Here we go, and this is maybe right on time, as we get ready to hit the upcoming 2022 High School Football Season…We are covering Guilford County, and that is what we do, and what we have been doing for the past 17 years on this website, and for the past 52 years overall in Guilford County…
Middle School Football, JV Football, High School Football, College Football, Pro/NFL Football, that is us…
I played football on these high school football fields back in the 1970’s, so we know a little bit about this territory…
So today, let’s begin to look at who will be the top five in the county for this, the 2022 High School Football Season…
And we want to hear from you…As the old saying goes, “What Say You”???
We see and say the Dudley Panthers at #1…
Defending State 3-A Champions…One of the best overall and fastest players in the state, R.J. Baker(RB/WR/KR) is back as the top Dudley athlete..Going to be a new QB, in place of the graduated Jahmier Slade…Both of the possibilities should be more than adequate, in Domaine Vann and Andrew Attmore II…Nasir Newkirk is one of the best athletes in the state, and he will be the primary receiver target, for the two QB’s…Logan Wright, will be the right man to lead the Dudley defense, from his D-line position…
So, Dudley is #1…”To be the man, you have to beat the man”(Ric Flair:1973), and will the Mid-State 3-A teams be able to beat the Dudley Panthers??? Chances are not very favorable at all…Going to be hard, to keep pace with those Panthers…
1)Dudley Panthers
At #2, we will take/go with, the Grimsley Whirlies…Grimsley will be looking for a new quarterback and new top running back, with the graduation of Alonza Barnett III at QB, and Jeiel Melton at RB…Missing Tamoyre Thompson on the defensive line is another big loss for the Whirlies…But, if Grimsley can find their QB, they have a group of receivers that is as good as any bunch in the state…Alex Taylor, Terrell Anderson, Nolan Albright, Jaylon Bumpass, and Brendan Faison, all five of those guys can go get it…Lots of work for Grimsley to do on defense…The big man, Jamaal Jarrett, will anchor the defensive line…
2)Grimsley Whirlies
And then there is major drop-off after the first two teams…That is just the way it is right now…Northern Guilford has the young man who returns as the top QB in Guilford County, and that would be Jack Mercer…Can Mercer put up the same numbers he did back in 2021??? It is going to be much tougher for him…Northern lost RB Jordan McInnis, WR Terrell Timmons, and others, but they do return TE Vance Bolyard, and he is one of the top tight ends in the state of North Carolina…It will be close to a total rebuild on defense for the Northern Guilford Nighthawks…But with a QB like Mercer on hand, they will still be a threat in the Metro 4-A…
3)Northern Guilford Nighthawks
Last season Northern Guilford beat Page, and Grimsley beat Page and Northern Guilford, but the Grimsley-NG, and the NG-Page games were very close games…Page plays Dudley early in the year, but Grimsley and Dudley do not play…All of the Metro 4-A teams will face off…So with the #4 slot, we will go with the Page Pirates…The program is fast-improving under head coach Doug Robertson…Page will have the left-handed QB in Nick Williamson, and the right-handed QB in Jerron Blackwell…And I hope I got that right…Jerron Blackwell might be the best overall up-and-coming athlete in the state…He and Nasir Newkirk from Dudley, are for sure the top young sophomores in the county….Blackwell will be playing receiver and defensive back if he is not quarterbacking…Page has Paul Thompson as a steady running back, Parker Maynard as another top WR, and Tremel Hester will be the leader on the defensive line…Thompson also at LB for the Pirates…
4)Page
We have Northwest Guilford at the #5 spot, with junior Tanner Ballou as the Vikings’ leader…Ballou threw for a load of yards last season, and should do even better this time around….He has Trent Cloud and Bristol Carter as his top receivers…Cloud is the stretch receiver, and he can get upfield…Drop off a quick pass to Carter out of the backfield and let him run…Carter is a playmaker, and Cloud is like a go-to receiver….NWG has to find a dependable running back, and Mike Godette hopes to be that man…Northwest Guilford has the young man, who should be the top offensive lineman in the county, and that would be Walter/Walt Turner, the younger brother of Tre Turner and P.J. Hairston…On defense, that is where NWG must come up with a way to be stoppers…
5)Northwest Guilford
There you go with a Top Five, and we have to stop someplace…Other teams on the cusp of entering the Top Five are the Southeast Guilford Falcons, with QB Serrano and Athlete Cam Williams, and others…Eastern Guilford is on the doorstep looking to be in there with QB Boyd, Lineman Braxton Vega(one of the tops in the state), the ‘Cats lost their top RB in Evans, and that is a killer for the ‘Cats there…Southern Guilford still has a promising QB in Jamias Ferere, but he has to step up soon, and show us what he can do…By what we are seeing on Twitter, Smith is putting the work in, and the Eagles might be about ready to fly again…NEG has the Tate kid, one of the top athletes in the state, plus Central and Andrews are hoping to hit some High Points/spots this season…Coach Boykin feels Ragsdale is on the way back, while Southwest Guilford and Western Guilford both have brand new coaches, and they are in the rebuild mode…Coach White at SWG, and Coach Timmons at WG….
