Labor Day Football Schedule Changes

There has been a trend over the past few years that several teams play on the Thursday night before the Friday night Labor Day weekend which gives many teams  three days off before practice on Monday.

Depending on what game you might want to go to Friday you had better check because almost half of our locals games are being played Thursday.  The Northeastern at Northern Nash is now on Thursday.            
Roanoke Rapids at Fike will be Thursday night this week.  The Kinston at Nash Central game is now on a Thursday.  All of the other games as far as I know right now are on for Friday night.  There has been one time change for the Rocky Mount JV game has been changed  to 6pm Thursday night instead of 7.  Since several Thursday Varsity games are moved to Thursday that pushes JV games if your JV team is playing to tonight.

Just found out that the defending State Champion Rocky Mount Academy opens it football season Thursday night hosting Halifax Academy.  The booster Club will be serving Spaghetti dinners  as a fund raiser before the game.

Hobbs Johnson's first full year in pro baseball is coming down the stretch  and his pitching record  is 11-8.  His ERA stands at 3.08 having pitched 141 innings for the Manatees  of  Brevard in the Florida State League.  He is second on the team in innings pitched, wins, and ERA.  It will be interesting to see if he is sent to fall ball in Arizona.

Brian Goodwin remains out with a shoulder injury.  I doubt this late in the minor league season that he returns this season.

The latest update on two former Rocky Mount Gryphon sons playing pro baseball.  Bill Merrifield 's son Whit has now played 69 games for the Kansas City Royals  triple A affiliate Omaha is still batting 339. He has played left field for most of those 69 games.

Sonny Wooten's son John who was promoted to Potomac the Upper A by the Washington Nationals about a month ago has played 18 games and is hitting 266.

Week Two Guess Time

First week of the high school season brought about a 7-1 record to start the season.  Week two just might have a tougher schedule to predict and missing only one or less will be hard  to do this week.

3A Washington visits Tarboro.  Washington took a licking last week to Havelock.  The past few seasons everyone else has too so even though they come to Edgecombe County 0-1  this might be a closer game than those in Tarboro might expect.  The Vikings will win this one 26-14.

SouthWest Edgecombe buses across County to North Edgecombe.  The Warriors got a big win opening night  win but the Cougars will be too big across the front to slow up the Cougars.  The pound it up the middle Cougars win 36-8.

Rocky Mount travels to Webb where I suspect we will get a better feel about the Gryphons after Friday.  Webb won 39-30 on Friday  against a 1-A school so if a 1A  club can score 30 what could the Gryphons do?  Right now the big question for the Gryphons  is how good was there shutout of South Granville?  Gryphons 26 Webb 20.

Southern Nash travels to Beddingfield where after playing the run up the middle SouthWest Edgecombe they draw the wide open offense of Beddingfield.  Didn't have to worry about the pass last week but this week might all they need to prepare for.  This game could go to the wire but  and I'm holding with the Birds Southern Nash 36 Bedfingfield 28.

Kinston at Nash Central.  Until Nash Central proves they can beat anybody then I'll pick everybody they play.  This could be a close one if the Bulldog defense plays well because at this point it looks as if they will get no help from their offense.  Kinston 21Nash Central 6.

Roanoke Rapids at Fike.  Fike shut out Bunn last week which is a much better team than the Yellow Jackets.  Fike just might put 50 on board.  Fike 56 RR 7.

Hunt at Hertford County.  Hunt lost on the last play on the road to a really good team.  Hertford County lost opening night but rumors during preseason were they are down this year.  Sure does look like it.  Hunt 42 HC 21.

The final game of picks for this week just might be the hardest of all.  Northeastern at Northern Nash.        
This was a really good game last year at Northeastern.  Then and now this will be a good one but the Knights will go to 2-0 in a high scoring shoot out Northern 35- Northeastern 31.

Labor Day Weekend College Football

It has almost become tradition that the Labor Day Weekend is the beginning of the college football season.  So this makes this game week.  Having spent three summers in August football practice in high school it is a thrill  to head to practice on game week Monday knowing there is a games ahead by weeks end.

We will start with Carolina the only team in the area that is in anybody's poll.  Carolina has plenty of offensive punch coming back but must find a new quarterback.  Regardless of who wins the job  they will have a  untested signal caller under center.  The big question for the Tar Heels what have they done to improve the defense.  If they can't stop anybody then that untested qb will need to out score their opposition.   In order for the Heels to be the the top 25 their defense needs to be much better than last year.

