Hunt Defense Shines

The Hunt Warriors defense stood tall  twice, once late in the third quarter and early in the fourth as they held Douglas Byrd without any points inside the Hunt 15 yard  and that preserved a third round 3-AA playoff victory for the  Warriors 20-14.

Dexter Wright got Hunt on the board on their opening drive of the game with a 6 yard run and Hunt D dominated the first quarter.   Byrd got on the score board at the 8:09 mark in the second quarter when Jose Sanchez intercepted a Jacob Williams pass and took the pick six to the house to tie the game at seven.

It took only one minute and seven seconds before Hunt retook  the lead when Malik Williams took a pitch around the left side and preceded to go 68 yards to give  Hunt the lead at the half.  Byrd took their only lead of the game. Midway in the third to lead 14-13 but the lead was short lived as Hunt on their first play after the lead change retook the lead at 20-14 when Williamson hit Darian Ballard for a 70 yard touchdown strike.

Byrd drove to the 15  line but Hunt held in four plays but a face mask penalty gave one more play  but the extra play did little good for Byrd.  A Hunt three and out and after a punt return Byrd started on the Hunt 25 yard line. Once again from the ten yard line Hunt stopped Byrd at the  15 yard line.  The Warriors started using  the clock and finally punted the ball to the Byrd six yard line.  Byrd threw a screen pass and the catcher turned and fogged a pass to a wide open receiver which Hunt ran down at the Hunt 10 yard line but the passer was over the line of scrimmage and the ball came back and Byrd never crossed the fifty after that.

Hunt will travel to  Southern Durham who tonight beat Orange 31-24.

The news is not so good in Tarboro as the Vikings suffer their worse loss since the 2008 State championship game. When they lost 51-28. Tonight Wallace Rose Hill shuts out the Vikings in the second half and roll  35-10 in Tarboro.   It is the first time since  2007 that Tarboro has not played a football game in December.

Thanksgiving Friday Tradition

It is almost like a family reunion but the Tarboro Vikings will hold their sixth annual Thanksgiving Friday Family reunion called the state football playoffs when they will be match up in a game they just might lose after going eight straight weeks of averaging 51 points while allowing just 7.

My concern for the Vikings is they are for the  last two months are not playoff tested tough as the foe tonight Wallace Rose Hill is.  They have not play a game since their lost to Southern Nash in which the starters needed to play the fourth quarter. Despite that The Vikings play another week 26-20 over WRH.

Hunt the lone  beast from the Big East tangles with Douglas Byrd who last week took care of Fike.  This game will go down to the wire and Hunt will play in another Eastern Final. Hunt 26 Byrd23.

Oh yeah, there is a minor football game being played in Chapel Hill as Duke tries to clinch a ACC Championship  appearance against Florida State.  This just might wind up being the best Carolina-Duke game in history.  Have both ever been involved when both could win a share of a title ?  Carolina wins. 35-28 .

State will go out winners as they beat The quitters 38-24

Miami travels to Pittsburg where their decline will continue Panthers win at home 36-26.


If Florida State is to have a shot at the National Champoinship they must beat Florida.  They will 44-21

Georgia Tech host Georgia.  All of the Bull dogs are hurt aren't they?  Dogs win 35-34.

Clemson travels to South Carolina and if the ACC is to be able to say they are worthy of the statement that they are catching up  with the SEC Clemson needs to win this game.  They do 31-21.

Wake travels to Vanderbilt and the SEC wins this one 28-16 .

Virginia Tech Travels to Virginia and can Virginia score enough to win this one knowing VT can make the title game if Duke loses.  Tech 24-13 .

Syracuse at Boston College wait on Bowl invitations with the Cuse winning this one 38 -28 .

Our Day Of Thanksgiving

Two weeks ago tonight several new members were added to the Twin County Hall of Fame.  Today  we give thanks to one of those members who even today more than 40 years after his departure from Rocky Mount we can watch him at his craft.  Friday night will be the last night of the high school football show WRAL's "Football Friday " for this year anchored by Rocky Mount native Tom Suiter.

Tom grew up just across the street from Rocky Mount High School but he never attended high school here but at 12 years old followed his father's footsteps  to Christ School in Arden.  Tom was multi talented on the sports fields of Christ School and even today some 46 years after his departure he still holds the single game scoring record of 48 points in basketball, that is right even after the famous Plumlee brothers played there Rocky Mount's Tom Suiter still holds the single game scoring record.

Off to Erskine College where Tom would become sports editor of his school newspapers by his senior year.  Tom's first paid job was the PA announcer for the old Rocky Mount  Leafs bringing down a salary of six dollars a game perched on the old press box at the old Municipal Stadium  while home for summer vacation in 1969.  Tom ran many a mile around the old dirt track behind Rocky Mount high school during summer vacations since the track was right across the street.

