from Daniel Kennedy at www.hpe.com sports
Even in defeat and despite the fact that they got beat, this year’s Ragsdale football team remains close and they’ve been like that for many years…..
Here’s Mr. Kennedy who was over on Lincoln Street last Friday night covering the game for the High Point Enterprise and working for a Franklin and Jefferson, plus a Washington; well here is the heart of the Jamestown community, the Ragsdale Tigers….
GREENSBORO – The Ragsdale Tigers have built a stellar football tradition over the last decade.
In surveying the high school football landscape, the type of winning consistency the Tigers have exhibited with immense class reminds at least one writer of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. Led throughout the 2000s by a regime characterized by integrity and a penchant for putting together consecutive winning seasons, the two programs produce eerie similarities.
“You can’t say enough good things about our kids,†Ragsdale coach Tommy Norwood said. “They’ve won three straight conference championships; they’ve not lost a conference game in three years. We’re proud of what we’ve done.â€
Much like the Colts, however, Ragsdale has also encountered a nemesis in the postseason that remains hard to escape. For the second year in a row, the Tigers were bounced by a Dudley team on pace to bag its third straight title.
In the professional ranks, the New England Patriots have won three Super Bowls this decade and for years became the hump Indianapolis could not get over. Ragsdale is painfully aware of the frustration that comes from ending its season prematurely, but realizes the significance of how successful the program has become thanks to a tightly knit nucleus.
“We’re really like brothers. That’s not an exaggeration at all,†senior linebacker Billy Stone said. “I love all these guys to death – we’re one big family. That’s why it’s so hard to lose, because you hurt as much for the person next to you as you do for yourself.â€
It is this unselfish mindset that has allowed Norwood and a community of devoted citizens to build such a tremendous culture surrounding the program in Jamestown.
Although the veteran group that led Ragsdale to an outstanding 2009 season loses more than 20 members to graduation, the architect remains confident in the long-term future of his squad.
“Quality kids, quality parents,†Norwood summarized. “I can’t say enough about them. (The seniors) will be hard to replace.â€
Let us not forget that Indianapolis did in fact win a Super Bowl one year and lifted that monkey off their back. Plus, Indianapolis has still yet to finish this season as they have started off 10-0. So, Ragsdale one day maybe?
Ragsdale will be fine. They have good coaching and will always have good players. As long as that happens, then they will be good and will continue to win.
when Ragsdale won earlier they celebrated at (The Tarp). Move on and lets get pass this dudley/ragsdale whos better! Congrates to guilford county for having teams to make it to playoffs. EGH,NGH,PHS,SHS and all the rest not mention !!!!
Ragsdale Tigers remain close because we are a family, WE ARE ONE! We win together and lose together. This group of athletes and coaches is incredible! I am so thankful that my two sons have had the opportunity to be a part of the Ragsdale Football Tradition. They are better young men for their experience with the team and these coaches. Coach Norwood and staff truly care about these young men and building their character along with a strong football program. To them the list of priorities is simple; God, Family, Football. As it should be!
Congratulations to the Ragsdale Football Team and Coaches on another successful season and another year of developing great young men!
Panthers send Congrads to RHS on a great season. No one can dis-credit what you guys have accomplished. Continue to set high goals and work until you obtain them. Great young men. Dudley is a better team because of great teams like yours. Don’t think they for one minute that they took you guys for granted.
RHS…what a wonderful season. I believe it was the loss to you guys and the near miss to some of the other teams that changed the focus of Dudley coaches and players. Because of you we are a better team at the end of the season than at the beginning. We began to pass and got a kicker for PAT’s.
Coach Norwood did a great job with his Tigers. They were (26-2) over 2 seasons and they just happened to come along at a time when the Dudley Panthers are laying out a legend over on Lincoln, Lincoln Street that is.
The Tigers just happened to get locked up with a powerhouse Panther program.
Back when I was in school, we played Ragsdale nearly ever year for the Conference title and we lost every year, and in those days only the Conference champion got to go the playoffs and we had to stay home every year.
We had a very good team, but we were losing to the State Champs every year in the Conference Championship game and after losing, our year was over and Ragsdale would move on and be the only team from our conference in the playoffs and then they would go on and win or tie for the State Championship each year and we never even got to taste the playoffs.
We must have been pretty good or the only team to keep us from advancing wouldn’t have been winning the State 3-A title every year.
What would we do? Stay home, in fact we never got to leave home, because the loss to Ragsdale would keep us out of the playoffs each year…..
Ragsdale’s record speaks for itself and they will be back again. They lose something like 26 seniors, but they return, Luke Heavner, D’onovan Smith, DeShawn Shouse, Tyquan Roberts, Avery Washington, Barry Brown, and Ryan Wall and many others…
You have Heavner at QB…Smith at TB, Roberts and Shouse at WR, Pete Romer at TE, Barry Brown at RB, Ryan Wall as K/P, Washington as a top DB, Trey Grimes as a LB, the other Tray as a LB and that’s just a few of the starters…….
Several linemen are back also and by Coach Norwood platooning his players, you never have a huge drop off in talent……
Ragsdale will be ready come August 2010…….