a master at the high kick which required a fair catch, or the kick away from the returner that would roll for a mile. Who are we going to get to replace that this year? Did I mention that Nick also could pass from punt formation?

Kickoffs, Nick averaged almost half of all his kicks went into the end zone which meant the other team started from the twenty yard line half the time. That means our defense had eighty yards to keep the other team out of the end zone. Makes their life easier.

Have I mentioned yet that Nick is the all time kicker in the number of field goals made? Number of extra points? Just plain the most points ever for a Gryphon.

A two year starter at fullback Nick was reliable man to hand off to when we caught defenses spreading the field protecting against our outside speed. Nick could bust it up the middle.

My question to you today is who is going to replace all that? Nick this year will kick at North Carolina Central as the Eagles try their hand at Division one football.

While back on the practice field at Rocky Mount High Dickie Schock searches for a punter, kickoff man, field goal kicker, extra point kicker and fullback.

How many players will it take to replace him?

Everyone Think's They Can Be Champs

Summer practice is the time when every player regardless of sport thinks that they can win the state championship.

Coaches depending on the number of years they have coached are selling be the best you can be. Most know their weaknesses and will do everything they can to cover them up. Their job this time of year is have their players prepared.

Confidence will come the more the players preforms and the more success they have doing it. Winning sometimes escalates the confidence and losing slows it down.

Every team is 0-0 right now. In every game there is a winner on the scoreboard and a loser. Individually each players level depends on how they did their job. Players know if they played well or not. How each player preforms together is where the winning and losing separates itself.

If there is one aspect of sports especially for a high school player that is difficult to watch is injuries. Unlike college there is no red shirt rule. Sit out this year with an injury and play next year to make it up. No, a high school player only gets the games on the schedule. If he misses one game or all the games they are gone foreever.

There is nothing sadder than to say, look at what he could have done if he hadn't had those injuries. This is the reason for those hot practices. Learn the plays, get in shape. to be able to compete.

Good luck to all to stay injury free. It is a big factor in winning.

Put this down on your calendar for Sunday night. "Stretchlon Sports Show" live this Sunday. The Tar heel State Champs. The Rocky Mount all stars will be live in studio with me from 8.00 pm until 9.30. Watch the next batch of high school stars that will be on your team in 2012,2013 and 2014.

High school coaches get a lot of credit for winning championships. Those championships are developed in recreational ball.

The biggest problem with recreational sports is fathers and mothers are there because their child is there. Some coach because there is no one else to do it. They move on when their child moves on.

Sunday night I will get a chance to talk to two of those coaches that have didicated themselves to the youth of the Rocky Mount area. Sam Toler and Norman Chambliss. When I moved to Rocky Mount in 1995 one of the first names I heard was Sam Toler. My Son Brooks played for Norman. Both are what I wish every coach was.

Teachers of the game, why because they love it and want others to love it to.

Two Weeks To Kickoff

Two weeks from tonight high school football kicks off. Everyone of the new Big East 3-A plays an Endowment game but Rocky Mount.

The Mickey Crouch era at Northern Nash starts with a home game against Beddingfield. Nash Central meets Tarboro in what will be a revenge game for the Bulldogs. If you remember Tarboro put fifty on the Bulldogs last year.

Rocky Mount reaped the advantage of winning an Endowment game last year when they were seeded as an undefeated team for the playoffs after having to forfeit a game last season. This year may be one of those years when it is better not to play the eleventh game. New coach in town, that extra week of practice may be better than the extra game. If you remember Holt's first year we didn't play the extra game either.

Rocky Mount is finding that the football success that they have had the last six years means they are finding it tough to find someone willing to play them that doesn't have to. The Gryphons looked for a quality foe close to home but the only takers were westward teams so Rocky Mount chose to not play an extra game.

The only way to benefit seeding wise from an Endowment game is win it. Remember you can only drop a non conference loss not a conference game.

Optimism is running high at Northern Nash as Mickey Crouch presents his first addition of Knight football. The word is more guarded at Nash Central. Having played in the eastern finals last year most folks are thinking Rocky Mount will not be nearly that good again.

Working on having all the coaches on "The Stretchlon Sports Show" on Sunday night August 16th live. Andy Jackson of Rocky Mount Academy, Kevin Crudup of Nash Central, and Dickie Schock of Rocky Mount have committed so far. The only local coach not set up yet is Mickey Crouch of Northern. It's not his fault however. He and I have not be able to make contact with each other. Do you know how hard it is to find a coach when school is not officially in session?

Speaking of live TV. Don't forget to catch the "Stretchlon Sports Show" this Sunday night as we honor the 2009 Tar Heel 11/12 year old State champions. The show will run from 8.00 until 9.30 Sunday night.

The New York Yankees finally beat Boston last night for the first time this year. Boston has to now worry about Tampa for the wild card playoff spot. You know there is something about Tampa that you had better lookout for. They may very well win the American league again this year.