Just a load of upsets on Friday night with the Smith over Eastern Guilford maybe being the biggest upset and then you had Northeast Guilford taking down Ragsdale and both of those two cases, the home teams, Smith and NEG took full advantage of being at their place and getting the victories….
Then you had Southwest Guilford going over to Northwest Guilford and picking up the win, and that has to be another upset, even SWG has now taken down NWG two times in the past 3 years in a-row…..23-6 NWG in 2016, 21-20 SWG in 2015 and 2015, SWG ran that table, beating NWG, Ragsdale and High Point Central on their way to topping Watauga in Round One of the playoffs and then came that Round Two trip to Dudley….Got to get the ‘Cowboys Chornicles Correct’….
The Smith win was something like 14-11, NEG puts away Ragsdale, in the neighborhood of 32-22 and SWG beats NWG, and I think it was 30-23….
Dudley beat Southeast Guilford again and that is something 35 straight years that Dudley has topped SEG….I thought Southeast was about to take Dudley out, when the score read 12-10 Dudley and SEG had chances to take the lead…..Dudley wins the game 42-17 and Dudley is the true #1 team in Guilford County and at (5-0) has earned a week off and they will take one next week….
Zariek Rush rushed for 209 yards and three touchdowns for Dudley tonight and he had a long run of 49 yards and that run took him to the end zone….Rush just got back off the Panthers’ injured list and as Rush was coming back, Dudley lost their starting QB Gerald Simpson and they lost another player to ejection and with Dudley being off next week, the ejected Panther would have to miss the next Dudley game, due to his ejection tonight at SEG….
Rush really looked good and got better for Dudley, as the game wore on….Rush may be ready to take on the Rush Role of Top Running back in Guilford County……Rush will have come catching up to do catch Malachi Manness, from Ragsdale, but it can be done and you have to wonder what kind of night Manness had up at NEG tonight…..
Upsets, upsets and more upsets, it was busy night….In some ways the Smith win over Eastern Guilford may have been the biggest upset of all, at least it was on this night…..Eastern Guilford has to get back on track as quick as they can and they Southeast Guilford, at SEG, coming up on Friday October the 13th….EG coming down to SEG and that might be a game for the Conference Championship…..
That Dudley-SEG game at 12-10 was really looking good, but then Dudley reached down and they exploded and they never looked back, as Lio Rush, I mean Zariek Rush led his men to the “Promised Land”/End Zone….SEG was really in this game and then you look up and they were gone….SEG began the game on the opening possession and after taking the kickoff to being the game, the Falcons drove to the Dudley 13 and went they got down there deep in that Red Zone, the Falcons proceeded to cough the ball up on an interception and the ball went over to the Dudley Panthers…
Dudley used three QB’s vs. SEG and two of them got hurt….Gerald Simpson looked like he might have been messed up pretty bad and left the game early in the first half and did not return….Backup QB Richard Monroe came in and threw a TD pass to Nigel Fitzgerald and then Quad/Richard ran for a TD too….Monroe was injured while playing defense for Dudley and left the game and did not return as QB, but he did come back in on defense….
Dudley went with their #3 man, Alston Hooker the rest of the way, and Hooker did a good job of running the team and he was facilitated by the rushing of Rush….Rush took the load off of the Panthers’s QB spot and it didn’t really matter who was back, Rush was getting it done and Dudley finished with Hooker at the helm…..
Off week for Dudley next week so everybody will have time to get well, but the jury is still out on how bad the Gee Simpson injury really was….Simpson get his leg/knee bent back and it did not look good as he was helped off of the field, but the Off Week, may be the cure for what is ailing the Dudley walking wounded….
Dudley was fortunate that they had the three-deep QB lineup and they needed all of them tonight….SEG was popping and there came to be one stage of the game where a Dudley player was ejected and we were trying to find out if a player from SEG was ejected too….A fight nearly broke out on the field and one player got body slammed, but the officials did a good job of maintaining order and things never really got way out of hand…Got to find out if the Dudley player will be able to play in his next game, in two weeks….Was it an ejection or disqualification???
SEG had a steady game-ready QB in Ryan Douglas and it was interesting to see the connection between Douglas and his #1 receiver, #84 Brent Apple….That Apple kid can catch just about any pass that is coming his way and that kid is a real catch for the Falcons….
Here is something I like to do for you and after the dust has settled and after all of those wild and crazy upsets tonight, and some might be saying we need to give SEG half a win since they did play well early and pretty good late tonight and if that were the case, we would have to give Dudley a win and a-half…
Here is how it is going 5 weeks into the 2017 season…..Just one Unbeaten team(Dudley) and three teams(Western Guilford, Southern Guilford and HP Andrews) still looking for their first win of the ’17 season….
