It would have been an all-around rough week for fans of Rockingham County Football had not Reidsville thrashed the Eastern Alamance Eagles. Morehead went down six touchdowns in the first half of their home game against Williams, and the McMichael Phoenix also fared poorly at home when they lost to Southwestern Randolph, 43-21. And, the Rockingham County Cougars took the week off after their loss last Friday to the Rams.
Let’s go with the good news first. Last year, the Reidsville Rams were off to a bumpy start, manifested most evidently by a 19-14 loss to Eastern Alamance. 15 wins, a state championship, and 371 days later, that Eagles loss was still a blotch on their résumé. But on Friday night, they avenged their loss with a thirty-one point win over Eastern Alamance. Dionte Neal went 14/17 for 190 yards with two touchdowns, putting up an insane QBR of 156.5. Also, thanks to a 51 yard rush by Neal and two rushing touchdowns, he led the team on the ground. It was an almost-perfect game by Dionte Neal, giving Reidsville the big win over their southeastern rivals.
Morehead, on the other hand, did not have a great time against an Alamance-based team on Friday night. The Patrick Stokes-led Williams, who have been ascending year after year, crushed the Panthers, hanging 42 on the red-and-black at John Motley Morehead High School Stadium in the first half. The start-to-finish 49-7 loss extends Morehead’s losing streak to a brutal seventeen in a row.
At MacField, the McMichael Phoenix fell to Southwestern Randolph, 43-21. They held their own in the first half, keeping it to a one-possession game, but the Cougars scored touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters to put the game on ice.
As mentioned, the Wentworth-based Rockingham County Cougars got a week to rest. 2-1 and coming off of their first loss, they could likely use the rest.
Next Friday night will be fun in the county. The two teams in the county with losing records will battle, as McMichael will play host to the Morehead Panthers in a rivalry matchup. Also, Rockingham comes back into Cougar Pride Stadium with a game against the Southern Guilford Storm. And finally, at Community Stadium, the Reidsville Rams will see conference play against the Northern Guilford Vikings.
As an aside, after weeks of swirling rumors, five-star tight end Kendre Harrison plans to return to the Reidsville Rams. The MaxPreps Male National Athlete made headlines today after announcing his return to the ‘Ville after bringing them a championship in both football and basketball in 2023-24. In an interview with Zach Chan, Harrison cited family as the most important reason for returning to Rockingham County. Harrison had attended Providence Day in Charlotte, but reports that he did not receive any NIL money. Harrison returned for classes today, according to High School OT, and plans on practicing.