High School Football for tonight in Guilford County…
Northwest Guilford(1-1)/(3-2) at Page(2-0)/(2-3)
This will be our Murphy Wainer Orthopedic Specialists Game of the Week, from Marion Kirby Stadium, with the SayYes Guilford kickoff set to come right around 7:30pm…We will have the Sprinkle Oil pregame show going strong at around 6:50pm…All of this coming up for you on GreensboroSports Radio….The key to this game will be how the defenses play…Great JV game on Thursday night, with Page topping NWG, 8-7…Page saw how Grimsley was able to run the ball effectively vs. Northwest and Page will try and do the same thing…Yards on the ground will allow Page to control the game, and to control the ball….Northwest will try and get to the air, but it might be better for NWG to establish their ground game first with Xavier Simmons on the hard runs, and then use Bristol Carter, by getting him some short passes out in space and then let him do the rest…NWG has a very potent offense, when they get it going with Carter, Trent Cloud, Jake Sowards and others…Cloud is the long ball man, and Carter is the big play man….Getting the ball to the receivers is NWG sophomore QB Tanner Ballou…Ballou going 84-139 passing for 1,270 yards with 13 TD’s/9 INT’s…254 yards a game for Ballou, and he is completing just over 60% of his passes…Carter with 16 receptions for 475 yards and 4 TD’s for NWG, and Cloud with 36 receptions for 451 yards and 6 TD’s…Page will need to keep a close watch on Carter and Cloud, while putting extreme pressure on QB Ballou…Grimsley defensive lineman Tamorye Thompson hurried Ballou seven times last week, and Page will need that same kind of effort when it comes to putting pressure on Ballou…Ballou has a very strong arm, and you can’t give him time to throw, or he will let it rip…NWG will want to run the ball with Simmons, 40 carries for 285 yards and five touchdowns on the season…If NWG can run it, it will be easier for them to pass the ball…Simmons, from NWG, and the top Page Pirate runner, Trevon Hester, are similar…The both are very good runners, and they both are top defensive players for their respective teams…Hester has been a better runner, and has been becoming a better defender, and Simmons has been defense first, but now his running for the Vikings has become equally as important as his terrorizing tackles…These two might be the biggest keys to the game for both teams…Hester for Page, and Simmons for Northwest…Who can go longer and harder on both sides of the ball??? Bristol Carter also does multiple duties for NWG, and Page has plenty of players going both ways…Put your best players on the field and let them have/go at it…Jerron Blackwell, the freshman from Page, is like Carter, in that he is crucial to Page in the kick return department…Blackwell is a great setup man, and he can Page into great field position with his returns, just like Carter can for NWG…Devontae Deloatch, gives Page another duel threat for offense and defense…Jake Sowards is another NWG receiving threat and NWG boasts Balton and Kesselring as two other key defensive threats…Walt Turner, who tows the line on offense and defense, might be the top lineman in this game tonight….Grady Sherrill goes WR/DB/LS for Page, and he is like one of those imported swiss army knives that can do a number of different things…Parker Maynard and Adonis Paton have been putting on the hits for the Page Pirates…Who knows, it may come down to how Nick Williamson is able to read the NWG “D” and run the Page offense from his QB spot…475 yards passing and three TD tosses for the season for Williamson, but Williamson is a good runner too…The best of the Page runners, Trevon Hester with 351 yards on 66 carries, but 8 big touchdowns on the year for Hester(Trevon)…This figures to be a very good Metro 4-A battle, and the winner of this game, might end up with the third and final playoff spot from the Metro 4-A Conference, that is just how big this game is…
Game coming up for you tonight, on GreensboroSports Radio…
Will probably see Joe Sirera from the News and Record at this game….HSXtra.com…
Western Guilford(0-2)/1-4) at Grimsley(2-0)/(5-0)
JV games goes Grimsley 34-8 and we might see a repeat of that game tonight, but the Grimsley varsity may head for for the half century make like they ended up with last week, at Northwest…Grimsley with Alonza Barnett III throwin for 1,288 yards so far this season with 15 TD passes, but the next part is the key part of his game so far, NO interceptions…No giveaways…Barnett not giving the ball to the other team..That is a key plus for the Whirlies, and now Jeiel Melton is getting hot on the ground for Grimsley….Melton with 557 yards and 5 TD’s, but look at Barnett, who added in 244 yards on the ground and four more TD’s…Kind of reminds you of what Chris Zellous was doing for Grimsley at QB, a few years back…Barnett with 1,532 total yards on the year…Melton has also added 241 yards on the receiving end now for Grimsley…Nineteen total touchdowns that Barnett has been responsible for…How do you top that type of productivity…I don’t know, but we do know that Bryson Moore, Western’s top tackler, will get unlimited opportunities to catch both Barnett and Melton on this evening…
Northern Guilford(2-0)/(5-0) at Southwest Guilford(1-1)/(3-2)
34-0 SWG in the JV game on Thursday night, but I don’t seeing it going that way in the Varsity game…Too many weapons for Northern Guilford on offense…Saw them vs. Southeast Guilford last Friday night, and with QB Jack Mercer standing back there and having these targets, WR Terrell Timmons, WR Manny Elliot, TE Vance Bolyard, WR Zion Crawford, and RB Jordan McGinnis, I don’t know how SWG is going to stop the NG Nighthawks…Maybe the Nighthawks could go into “The Ranch” and lay an egg, but I do not see that happening…McGinnis is a very talented runner, and with the jumping ability of Timmons and Elliot, and the target that Bolyard is, and with Crawford coming through the backfield in motion, NG may need to draw straws to see who will get the ball next, and SWG may need to draw straws to see who will be chasing and tackling the Nighthawks next…And we haven’t even mentioned the NG “D” yet, and that is one area of their game that many have been overlooking, but how can you now….Gooch, Lachevsky, Underwood up front, then Flippin and the other LB’s, Atkins, Bluitt and the other DB’s…This crew is loaded..SWG will have to get moving fast and hard with QB Joey McGinnis IV, RB Cam McCain, and WR Darius Hairston…SWG can not come and try to run off and leave NG, because the Nighthawks will come get you…SEG got up on NG by a TD last week, but Northern got rolling, and it was all over but the shouting….Interesting meeting with Jordan McInnis from NG, and Joey McGinnis from SWG…
Game can be heard on 600 AM and on 93.7 FM with Dave Polaski and Drew Brackett…
Ragsdale(0-2)/1-4) at Southeast Guilford(0-2)/2-3)
It will be Homecoming at Bill Slayton Stadium tonight…The old ball coach won’t be there, but the memory of the success he had while leading the Falcons will be felt on the sidelines on this special Friday evening…Look for Keyshawn Wall to pick up where he left off at Northern Guilford last Friday night…Wall is really coming into his own, as a quality running back, for the Falcons…Wall was right at 170 yards rushing and a TD run, at NG last Friday night…Needing more from their wideouts too, that being Cameron Williams and Nick Caldwell…Both Caldwell and Williams are playmakers and they should be able to showcase their skills on their home turf at the Slayton Stadium on this Homecoming Friday…40-0 SEG in the JV game and not sure it will get to that point in tonight’s Varsity contest, but with the little we know about the Ragsdale Tigers, we know that they are coached by Johnny Boykin, and Coach Boykin will have his boys ready to play, in the Metro 4-A…..