Dudley(5-0)
Page(4-1)
Southeast Guilford(4-1)….With the losses of other teams tonight, SEG may be able to move up a spot in the next poll and though the Falcons fell on Friday….
Northeast Guilford(3-1)
Southwest Guilford(3-2)
Northwest Guilford(3-2)
Smith(3-2)
Eastern Guilford(3-2)
Ragsdale(3-2)
High Point Central(3-2)
Northern Guilford(2-2)
Grimsley(2-3)
Southern Guilford(0-4)
High Point Andrews(0-4)
Western Guilford(0-5)
*****Other than with Dudley way up at the top, we have some parody in Guilford County these days…..*****
That Dudley kid getting ejected was the momentum game changer for Dudley.Coach Davis lit into his team and Rush went on a personal mission. Congratulations Dudley.
On the SEG side at least it was an exciting game to watch. Getting beat last year watching our offense was like watching paint dry. At least we moved the ball around and made a game of it til the ejection.
And it was mentioned that SEG played well early……….it was 12-10 with 9:45 left in the game. That is a HUGE improvement from last year where it wasn’t even a contest from the first snap. SEG still has room to grow. Dudley has a squad, but SEG is no slouch team.
Nigel Fitzgerald was the player that got ejected. We know him and he is a GREAT young man. I hope that the ejection doesn’t affect any of his recruitment opportunities.
Grimsley established some offensive consistency last night, but are still plagued by turnovers. The return of Nile Harris, Born Lesane and Dallas Goins next week scents the air with upset next week at home vs. East Forsyth. The Whirlie defense is pretty stout, but they need to develop depth on both sides of the ball. Coach Brown is building a solid edifice at Grimsley.
Western will surprise some teams before the year is out. Purnell may be the fastest QB in the county and has a nice stable of athletes at skill positions to complement their offense.
That 49-yard run by Rush was the game-changer…If Rush can keep this up he took over the ‘Top Running back in Guilford County’ role last night…..
Rush was rolling and so rolled Dudley….If he can stay healthy Dudley can ride “The Rush” and get far down the road…
One man does not make a team, but he sure made a big difference last night and we have to give credit to his offensive line, they were opening up some gaping holes….
Dudley did not have to throw and little/younger Hooker(Alston) was able to take advantage of an opportunity given to him by the loss of his teammates and really made the most of being given the chance to run the team(Dudley)….
Southeast is improved, but early in the game the short set-up on the punt formations baffled me a bit and I think to a certain degree the punting game hurt SEG last night, just try to lay out the apples and the oranges here….
And speaking of Apples, Brent Apple is a legit receiver for SEG….Wish for them he was only a junior, he and Ryan Douglas connected well…
Hate Dudley lost Nigel Fitzgerald, but the officials jumped in the made the call….
Good to see former Falcon coach Bill Slayton down there at the game last night, always good to see the man the stadium was named for in “The House”….
Only one Unbeaten remaining and Dudley is off next week and we will see where next takes us all…
Good night, I mean Good Morning….
The return of Nile Harris, Born Lesane and Dallas Goins next week as we go Eagle hunting! I think East will be looking ahead to Page. East lets Grimsley hang around and the Whirlies win a close one!
Grimsley – 20
East Forsyth – 17
Where is the love for the Smith Golden Eagles people! They went out and beat Eastern Guilford in the biggest upset of the week!!! Eastern was a team that people were picking over Page last week! GO SMITH!!!!
That was a HUGE win for Smith and an even bigger upset in the scheme of things. I think that a lot of teams in this area are closer in talent than many will admit. It will be interesting to see how the playoffs pan out.
They talk about players having rust when they return, but there was NO Rust on Rush(Dudley HS) last night at SEG…
His 49-yard run for the TD was one of the best I have seen all season and we are going to start calling him, Zeke….
Kinda disappointed in the lack of coverage/write-up about our NE boys this past Friday night and the great job that Coach Bates is doing over here in McLeansville. Northeast is back on the map and ready to shock some people. Beating Ragsdale was only the start, the Rams are playing well behind Ta’rique Ridges, Kobe Dillard, Davion Swain, Desmond Overton, Rashad Mcdonald just to name a few of the Rams putting in work here at Northeast. The coaching staff and players all showed what Ram football is all about this past Friday night and are ready to prove we have what it takes. Don’t sleep on these RAMS!
Ok…. NE Teach, before we crown NE lets see them beat someone besides a run down Ragsdale team who’s coach left the week before the season started or whenever it was. Ragsdale’s new Head Coach doesn’t have a clue right now. The games we have won is because we had more talent not better coaching! All he can do is turn around and hand the ball off 40 times a game. How we have zero passing threat with one of the best WRs in the area is beyond me?!? I’m all for running the ball but at some point in time we have to let the defense know we are willing to throw the ball down the field. It’s amazing how bad the play calling has gotten without Norwood there. Hey Coach…Not that hard! Run the ball a few times then go playaction and throw it up to Pratt and the rest of the crew. If they want to double team Pratt go to one of the other capable WRs/RBs.
