Guilford County with two teams in the NCHSAA hunt for football titles this weekend(Looking back at the Smith and Ragsdale run in 1973)

Northern Guilford vs. Crest on Friday night and then Page goes up against Garner on Saturday afternoon with Nighthawks aiming for the 3-AA crown and trying to make it back-to-back titles, while Page will go for the 4-AA banner and try to bring one back to Alma Pinnix Drive for the first time since 1985…

Ed Hardin was talking about the last time Guilford County had two teams going for the State Titles on the same weekend and Ed said it happened back in 1973 with the Smith Golden Eagles and the Ragsdale Tigers going for the 4-A and the 3-A championships in the same year….

The Smith bunch would have had to have been the Bostic Brothers(Joe and Jeff) along with Tim Gillespie, Charles Wright and many others, including Coach Claude Manzi….Ragsdale was going for the title and they got theirs, but I pretty sure Smith lost to Sanford(14-6) and their big-time QB P.J. Gay and he was coached by his dad, Paul Gay….Ragsdale actually tied for the title in 1973 and then they won it out-right in 1974….

Ragsdale coached back in that day by the legendary Richard Dick Kemp and led by quarterback Hal Sechrest in 1973 and then John Turner in ’74 and the Tigers had a load of talent with RB’s Ricky Adams and Harold Odom…Ragsdale had linemen such as Barry Sykes, Mitchell Johnston and the like…..Great teams and it may have been Tuscola that tied Ragsdale for the title in 1973, would have to go back and look that one up……Ragsdale defeated Tuscola in the semis and then tied with East Bladen 16-16 in the title game….(Looked it up, to be sure….)