Well, we mentioned every team in the county in this post, and how close are we with our Top Five?????
What Say You???
Only thing I would add to this is that Kordell Bartley and Jayden Brown are right there as two of the best up and coming sophomores. They both play for Dudley, I actually think Kordell may end up as the best overall athlete and believe he’s playing both ways this year.
I am with you there on Bartley….I remember him from late last year…I do not know Brown, but there was a running back from Dudley who was also I think a hurdler on the track team, maybe Lorenzo, and that kid could fly too…
Grimsley has Ryan stephens as a option at quarterback and domaine transferred for baseball.
Are these based off last season or what these teams have shown this summer?
Kordell and Brown were the two that scored against creek in the last 7on7 at Dudley before it got shut down. Lorenzo is another kid that will be good as well.
Yes and no on Stephens and Vann…Stephens should be the Grimsley #1 QB, but we are hearing about a young player over there at Grimsley that should get some time back there too…
Vann was the backup man for Dudley last year, and when Slade was down, Vann was in, so he has that experience on his side, on the Varsity level….He got the start, vs. Page, in the first game of the season, when Slade was out, and he got the win, sort of like a backup pitcher in that game….
As far as we know, even though Vann has been on the road a lot this Summer for baseball, he should be ready for football, come August 1…..
Dudley would have a good One-Two, with Attmore II-Vann, or with Vann-Attmore II, and there is still one of the Edwards kids at Dudley, who has experience at QB also….
Vann transferred to a private school for baseball is what I was trying to tell you.
This is a come back article for 11/1/22!!
Vann played baseball for Dudley back in the Spring, and with what you guys are saying, he is no longer at Dudley…He was a talented young man, but if baseball was his passion, it could be best to have moved on….
If he comes back in November, that will really get the pot stirred up, and remember you saw it here first….
The biggest challenge Attmore II will be facing, is no Varsity experience….He was great for the Grimsley JV’s last year, I saw maybe half of his games, but he did not play much in the varsity games at all…
Lots of football to be played, and the surface has only been scratched….
We also can’t leave out Ryan Debow for NWG, i believe he is playing both ways this year this sophomore might be one of the most athletic sophomores in the county and he should have a big year this season.
*********I did not leave this comment, but best of the luck to Ryan Debow…I remember him from back when he used to play for the Northwest Guilford Middle School team, and he may be one of the kids that was hurt part of the time last season…This new Andy Durham, maybe as Andy Durham II, we will watch for his future comments…**********
(Andy Durham I, signing out here.)
Can confirm that Domaine Vann has enrolled at Wesleyan to focus on baseball, so no football for him.
It looks like Attmore and Savoi Edwards battling for the QB job at Dudley. I guess Attmore knew Vann was leaving when he transferred from Grimsley. Makes a lot more sense now.
Some experience Andy, he was 8 quartered. He threw 4 tds/ 0 int’s and had 34 rushing yards. He increased JV scoring by 20 points last season, after losing BOTH his starting WR’s to Varsity…STR8 GAMER!!
This is getting interesting…I covered many of those Grimsley JV games last season, and was there to see the development of Andrew Attmore II.
We have a lot of very good quarterbacks that will be lining up back there this season…
Mercer-NG
Ballou-NWG
Blackwell and Williamson-Page
Attmore-Dudley
Stephens-Grimsley
Ferere-Southern Guilford
Serrano-Southeast Guilford
Boyd-Eastern Guilford
and we do have more, and we will be adding them to the mix as we get closer to the season, and begin to see more of the kids…
I know of a few more QB’s that are about ready to hit the mix, but I can not add them into the fray at this time…Gonna be a sure fire, hard-hitting year, out there in Guilford County…
Guilford County has the best football in the state, and it is only going to get better…I want our players to be playing with confidence, and they should all be ready come August 1…..
@Reality Czech, Andrew is Qb1 @ Dudley.
“Dads have gone wild Andy”..Thanks for all you do, great reports…Serrano and Ferere have experience and are solid QB’s. Tyreik Boyd is an Athlete and threw 19 Var TD’s last year. Mercer and Ballou are the top two returning QB’s in GC with loads of experience and offensive skill players. Anything besides this, is a guess and hope. I do hope everyone has a great year!