Yes SE, I think all the teams in the Triad are really close this year. The triad area is similar to the NFL this year that on any given Friday any team can win.
Page is going to go out and crush Southern this week. East Forsyth is going to go out and beat Grimsley in a game that will be closer than the experts think. Then it’s the game many of us in the Triad will be paying attention to PAGE v EAST FORSYTH! Not only is this 2 of the best teams in the State but its Coach Rolfes play calling against his former Defensive assistant Coach Beal. Rolfes and Beal have a lot of bad blood and Rolfes hasn’t forgot where East ran the score up on him at NWG in 2015. Now Coach Rolfes has a team that just as talented as East Forsyth. I bet Rolfes and Page will beat East by 21 points. I just hope he throws a fade route up by 50 in the 4th with 2 minutes to go. I’ve seen East and no way they can move the ball on the Page Red Death Defense!!!!
Lets not get too worked up prematurely Red. Remember, this current crop of buccaneer talent are hold overs from the Coach G era. The litmus test, of course, will come in a couple of years when Rolfes is stocked with his own kids that don’t have that championship game experience.
Arrrrrrrgghhhhh!!!!
Something at Page must be going well. Hearing repeadly and from grounded sources that a Dudley player has transferred to Alma Pinnix Drive!
Page Dad, don’t get ahead of yourself. Kids transfer for many different reasons. It certainly does not mean something is going right at Page. Give me a break!!!!
Dudley1. Request for a break unapproved . Just reporting what I’ve been told. And truth be told, LOTS is going right at Page….from academics to athletics, the first being what matters most!
Everybody think Dudley took a step back. But Dudley played without 7 staters. And still won the game. I bet other teams was in the same situation they would lose.
“Chris45”, maybe you are right. Maybe they haven’t taken a step back. The playoffs will be the true test IMO.
Grimsley O line has gotten a lot better from last year, the big thing I have notice is the strides Zachary Harrison #52 has made. He plays well for his size and should get some college looks in the coming weeks.
So who did Page get from Dudley or are we just going to make comments saying some kid left Dudley?
Page Dad, there are lots of things going right in just about all the Guilford CO Schools like academics and athletics. Page is just another school in the mix, no more, no less. And don’t believe everything you hear!!!
Page didn’t get a kid from Dudley the kid is a freshman he played at Aycock last year. Was working out with Page and then for some reason ended up at Dudley, now he’s back at Page. But the kids is great academically and on the field. Was on Varsity at Dudley playing WR but I believe he’ll be on JV/Varsity at Page. Dudley has a great foundation over there and looking forward to Page Building a foundation over there.
LB Bilal varsity
WR Isaac JV/Varsity
WR Harry JV
All came from Dudley. Nothing wrong with Dudley program, sometimes parents just want to see their kids get more playing time.
Page/Dudley: what you mean to say is that these kids transferred for the academics. For example, Page offers an academic program that isn’t offered anywhere else in Guilford County, right? From what I understand being unhappy about playing time at School A does not give you an “out” to transfer to School B. At least that’s not what Hebbard’s rule change for this year says. Strictly academics, right? Or perhaps, all of these families coincidentally moved into the Page district at the same exact time. I guess that could have happened. Seems legit.
To be honest, I don’t see the problem with a kid being able to transfer schools because they aren’t getting any playing time at another school. We try to marginalize sports and athletic scholarships, but if a kid can go to school on a full or partial scholarship that can be a HUGE weight off a families shoulders. I know that the odds of getting a sports scholarship are slim, but if a kid is going to get an opportunity somewhere else they should be allowed to explore that avenue as if it were an academic course. That is just MHO. BTW, there are Dudley players that have transferred to other schools. Just look at the QB at Grimsley.
You are correct SEG has talent. There are kids on Dudley’s team that transferred from several schools. However, everyone should realize transfers are common and not unique to just a few schools. When I was in school years ago. We had 3 of our players to move and played against them at their new school the next few years until gwe all graduated.
It was always fun to play against your former teammates!! We are all still good friends to this day.
Too much politics in High school sports. Some of these top programs are loaded with talent, and kids that could be starters are their 2nd and 3rd string. If a kid can go to another school and shine, I am all for it.
Lol I highly doubt parents transfer their kids for academic reason honestly. 9 times outta 10 it’s duh to playing time.
Here’s the deal….Everyone wants to cry foul play when the kid leaves their school. But, when Dudley gets a new QB this year nobody said a word about it. The more I think about it the more I think Forsyth County has it right. Let the kids go where they want as long as they can get a ride there then you guys could quit with your stupid excuses whenever a kid comes over. You let them have 1 transfer and if you want more than that you have to move. Done deal!