Duke is coming off two of the best years since the early 60's.  Two straight bowl games when they could have won both but didn't win either.  Their backup qb left school to be near his sick mother.  They have lost two of their best players with injuries already in the preseason.  The question for the dookies is can  they possibly be as fortunate this year as last.  It hasn't started this year as well as last.

Over at Wake they have a new coach with new ideas replacing a coach that almosted seemed perfect for the Demon Deacons.  He could take the limited resources and won an ACC title.  Can the new man in charge do great things with little resources?  The Deacs had an average recruiting class while changing coaches so will this be a rough year in Winston?

The Pack was three and nine last year and clearly their problem was quarterback play.  The starting quarterback goes down in the second quarter of the first game whith a broken foot and they rush him back too soon and the season winds up a disaster.  A transfer Qb ready to lead the way.  If the Pack gets great quarterback play they could be good if not it could be a repeat of last year or somewhere in between.

The Pirates of ECU have their top passing combo back for another year.  They are in a new conference and most of these teams they have never played before  are on the schedule.  This could be a great year in Greenville if they match up well with their new conference members and the offense rolls.

ECU and Carolina could be in bowl games but anybody else makes it to a bowl their years need to get started this Saturday with big wins.  Anybody that struggles this Saturday May have more on the way during the season.

Sports Is Attitude

We have heard every time a coach goes to a school or any team that their recent history does not support winning the  word culture is use.  We must change the culture here.  If we knew what some coaches have that others don't  in being able to look at players and somehow know what it takes to get more out of that player.

Recent history would tell us before he arrived BW Holt took over an average program at Rocky Mount and by year two won 12 playoff games in five years.  The five years since his departure they have only played in four playoff games and lost three of them.  It surly looks that Jason Battle is heading in the right direction for Gryphon Football to get back in the playoff win column.

Over at Northern after the departure of Jim Brett  Knight football has had their period  of the dulldrums.  Now in his second season the word at Northern has been "we must change the culture".  Friday night Northern fell behind 14-0. Their most recent past would almost guarantee a loss was on the way but not this time.

Nash Central is down and out at the moment.  Once something goes wrong things just get worse.  I think the opinion since the inception of Nash Central is they have had the best talent over the years as anyone in the area year in and year out.  Recently however talent pool has dried up somewhat.  Every team goes through dry periods and if injuries are added to a dry pool the bottom falls out and it is hard to get it back.

We hear all the time about the Duke attitude.  I don't like the way they act in basketball, they act cocky.  Well let me tell you winning  is and attitude that when you walk on the field of play you know you have been prepared. by your coaches and you know you are talented enough to win.  We all in life show our attitude one way or the other.  Lose and hang your head.  It is an attitude in loss to hold your head high.  That old saying it does not matter whether you win or lose but how you play the game. The read between the lines about that old saying tells me  be prepared, do what you coaches ask and play your heart out.  That is an attitude in itself.

Once they were down 14-0 Friday Northern was faced with  that old habit of here we go again, there
is no chance to win and we are going to lose again.  That culture change that Randy Raper has been preaching appeared for the first time under the Raper regime.  No not this time.  We have been taught what to do and when to do it.  We either grit our teeth or go ahead and lose another one.

All three of our city public high schools are not  preseason top twenty picks.  Winning is an attitude but whether you believe it or not so is losing.  It doesn't take much to Lose  a winning attitude but it takes a long time to find it.

First Week Review

Rocky Mount  won their sixth straight season opener.  The 34 points were the second most points in any game during the Jason  Battle era at Rocky Mount.  The second game of the Battle era the Gryphons scored 40 in a 40-7 victory over Bertie.  34 points is the biggest win for Jason as head coach of the Gryphons.

Friday's 24-20 win over Corinith Holders was Northern first opening night win since 2010. I know Northern fans like the sound of 1-0 over 0-1.   Nash Central lost their 14th straight game. During the losing streak the Bulldogs have scored 110 points in those 14 games.  36 came in the last game in 2012 when the Bulldogs lost to Southern Nash 38-36.  That leaves scoring only 74 points in the other 13 losses.

Rocky Mount Prep won their opening night game beating Kipp Pride 30-12. It is their third victory all time in their short two year plus history.  North Edgecombe drilled NW Halifax 52-0 to get their 2014 season off with a bang.

Went 7-1  Friday night pronosicating games.  Lone miss was the Hunt losing on the last play of the game.  If you are a watcher of the All New Sports Show Sunday nights on WHIG Wes and Edward once again are having a group of guest pickers each week. I'm one of them again this year.  If you are a close follower of my blog  you may fine sometimes I make one pick for them but on my blog I pick another.  Last year once Wes sent me a E-mail with the picks for TV I sent picks right back.  I do analyze more for my blog.

