It’s the most wonderful time of the year!!!!!
We are getting deep into the high school playoffs and we still have four teams in the hunt and we have three key players that have been getting much of the pub, still much in the hunt, to be named Guilford County’s best….It may seem like best QB, but this leans toward top player, because to be the best, you have to lead the troops and our men are doing just that. They are field generals, and their teams are in round three and all three have a chance to be the talk of the town.
Joe Barile will have the full fill/schpill on the Page win over Westover and we may see a note or two from Paul Lambeth after he gets back from the big game with N.C. State at North Carolina. The Pack and the Heels, and Joe is at the game, along with Doug Cockman, Bruce Bullington and about 57,000 other loud and crazy screaming fans in 30 degree temperatures. For me I’ll take the ball up to Guilford College and get in some pass routes today. Getting tired of watching everyone else run to glory, and it’s time to run right out there with the other football nutts and get in the real game.
We have more time to talk about our local talent after last night’s results, and while we have a chance, let’s maybe make this the topic of the year, and keep pushing it out there on Newman, Lewis and even Tim Romer. Who will we name as Guilford County’s top player in 2008.
All three have achance to make another statement for their cause next Friday night as Dudley(13-0) hosts Ragsdale(13-0) in what might be the biggest game in Guilford County history, involving strictly just the two teams from the same county. Ricky Lewis Jr. will have his say and he spoke volumes again last night with his three TD runs in the Panthers 46-0 win over Wilson Fike.
Will Newman matched Lewis Jr. with 3 touchdown runs and 196 yards rushing. From numbers that were coming across our desk, Lewis had 206 on the ground. Neither team had to worry about passing with Newman 5-12 for 61 yards and Lewis threw once and that pass fell incomplete.
That’s where Romer comes in. Ragsdale will have to pass to beat the Dudley Panthers. Dudley will stop the Tigers inside running and they probably will not only stop it, they will stuff it. That’s where Romer comes in again. If Romer can find the passing holes in the Dudley defense, then Ragsdale can beat Dudley. They will have to do it by going to the air. Anderson, Sonricker, Jenkins, Miller, and especially Nick Mearite. Mearite made the big plays to help Ragsdale beat Western 14-3 and he can help the Tigers get key yards versus Dudley. The Tiger kicker Kasey Redfern will also be a key factor pinning Dudley deep on kickoffs and he might be able to add a game-winning field goal and that’s a weapon that Dudley does not have.
Ragsdale used the power I formation with Ed “Rat” Ross at FB and primarily Charles Thommason at TB in the second half but they will have to look elsewhere against the tight Dudley inside “D”. Tiger lineman Cedric Ellison said it well in the N&R when he told Tom Keller, “you have class, radio, TV, and the Internet(GREENSBOROSports.com we hope) coming at you and you still have to get prepared and be focused on the game.” It all starts up again today with the “Next Big Game”, looming on the horizon.
Jim Modlin the Ragsdale Tiger man will have more for us here at GREENSBOROSports.com on last night’s chiller/thriller in Jamestown and he will look ahead to Ragsdale at Dudley.
Page(9-4) will not get Mount Tabor next, but they will entertain Fayetteville 71st after the Pirates 28-10 victory over Westover. Seventy-First(11-2) upset #1 seed Tabor 14-0 and the boys from Fayetteville are coached by Bob Paroli. Paroli has only been coaching high school football in this state for 50 years and he took Fayetteville Byrd to five state championship games. More from Joe on the way.
Northeast Guilford(7-6) pulled off what may have been the biggest upset of the year as they defeated Harnett Central 49-28. Harnett Central was the #1 seed in the 3-AA East and the Rams beat them with NEG QB Darius White throwing for three TD’s, and Kenny Rush along with Rayshawn Trader, both accounted for two Ram scores. Big night for the Rams who travel again next week to take on Northern Vance(8-5). Vance, the four seed in the 3-AA East, beat Spring Lake last night 23-7.
High Point Andrews fell hard on the road last evening losing in Belmont, to South Point, 42-14. The HPA Red Raiders close the 2008 campaign at (8-4) and the South Point Red Raiders move on at (12-1).
We have four teams left with Dudley, Ragsdale, Page and Northeast Guilford, and the race for the chase to be the top face in the place; with Romer, Lewis and Newman heads into week number 14 next Friday.
I’m tired of debating with my stepdad…..so, I’ll bring my argument here. He says Ragsdale gets a beat down from Dudley. I say he’s still upset about our guys getting outcoached and outplayed. I think it will be a competitive game. I have Dudley by 10 on a late game TD to put the game away, but it wouldn’t surprise if Ragsdale got the victory. I believe they have the athletes in the right spots to get the job down. They just need a great “Team” effort (Nothing new to them).
Okay….HOW CAN RAGSDALE BEAT DUDLEY?
Ragsdale’ O-line needs to bring their A game. I don’t see Ragsdale running for too many yards against Dudley, but how well the Tiger’s are able to protect Romer in the passing game could be the difference between a game for the ages and a blowout. I think the Tiger’s will protect Romer well enough to make this a game.