Smith(1-4) at Dudley(4-1)
JV game went Dudley, 62-6, and the Varsity is looking to lay similar numbers in this contest….Dudley at home, at ‘The Tarp’, and with Slade at QB, Mehki Wall at WR/KR/DB, and RJ Baker at WR/RB/KR, and then you add in Michael Shaw at RB, and Nasir Newkirk, the freshman WR, plus Dudley has put up defensive numbers that might make the New York Giants want to borrow Coach Brandon Anderson’s defensive playbook, well with all of that being said, and with all of the Dudley work about to be done, this one won’t be pretty…Going to be pretty tough for Smith to get on ‘The Tarp’ scoreboard, and I say this is one Smith might want to use as a growing and learning session, because I think Dudley is about ready to teach them a lesson…The School of Hard Knocks will be in session on Friday night, at James B. Dudley High School….
WS Atkins(1-3) at Southern Guilford(2-3)
SG Storm over the NEG Rams 28-0 last Friday night, and SG wants to deliver more of the same this week…Rydell Herbin with 182 yards rushing last week, and QB Jamias Ferere with two TD’s on the ground, and Southern is showing progress, but they want to see the results on the C.K. Siler Stadium scoreboard….Get those two guys, Herbin and Ferere cranking again, and you should be able to crank out the positive results that you are looking for….
Eastern Guilford(2-1) at Rockingham County(3-1)
I just hope they are able to get this game in…Eastern Guilford needs games…Most teams are in for Game Six this week, but EG is just going for their fourth game of the season…If EG can get the chance to play, I think we will see them win again….Big game with Dudley coming up soon….
North Forsyth(2-2) at High Point Andrews(1-3)
Andrews is another one of those teams that needs games…Andrews can’t get any better if they are not playing each and every week…Andrews must get into game shape, but they must have the games to get into first…
High Point Christian Academy(3-1) at Ravenscroft Academy(4-1) 7pm
Very tough road game for HPCA this week….The Ravens are always tough in football, and not comparable to Cardinal Gibbons, but put together within a similar premise…The Cougars could be getting a tough dose of private school football reality in this contest…
Picks
Northwest Guilford
Grimsley
Northern Guilford
Southeast Guilford
Dudley
Southern Guilford
Eastern Guilford
High Point Andrews
Ravenscroft
This Week’s Top Ten Poll:
1)Grimsley(5-0)
2)Northern Guilford(5-0)
3)Dudley(4-1)
4)Northwest Guilford(3-2)
5)Southeast Guilford(2-3)
6)Page(2-3)
7)Eastern Guilford(2-1)
8)Southwest Guilford(3-2)
9)Southern Guilford(2-3)
10)TIE:Reader’s Choice(1-4)/High Point Christian Academy(3-1)
What has happened to “COACHING”? I see undefeated teams as well as teams with no wins and in between. The one thing I see consistently is plug and play. They take kids that have been trained up & natural talent and try and plug them into rolls but will not develop the rest of the team?? I guarantee you will see it, if you know football and don’t just watch football. Any game look at how many kids that just STAND there…
Well to answer your question about coaching.. most of North Carolinas great coaches usually make a name for themselves here and then take better paying jobs in other states, most notably South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. This just happened recently with Mallard Creek’s Mike Palmieri, and the other week with Chambers AD leaving for a job midway through the school year for better pay. But also, the only way for this to be fixed is for the counties and the state to increase pay for our football and other sport coaches. That being said, there are still quite a bunch of great up and coming coaches in the state of NC and there always will be. The question will always be, how long will they stay. It depends on the communities they coach in. For example a place like Richmond and Kannapolis AL Brown takes very good care of their coaches. But, 30 miles west in Charlotte, those schools are much like stepping stones where the best ones leave for more money else where (ie. Tommy Knotts, Mike Newsome, Sam Griner). The same happened at Page with coach Gillespie when he left for Asheboro.
Also, everyone wants to win, which means putting the best players on the field regardless.. Its up to the kids to also work hard and practice/train well to give the coaches more options to play them. Alot of kids that just stand there on the sidelines sometimes is for their own good, football is a tough sport and coaches will not just send anyone out there to get fed to the wolves.