Tom realized as a junior at Christ Church that he wanted a job in sports. Never in his wildest dreams could he ever imagine that WRAL would become his home in 1971.  Spent many a weekend on the sports desk waiting for his time to become the sports anchor.  By the 1980's Tom help create one of the most watched sports show in the history of high school sports, "Football Friday".  Every NFL football players wants the spot light on "Monday Night Football" every high school football player in North Carolina that can receive the WRAL signal wants his 15 seconds on "Football Friday".

Many of us thought Tom retired from WRAL  in 2008  but we still see him with the "Extra Effort Award" and during the fall Football Friday..   Every Saturday Tom scans the high school football schedules of Wake County schools first then heads in all direction deciding on what games can be covered with 13 Photographers.   That's why you might see Rocky Mount- Nash Central game paired up with Hunt at Northern Nash.

So by 7pm Friday Tom has already written his lead in for every game like "Let's head to Rocky Mount where the Gryphons at 7-3 play at Northern Nash 4-6 but still has a shot at the playoffs".  Once each photographer finishes the first half of their first game they send Tom their highlights and Tom picks his plays normally four or five that make it to TV.  By the time he has finished the first batch the second games are in and here we go trying to get them all ready for 11:35.  If you take notice most of the highlights start with Wake County Schools and the schools further away are processed for the last part of the show.

Tom Suiter turns 66 next June and no one can predict the future.  I asked Tom if there was a chance retirement  when it comes might be in Rocky Mount?  "Raleigh is only an hour away.  Before I went off to Prep school Rocky Mount was a place of good friends,  nobody ever locked a door, people gave a hello greeting and came right on in. "

If you think about it Tom Suiter's style  as a sportscaster is just like when he grew up in Rocky Mount.  Every Friday night he tells us to come on in and everyone in the viewing area comes over to Tom's house to enjoy a Friday night of football.

Thank you Tom Suiter you have made Rocky Mount thankful that you call Rocky Mount home and whenever you decide it is time to unplug your mic we will always remember your favorite phrase "let' s go to the video tape"'.

Raining Inside And Out

Just maybe the rout of Rose last week lingered in the minds of the 2013/2014 Rocky Mount Gryphons but South Central brought in a talented group of guards who had no other choice but to shoot outside shots because the Gryphon  big men owned the inside.  The Falcons made nine three pointers on the night and each one seemed to keep Rocky Mount at bay until the about the two minute mark of the third quarter.  Isaiah Alston found his three form and rained down seven over the next six minutes scoring 29 on the night as the Gryphons survive South Central 76-74.

Rocky Mount dominated the backboards winning  that phase 40-22.  Immanuel King lead the way hauling down 18 boards and he added 17 points for good measure. Donte Battle added nine rebounds and 18 points.

Rocky Mount trailed 19-16 after the first quarter.  38-27 at the half and before they finally got their engines running trailed 42-27 early in the third quarter but cut the lead to 56-51 after three.  The Gryphons lead by three, three different times down the stretch but could never get out go the clutches of the Falcons.  Jermaine Wilis who had four threes finished with 21 points and Tyree Suggs had four threes himself also  tossing in 21

The Lady Gryphons won their first game of the year beating South Central 47-41.  The Lady Gryphons were coasting along having lead the entire game and were leading 34-29 after Carmen Richardson scored eight straight points but she tumbled to the floor clutching her knee with about 1:49 to play in the 3rd quarter.  From that point on the Lady Gryphons would make only one basket by freshman Michelle Gainey.  It wasn't because they were not shooting nothing was going in.  Rocky Mount made 11 free throws.  The good news Richardson returned to the game   to help solidify that Pam Gainey defense that put the clamps on the Falcons down the stretch

Carmen Richardson lead the Gryphons with 19 T T Thomas added 11. South Central won the rebounding  38-32 but the Lady Gryphons cut the total in half in the fourth quarter getting rebound and putting the ball by up but missed every one.  Tamara Harper yanked down 9 rebounds for Rocky Mount.  The Gryphons caused 24 turnovers while giving the ball away only  13 times.

Northern Nash girls stay undefeated beating Conly while the Northern boys lost by six.

N C State The NFL Quarterback Factory

The Wolfpack has three starting quarterbacks starting the NFL.  Mike Glennon  was rumored going to be the starting quarterback during summer camp butTampa decided to sit the rookie and made a mid season switch.  The first couple of games he looked the part of a rookie but now the last three weeks has played the part of a cagey veteran in leading  Tampa to three straight wins and during this win streak has five touchdowns and only one pick. His quarterback rating has been over 110 during the streak which puts his rating at 91for the year.

