Reidsville @ Rockingham: Rockingham Review by Jason “Jay” Ramey, Jr.
Courtesy of Jay Ramey, covering high school football in Rockingham County for GreensboroSports.com
The Reidsville Rams traveled just a few minutes down the road to Cougar Pride Stadium for a county rivalry battle with the Rockingham Cougars, and picked up a 28-19 win. It was one of the most insane games the county has ever witnessed, featuring four interceptions, a fumble, a very uncommon safety, and zero extra point kicks.
Despite Reidsville being the heavy favorites, Rockingham kept things close, answering a touchdown connection between Al Lee and Johnniyus Sharpe with a Brice Baker rushing touchdown. However, Kendre Harrison tipped it on the two-point conversion attempt, giving Reidsville an 8-6 advantage. Luke Strittmatter intercepted a tipped ball for Rockingham, but it was negated on the very next play when Jukheir Pinnix picked it off!
Strittmatter continued to be a presence for the Cougars, landing a major sack. When Reidsville tried to punt, the ball was sent high into the back of the end zone for a safety, tying things up in an unconventional way. Maleek Bryant of Rockingham brought it into Reidsville territory, but the Rams kept it even when Kori Rhodes got an INT. Paul Widerman then went forty yards on a rush, and Kendre Harrison broke a pair of tackles. A two-point conversion for Reidsville brought it to 16-8.
Harrison, the five-star prospect with a D-1 offer from essentially every team in the country, would break tackle after tackle after tackle after tackle after tackle after tackle en route to a wild touchdown! However, a fake XP kick failed to come to fruition, leaving things at 22-8. Rockingham was back on offense with time ticking down in the first half, and Baker would bust through a gap! With nobody in front of him, Rhodes went over the speed limit for an NFL-esque trip-up to keep a TD off the board! Rockingham eventually settled for a field goal after stellar Reidsville defense. Heading into the half, Rockingham was down, 11-22.
The turnovers didn’t stop in the third. Huge amounts of momentum were dropped by both teams completely due to a fumble and an end zone interception. The second half finally saw some offense when Widerman found his way to the goal line, but a two point conversion attempt failed. Reidsville led, 28-11, when Baker launched it to Bryant. The catch seemed nearly impossible, but he elevated over the defender for the grab! Rockingham, however, couldn’t make it show up on the scoreboard.
The Cougars got the ball back after a deep sack and a high punt, and, this time, Baker would put his head down for the rush touchdown. Baker then rushed in for two, bringing it to 28-19. However, it was just too late to make much of an impact, and 28-19 would be the final score of the crazy bout.
This has to be bittersweet for both sides. While Reidsville is used to beating up on Rockingham, this was a pretty close one that came down to the final quarter. However, a win is a win, and the Rams should be glad that they’ve tacked on number three and taken down a county rival. And, from a Rockingham perspective, they obviously aren’t glad that they lost. They were within reach of seizing control time after time, and just couldn’t deliver. However, they proved with this close game against the county powerhouse that they have improved vastly this season, and that they could make a run in the fall.
All in all, this was an entertaining game that the county won’t forget for many years. It had the big fight feel of a playoff game, and these two teams proved what a threat they are to the rest of the state.