Git yo popcorn ready! Please come back to this article 11/1. I’ve stated who I am!
2 x Undefeated 4A Metro Conference Championships. 14-1 overall, 1x State Champ…I guess that will continue! I like the way some think.
2 x Undefeated JV 4A Metro Conference Championships. 14-1 overall, 1x State Champ…I guess that will continue! I like the way some think.
Don’t forget Dudley also has another rising sophomore quarterback who led the jv to an undefeated season last year.
I’m also looking forward to see some new break out players this season.
Oh, he’s great, smart, accurate and a leader.All of Dudley’s Dudley’s QB’s are good. Just watch, Andrew’s different. We believe in our Qb training that much..E43FITNESS Elite!
Andrew is enrolled @ the same high school since 2020…he’s never transferred, let’s stop that disinformation!
So what your saying (His daddy) is: Andrew never transferred. hmmm? So he didnt play jv for Grimsley last year, and now plays at another school? That is transferring, textbook definition…
Well, if you think for humm, that long!
@Guilford County actually he never switched schools, only where he plays football at. He’s been going to the same school as far as getting his education goes.
@facts..I hear you and understand. Still left(transferred) from the Grimsley football program. Left, transferred, whatever you want to call it, good for him, Mid State 3A is much easier anyway. Good luck to all the Guilford County teams, I’m also looking forward to see some new break out players this season.
@Guilford County I get what your saying, I was just informing you. If we are being honest both the metro 4A and Mid state 3A are not strong. Every school is rebuilding or not a real playoff threat except for Dudley and Grimsley, northern lost a ton. Dudley would beat the teams Grimsley has to face in the metro as well. Either way, I’m excited for some football!!!
All you have to do on this website is use the word “transfer” and people go crazy. If someone played for one school one year and plays for another the next, that student transferred, even if it was just an athletics transfer and not an academic transfer. No one is saying it was against the rules.
As for young Mr. Attmore, he throws a really nice ball and will have some very talented wideouts to catch them at Dudley just like he had at Grimsley. He’s a winner either way and a great kid. No disrespect meant.
Dudley also has RB Jailen Hicks that has transferred from Western Guilford
Wonder what people are saying about Page and Northern Guilford??? Plenty of talk about Dudley and Grimsley, which is to be expected, and some talk about Northwest Guilford, but do you think Page and Northern Guilford will be making some noise this upcoming season…
NG has QB Jack Mercer and TE Vance Bolyard, and those two should be able to get something started on offense, and Page has Jerron Blackwell, Paul Thompson, Parker Maynard and Nick Williamson within their offense, and those guys should be able to move the ball…Page was able to go across the field, and break open some big plays when Blackwell got his hands on the ball last season….
The young kids usually grow up and get better fast, so let’s see what this season holds….
I wouldn’t be surprised if northwest beats northern and page this year but then again it’s a toss up after Grimsley. It will come down to coaching.
Also, Andy the reason you didn’t hear about Brown is because he was at western last year in a bad system. All the top guys in the triad who plays 7v7 or trains year around already know about him. Now he’s a Dudley and is the future Rb for them the next 3 years. You heard it here first.
I’m interested to see how the games play out, especially in the metro 4A.
I honestly do not see anyone beating Grimsley or Dudley in their conferences. Grimsley on paper has to be the best team. Have about four or even five power five recruits. Their qb spot may have a question mark, we shall see soon.
@wait and see Being a power five recruit doesn’t always mean you are a better high school player. Last season Grimsley’s best defensive linemen for example was the Tamorye kid but Shaw and Jarret just so happen to be 6’5-6’6 300 plus so they get rated higher based off of what they can be projected into once a college gets a hold to them. The best players aren’t always the most highly recruited. Grimsley’s qb last year was better than the Qb from hough that committed to Chapel Hill.
Facts i said on paper they have the most talent imho. But tell that same line to IMG, Bishop Gorman, Mater Dei etc.
Not taking anything away from Tamoyre he is a D1 player wasn’t he? A very good football player and he was awesome. Having Travis and Jarrett did help that team. Those two guys ate up four so the backers, safeties and edge rushers could eat a whole lot easier right?. They have 2 WR (power five)who can ball so hey that helps. And i dare you go zero coverage on them.
Again we shall see what happens. Can’t wait for it and hoping to see some good ball this year across the board.
@wait and see you brought up the elite of the elite, that’s a different level of talent. I said it doesn’t always mean you are a better high school player in their case not those top schools who recruit nationally. The biggest difference makers they had when you actually watched their games was the Qb hands down and then the rb and tamoyre. The Wr’s they have this year are good, I know who you’re talking about. I can’t wait to see how it all shakes out and to see how far they go.