Russell Wilson  in his second NFL season just might be the best of all those quarterbacks from the so called super class in 2012.  Yes the run and gun quarterbacks were suppose to change the NFL but all of those running quarterbacks have found out the NFL has coaches that can look at film and come up with a plan to stop quarterbacks that can't be accurate throwing.  Russell Wilson doesn't fit that mold.
First of all he only runs out of desperation not part of the huddle call.  Most of all he is an accurate thrower in the pocket or while rolling out out.  His QB rating is 105 and the NFL standard these days is any QB over 100 is classified down right great.

Then there is Philip Rivers who went over 30,000 yards last week in his 10 year career.  There is no doubt if he played in New York where he was drafted he would be considered just may be top five quarterbacks of all time.  But he plays for San Diego who always some how pulls bonehead plays like intercepting a pass that beats Tom Brady in 2005 playoffs  while returning the ball fumble it and Brady is setup to runout the clock and watch the winning field goal.  Just maybe Archie Manning knew what he was talking about when he wouldn't let Eli play there.

Rivers has won 60 per cent of his games for a team that many times he has to score 41 to win.  His one chance when San Diego was the best team  he has surgery on his knee the  Monday before the AFC championship game  just  to hold his knee together.  Between being the toughest he is the one of the most accurate in the history of the NFL.  He is 4th in passing yardage this year but  there are 10 quarterbacks have attempted more passes than he has. Just this pass Sunday brought his team back three times in the fourth quarter to win in KC to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.  His QB rating on the season is 106 and his 95.7 is sixth best in NFL history

Ok Wolfpack fans this year has  been a stinker.  The football season ends Saturday for theWolfpack but we can all turn our attention to our three Wolfpackers quarterbacking  in the NFL  Just might have one in the Super Bowl.

Big East Football Review

Colin Cowherd during his midday radio show on ESPN plays this game called Colin is right Colin was wrong.  Let 's go back and look  at what I predicted in Big East football.

I predicted Southern Nash First :  We could play this game just about all the time.  If only this team didn't have injuries.  When you look at their over all record boy what could have been.  During the season 11 starters missed games  at some point during the season.  Finished fourth.

I predicted Northern Nash second :  I thought Northern was a sleeping giant that just needed someone to get the most out of a team that has fallen into that pit of never finishing off a game.  Randy Raper had this team showing promise and were a hard team every time out to beat but to many losses for second finished 5th.

I predicted Hunt would finish third:  During their non-conference games  that prediction looked good but by the time conference rolled around round Hunt was right back where they are always near the top and this case champs again. They are  only Big East playing on Thanksgiving Friday.

I predicted Rocky would finish fourth:  If you recall I said 2-3-and 4 could all flip flop positions.  when you look at their 3-2 conference record they beat each team behind them in standing and lost to the two that finished ahead of them.  Rocky Mount finished third.

I predicted Nash Central would finish  fifth:  They came as lose as anyone  to be on the nose. I had no idea they would be as bad as this season finished not winning any games at all some in a way they were no where being as I thought they would be? they finished sixth.

I predicted Fike would finish sixth.  As bad as I that I thought Nash Central would be I thought Fike would be worse.  Even though they didn't win the conference title they probably are the best team in the league but finishing second created a rough two road games in playoffs.

Looking at next year in the prediction bowl.  I doubt Fike or hunt will fall far from where they finished this year.  Northern Nash, Rocky Mount and Southern will all look to finish third and I don' t SE central being much better next year.

World Stopping (Duke/Carolina) Play A Meaningful Football Game

North Carolina won their fifth football game in a row after they were a dumpster fire when they lost to Miami on that Thursday night game.  Those five wins in a row have earned  the Tar Heels a Bowl game of some kind. From where they were then to where they are now is a great coaching job.  Sometimes changing players makes a world of difference and the QB change changed
the Heels year even if they didn't make a complete change until rthe injury.

Duke rides a seven game  winning streak and they haven't lost since that 58-55 game with Pitt.  Duke has won nine games for the first time since 1941.  Those nine wins earned Duke a home game in the Rose Bowl in 1942.  What nine or ten wins this year does for Duke is totally what happens next Saturday versus North Carolina who still  has a shot at a tie for first even though they can't win any tie breaker.

We have never I think in my lifetime seen a more important Duke-Carolina  football game than this one coming up.  This ought too be this Saturday night prime time game.

Ruffin McNeil has his Pirates primed for a ten win season after scoring 42 on the Wolfpack.  ECU scoring points is not the surprise for these Pirates but they have gotten to where they can actually stop somebody now.  It is the first time in their history that they have beaten State and Carolina in the same  year.  That is probably not as many years as people think.  I doubt they have played both in the same year all that many times.

It is very disappointing that the Pack has lost seven in a row and are on the verge of not winning a conference game for the first time since 1959.  In all of this poor play there is one good sign for this team.  They have played to the end in every game which tells me that the coach has his players
attention.  If they keep listening to the coach during a losing streak and the last couple of games mean absolutely nothing don't you think when better days arrive this team just might have a great coach for the future