The second week of high school football in Rockingham County is a wrap.
On a Thursday night game in Wentworth, the Rockingham County Cougars looked to snag their second county rivalry win in a row, hosting the Morehead Panthers. Then, on Friday, the Reidsville Rams traveled to Marion Kirby Stadium for a matchup with the Page Pirates, and the McMichael Phoenix had their first away game of the season all the way down in Yadkin County, taking on the Forbush Falcons.
The Thursday night game was a defensive, entertaining matchup between Morehead and Rockingham. Daquay Matthews with a kickoff return touchdown, giving Morehead the lead thanks to that eighty yard touchdown return to the house! Unfortunately for Panthers fans, however, that would be the only offense the red-and-black would put on the board all night. Luke Strittmatter converted on a fourth-and-goal from the three with his legs, and also put up another rushing touchdown in the second half. With a 13-7 lead, Rockingham stopped a last-ditch effort with a game ending interception!
If you thought Morehead’s fifteen seconds score was impressive, junior Frankie Galloway of the Reidsville Rams topped that with a 95 yard return in fourteen seconds! The Rams started the game off with a 12-0 lead, and then the two teams began playing ping pong. Page scored seven, then Reidsville did, then Page did, then Reidsville did, and then Page did. Going into quarter number four, it was a 26-21 lead for Reidsville. The Rams not only needed to put more offense on the board; they needed to stop the return of that ping pong ball. They did just that, scoring an ace and forcing Page to punt. They then scored again, making it a 39-21 lead and a three possession game. To add to that, a bad snap by Page over the head of the quarterback flew into the back of the end zone. The Rams won, 41-21, to become 2-0 for the twelfth time in thirteen years.
After a fifty mile drive down to Forbush, the McMichael Fighting Phoenix fell behind, 7-0. The score was the same at halftime, and the offensive start for the blue was slow. So, the defense decided to take matters into their own hands, with a fumble return touchdown to put six points on the board. Forbush responded with a touchdown of their own, and they missed the two points conversion. Down 6-13, the rejuvenated McMichael offense passed for a six-pointer and a successful two point conversion to seize the lead! With one quarter left of play, McMichael needed to hold on tight to their one point lead. However, with seven minutes to go, Forbush scored eight points, and Mayodan’s team didn’t put anything else on the board. Their second loss of the season ended 21-14.
McMichael and Morehead start out 0-2, and for the second year in a row, Reidsville and Rockingham begin their year with a 2-0 record.
Next week, it is the battle of the undefeated in Rockingham County, with the Cougars trying to go into Reidsville’s house and maintain their record. Rockingham Coach Doug Robertson returning to his old school where he won a state title as a head coach and four state titles on the staff will be an interesting storyline to follow as he looks to continue his undefeated streak with the black-and-silver. Also, John Motley Morehead will look to end their 693 day drought without a win when they take on the Northeast Guilford Rams, hopefully stopping that streak before it hits 700. Finally, McMichael heads to South Stokes, where they won 29-6 last year, as Head Coach Steve Tapley seeks his first win as a head coach.
It was a fun week of football this week, with two games starting off with kick return touchdowns. You always see something surprising in high school football, and I look forward to writing about whatever wild moment happens in our first week of September football.