First week victories or losses are hard to judge whether a team is really as good or bad as the results from their first game.  Might take a couple more weeks before you can look and say a good win or bad loss.  South Granville lost only three times all season.  If that happens again this year that will prove to be a very good win for the Gryphons.  If SG wins only three all year the opening night victory will not look so great

The same thing will apply for Nash Central in their loss to Tarboro.  If the Vikings don't lose many this season then the Bulldogs and say look who we lost to.  Most teams will make a change or two after the way some players played on Friday.  One or two might lose their job while one or two may earn more playing time.

Gryphons Look Fast Northern Has Resolve

The Rocky Mount Gryphons for the sixth year in a row open up the football season with a 34-0 over South Granville.  Each  and every score came from swift runners outrunning the defense.  The first came on a 52 yard pass from Josh Carter to Bekimbe Kearney who had sped by the secondary at 5:05 in the first quarter.

The second score occurred when South Granville Dropped the snap from center the ball was kicked around before Broderick Caudle scooped up the ball at the SG  29 and ran all the way across the field to the end zone out running his chasers with 3:05 in first quarter

The second quarter Rocky Mount hit pay dirt once when Josh  Carter connected with Rashaun Harris on a 28 yard pass with 1:31 to go in the half to lead 20-0 at the half.  The second half started with the Gryphon defense holding SG to a three and out and let's talk about the defense that held SG to under 100 yards on the night.

Rashaun Harris fielded the punt at his own 25 and preceded  down the Gryphon side line for 75 yards and a 28-0 Gryphon lead.  The lone score in the fourth  happen as the Gryphons faced a third and fifty after three penalties that pushed the ball all the way back to their on 30 yard line. Malik Lewis ran off tackle right and preceded to break one tackle and then out ran everyone else 70 yards for the final Gryphon score.

Death Valley saw Northern fall behind 14-0 early in the second quarter but Knight fans may have seen the new face of a Knight football as Northern trimmed the Corinth Holders lead to 14-10 at the Half and late in the fourth quarter lead 24-20 and needed a defensive stand and they got it.

Eleven seconds to play Northern intercepted a pass to stop CH but a roughing the passer penalty  gave Holders one more shot but on the last play the ball falls incomplete and Northern Nash wins their opener 24-20 over Corinth Holders.

Other opening nights score Tarboro handle Nash  Central 33-6.  Hunt loses on the last play of the game at South Central 20-17.  Southern Nash  scores 33 while SouthWest Edgecombe gets 16.  Beddingfield out scores Greene Central 34-0.  Fike looks impressive 28-0 over Bunn.

Every bodies Expectation High Today

There is not a team anywhere that has a loss on there schedule as of yet.  Everyone is undefeated and until about 10 pm Friday night  everyone thinks a state title is possible.

Tarboro had every expectation that dropping to 1A would bring a sixth straight trip to the state championship game.  It was a reasonable expectation to think dropping down a level after beating up on almost everyone in 2A the 1A move would be a piece a cake.  Just goes to show how much luck is  involved for anyone doesn't matter what level they play. Most of the time it is very easy for coaches like Jeff Craddock to motivate his kids to rededicate themselves for a run for the 1A title this year.

One team trying to win it all to one team just trying to win one.  Kevin Crudup desperate to find a way to win just one for the Bulldogs of Nash Central.  Many are surprised that Crudup  was supported by the Nash Central administration to be back as coach this year.  It's almost like a second chance for him and one or two wins may not be enough this year to be back next.  It would help tremendously if among the new Bulldog faces this year there was some unknown talent that lifts the program to new level.

Randy Raper has had one year under his belt and an off season and a half to create a culture and regardless of what he calls it he wants a culture like he had at Hunt.  There is something about coaches especially good ones that Northern will as long as Raper is there become what he had at Hunt.  Pieces are appearing, if Northern's offensive line develops they could be a deep playoff player.

I don't think too many people at Rocky Mount are disappointed at the results of the last two regular seasons under Jason Battle.  Nobody is happy with two straight first round playoff losses one to a team with a losing record and the other a man handling loss to a decent team.   The Big East in football is a league that 3-2 could tie for first or 2-3 tie for last.  Regardless of the regular season  making it to the second round would be a giant step for the Battle regime.

Expectations are high so far no one has lost a game.  Let's go see a football game.