Grismely(8-0) at home vs. Matthews Butler(8-1) this Friday night….Butler’s only loss of the season came at the hands of the Myers Park Mustangs, who are in the 4-AA Regional Final on Friday, vs. Charlotte Vance…Butler lost 24-21 against Myers Park, back on March 12…
Not trying to make Butler out to be a one-horse team, because they are not from a one-horse town, but Butler has really been led all season long by their 6’0/210 pound running back, senior Davion Nelson…Nelson has rushed for 1,194 yards on 143 carries, with 16 rushing touchdowns..Nelson with 8.4 yards per carry and 132.7 yards per game….Nelson has had 6 100-yard rushing games this season, and his biggest running night of the year came last Friday night versus Providence, in Round Two of the playoffs, when Nelson ran for 239 yards, on 25 carries and he scored two rushing TD’s…Look for Nelson to get the ball at least 20-25 times against Grimsley this Friday night…The ball and the ball game are in Nelson’s hands….9.6 yards per carry for Nelson vs. Providence, in the Bulldogs’ 35-0 win last Friday night…
Butler QB Parrish Metzger has put up some solid overall numbers too, going 71-131 passing for 1,324 yards, with 19 TD’s and 5 INT’s…Top receiver for Butler is Jake Snapp, with 27 receptions for 527 yards and 8 TD’s…Metzger was 10-16 for 135 yards and 0 TD’s vs. Providence and Davion Nelson was carrying the load that night for the Butler Bulldogs..
Butler came to Greensboro back in 2011, the year Page won the NCHSAA 4-AA Title…Page defeated Butler and Butler was led back then by Riley and Zach Ferguson..Riley was the Butler QB….But, Page had a very talented defense, and the Page defense and defensive line was coached by Norman Weeks…Today, Norman Weeks is the defensive line coach for the Grimsley Whirlies…There may be some real karma in this scenario..Coach Weeks leading that Page defense back in 2011, when Page knocked off the favored Butler Bulldogs, and now Coach Weeks leading the Grimsley defensive line ten years later, with Matthews Butler coming to Jamieson Stadium on Friday night…Page had a solid offense with James Summers at QB and Drew Rogers at RB, plus Orlando Hatfield and Brian Spain, among the key receivers….Page defensive stalwarts included Shaun Workinger, Blake Hickman, Christian Cranford, and Ed Britt, all who played college football…
Butler back in town this Friday night, with Travis Shaw, Tamorye Thompson, Sincere Burnette, Quentin Williamson, Cam Allison, Jordan Watkins, Myles Gowens, Caleb Curtain and others getting ready to step up on defense….Grimsley is set at QB with Alonza Barnett III, and at RB with Jeiel Melton…Albright, Dunkins, Tutuh, Resper, all ready at receiver…
(The unsung heroes for Grimsley?…Their offensive line.)
Grimsley knows what is at stake, but again, they will have their hands full on Friday night…
Dudley rushed for 206 yards vs. Mount Tabor back on March 20…Mount Tabor was able to produce the victory, with a 9-6 win over the Dudley Panthers…Dudley also threw the ball for 104 yards, but Dudley’s junior QB Jahmier Slade was only 7-24 passing(3 INT’s) in that ball game, played at Dudley’s Tarpley Stadium…Dudley had 310 yards of total offense in that loss to Mount Tabor, but the Panthers were only able to produce six points….Dudley had three runners, Milan Summers, Michael Shaw and Slade run for 50 yards or more vs. Tabor, but no back was able to reach 100 yards vs. Tabor….Mount Tabor only gave up 10 points to the Weddington Warriors last Friday night, and Weddington was the two-time defending 3-AA State Champion….
We have no concrete stat numbers on Mount Tabor from MaxPreps, and I guess they are not posting those numbers for this season, but from what we have seen so far this season, this Friday night game at Mount Tabor is going to be a defensive battle…The most points Mount Tabor has given up this season has been 15 points, and that came in the Spartans’ opening game of the season…That was back on February 26, versus WS Reagan…That was a 22-15 win for Mount Tabor(9-0)…Other Mount Tabor scores ran like 62-6, 57-0, 9-6(Dudley game), 50-6, 50-0, 36-13, 36-7 and 21-10(Weddington game)…
Dudley posted 77 points on the road last Friday night so you know the Dudley offense is ready…The Dudley defense only gave up six points to Mount Tabor back on March 20, so you know the Dudley defense is ready…If the Dudley offense can find some big holes in that Mount Tabor defense, Dudley will be on the move at Tabor City this Friday night…..The final feeling remains, this going to be a “Defensive Battle” on Friday night…