Romer needs to stay calm and be sharp. If Dudley has a weakness, it’s in their secondary. The Tigers have receivers capable of exploiting the Panther secondary if Romer can get them the ball. You can’t throw TDs flat on your back.
When the Tigers score and they will, Redfern needs to keep doing what he does. Has he failed to kick a ball into the end zone this year? Anyway, make Dudley go 80 yards to beat you.
Ragsdale defense needs to play the game of their lives. You can bend, but don’t break. If the D-line can make plays and keep Dudley’s O-line off their linebackers, the Tiger defense has a shot at stopping the Dudley rushing attack. Tall order…Good luck with that one. The defense needs to make Lewis, Jr. beat em’ through the air. Ragsdale has corners capable of covering Dudley’s receivers man to man if necessary. I think it will be necessary to man up in order to stop the run.
Ragsdale can’t afford to lose the turnover battle. Mistake free football is a must.
Ragsdale has the coaching staff capable of implementing a successful game plan. I can guarantee you that even if they get beat, they won’t be outcoached. You won’t see a lack of effort and you won’t see a team quit on the field
After watching Page play both teams, and after feeling that Page should have never lost to Ragsdale, and almost pulling a lucky one out over Dudley, I do not feel that Ragsdale will be able to contain Dudley on both offense and defense…Romer is definitely going to have to do it through the air on some very crisp and stingy pass routes, because Page shut down the Ragsdale running game and Romer had to go through the air to win that game…I think Dudley will be able to shut down the running game quite the same…Then again, all Ragsdale has to do is contain Lewis and have the interior lineman play assignment football and stop Overby, which may give them some life…I just feel that the defense of Dudley will shut Ragsdale down on a lot of three and outs and give Ricky and crew too much time on the field…I’m going to say that I hope Ragsdale wins this game, but from watching both teams play, I actually feel that Dudley will win by 20…
this matchup between ragsdale and dudley will be a great game to see but do you think that they could get a better attendance at a bigger stadium like A & T stadium or Jamieson Stadium. Just a question?
Keith, I was thinking the same thing. I think it might happen.
If they move the game it will cost money from the gate and you may just make more profit by keeping the game at Dudley HS. If you play at Jamieson you have to pay, and if you play at NC A&T you’ll have to pay to lease Aggie Stadium and you will once again lose that true Dudley Panther “home field advantage†and that’s probably worth 4-6 pts. on the board for Dudley even before you kick the ball.
If Wheeler Brown, the NC A&T Aggie Athletic Director is really interested in Dudley’s coach Steven Davis to take over the Aggie program, when Dudley’s done for the year. then Brown would let Dudley come over and play at NC A&T for a real SMALL fee and then maybe Dudley could make it work.
Say A&T gets all the concessions and and the minimal on-site/area parking fees and then maybe you have a deal. We(NC A&T) get Davis, and you get use of our stadium. How bad does A&T want Coach Davis?????
N.C. A&T would still have to staff the facility for the game and that won’t come without a price tag. You make more money in the end by keepig the game at your place and who knows how many fans from Ragsdale will travel into Dudley territory.
Dudley is a tough crowd and can the Ragsdale fans really handle the heat????? They may decide to stay home and listen on the radio or by way of the internet.
There’s a lot on the line here…..
there are a lot of factors that go into the decision but as a fan of high school football game and knowing that dudley stadium especially on the visitor’s side is not that big and it being thanksgiving weekend with a whole lot of more people in town for the holidays. It might be a better draw at a bigger place. We will see but I hope they consider the option of a bigger place for this game. It doesn’t happen often where you have 2 undefeated teams in third round of playoffs locally in a game.
Andy, Ragsdale fans will have no problem going to Dudley for a game. We’ve played a lot of baseball in that part of town. No issues. Those days are gone. Now Ragsdale may not bring many fans regardless of where the game is played. We don’t fill it up at home but the ones that come love the team and the boys know it. I’d much rather go to Dudley than Trinity. Plus Dudley’s band is pretty cool.
Andy, I don’t think it really matters about the the money the school loses at the gate. If the stadium at Dudley physically can’t hold the amount of people that are projected to show up at the game, which won’t be just Dudley and Ragsdale fans. I’m sure alot of high school football fans from all over the triad will show up for this one. I’m not sure how many people that Tarpley stadium holds, but it cant be more then about 5-7 thousand. I think there will be more fans then that there for this game.
I was thinking that the Dudley fans might intimidate the Ragsdale fans because the Panthers are a tough group and the Tigers might be more laid back and not ready for a fight when the fans get into it, yelling back and forth across the field.
The Dudley atmosphere is tough on opposing teams and you may need to be ready for a fight and if so what’s wrong with that?????
We need all of our fans to stand up and be heard and to cheer on their teams and if it becomes a war, then do what “Big Ed McCarthey” used to say to the UFC contestants and Marvin Gaye said the same thing….”Let’s Get It On”.
Hopefully people cheer for their team instead of jeering the opponent. I wouldn’t think anyone would feel threatened by the Dudley crowd. I would think such a strong program would have more class than that. I seriously doubt there will be an issue. The Dudley community has done a great job in building back the HS to what it can be. Just let the kids be the center of attention and let them play the game.