I disagree with you when you say Shaw and Jarrett were not the biggest difference makers. They opened it up for everyone else on that defense. What defines a difference maker? Is it stats only? So if a kid an amazing edge rusher on a lower team with no other help, he is getting double and triple team. The OC is sliding protection his way or maybe they run away from him all night, does that mean That kid was a not a difference maker? OR they bracket me as a WR all night and the slot or opposite WR pop off playing against man…They difference makers and i am not?
@wait and see Look I didn’t say they weren’t difference makers at all, I just said the other three were the biggest difference makers and that’s my opinion. I seen them get single blocked a lot the last two games of the season and look gassed majority of the game. I get it, you’re obviously a fan/homer of Grimsley, but we are just going to have to agree to disagree. That was last season and a new season is about to start so Good luck on the season.
Echo those earlier sentiments on Good Luck to all of the kids that will be beginning high school football practice on Monday(August 1)..
I will have a special feature article up here tomorrow/Saturday looking back at what practice has been like over the years and what it will be like this year….
Nobody wanted to be out there practicing today at around 9:30am…I was out there doing my morning running, and the air was so thick with humidity, you could have cut it with a chainsaw…
Sure hope all of these Guilford County kids are ready for that first practice on Monday…If the heat and humidity stay the same, it is going to be a bear….Felt like I was carrying a bear or an elephant on my back this morning, when I was running up that last hill…
Your shirt will be so loaded with sweat, that you may need to change shirts, during your practice….
Two new head coaches for Guilford County for this upcoming season….Coach Marlon White, at Southwest Guilford HS, and Coach Anthony Timmons at Western Guilford HS….
Grimsley-same
Page-same
Northwest Guilford-same
Northern Guilford-same
Ragsdale-same
Southeast Guilford-same
Southwest Guilford-Marlon White
Western Guilford-Anthony Timmons
Dudley-same
Smith-same
Eastern Guilford-same
Northeast Guilford-same
Southern Guilford-same
High Point Central-same
High Point Andrews-same
@wait and see,
You are correct, the biggest difference makers for Grimsley were the QB and RB they got from Page.
With all of the circle-talk, I need clarification… Their names don’t matter to me, but definition of “transfer” or not, are you telling me the NCHSAA now allows a child to be a student at one school in a district and an athlete at another??? What the H*LL kind of leadership is that??? If that’s true, why don’t they just allow Charter schools and like we WRONGLY have in SC…Private schools who compete in the public school league, but sports is the cirruculum, period. They win all the State titles without SHAME or public retribution! Reprehensible…
NCHSAA now allows a child to be a student at one school in a district and an athlete at another???
Very good question because i have heard of this. Is it true?
GCS has an incredible amount of High School athletes leave their LEA and transfer to another GCS. On the GC Athletic Transfer Rules page, the very first sentence says, I quote, “The board believes that students should not be allowed to transfer from school to school for the purpose of Athletics”.
But it happens..Student/Athletes are applying for and gaining approval to go to a “Recognized Program” school and playing a sport at a Guilford County Public School, simply for athletics, this is a loop hole in the system.
Now, it says also on this page, ” All Students who attend schools other than their base schools during their High School career must wait 365 days prior to participating in athletics at their non-base school”. Why does this not apply to the student who, after 9th grade, applies to the Program school, gets accepted, but plays a sport at a public school? Another question would be, can a student attend a “Recognized Program school” and transfer to a different public school for athletics, each year? This happens at Dudley and Grimsley. We have a new GC schools athletic director, and word is, she wants all this “transferring” for JUST athletics to end. Do these kids really go to a certain local Public School here just for ROTC? Will see how this plays out..
With all of the different Academies and IB programs available in the Guilford County Schools, you can apply, and if you get in/are accepted, then you can surely go to any of those schools you want to attend, and the school does not have to be in your district…
The good old days of the neighborhood schools are long gone…Lots of academies and IB programs out for the student/athletes to choose from…..
Transferring to schools for sports has been happening. The only ones complaining just aren’t benefiting from it at the moment but every school that has been good at some point has had transfers out of district. Some of the schools that haven’t been good lately and are rebuilding are doing it with transfers so it’s really no point in complaining about it.
top 5
Grimsley
Dudley
Other three toss up
Page, Southeast, Northwest.
Dudley vs Chambers, get the tape! Chambers scored on a busted play and outside of that were quite all night long until that score. They kept their starters in to try and score on Dudley’s second team defense to make score 14-10 but it didn’t work. Dudley 10 Chambers 7