Looking at those Metro 4-A Conference Standings after Week One…
Grimsley(1-0)…They Are Who We Thought They Are(Were)!!!
Northern Guilford(1-0)…They Are Who We Thought They Are(Were)!!!
Northwest Guilford(1-0)…They Are Who We Thought They Are(Were)!!!
Page(1-0)…They Are Who We Thought They Are(Were)!!!
On Grimsley, everyone knew coming in they were going to be good, and they are good, and the problem is like that of facing a good pitcher who is struggling some…Better get to him early, or he might get in the flow, and you won’t stand a chance against that same pitcher, later in the game…If you want your shot at Grimsley, you better attack them early on this season, because the odds say, the Whirlies are only going to get better, as this season progresses…As they get all their pieces in place, this team is going be harder and harder to stop, and even tougher to beat, and you want to beat them down, good luck…Faizon Brandon has made this his team, and who can stop the mini back, in the form of Mitchell Summers…Good Luck on anyone from the Metro beating the Grimsley Whirlies this season…
Northern Guilford shaping up to be a legit contender for a solid playoff coming from the Metro 4-A Conference…With QB Jaxson Kemp in tow, the NG Nighthawks can move the football…NG Nighthawks with J. Kemp really doing a heck of job, leading his guys to the top of the GreensboroSports.com leader board…Dwight Hall has been a real pleasant surprise for the NG Nighthawks…Other running backs, and other receivers, but Hall and his QB Kemp, are making waves out there of the ‘Sea of Adventure’….Hall has just run his butt off, and he has a couple of key TDs on this special night at the Johnny Roscoe Stadium…Hall has been carrying the load for the NG Hawks…Northern, like Grimsley, is a team that is going to be one of those teams, that is just now scratching the surface…NG will get better and better…
Northwest Guilford has a real balanced squad…Coach Chris Rusiewicz from Northwest told us in the pregame interview on Friday night that he had 3 key RBs, and NWG was who Coach Rusiewicz said they were going to be…The running game from NWG is the key…McKinnly Vance, Nathan Cox, and Easton Dean, #23, #32, and #22, all three were who he said they were going to be…GOOD and getting better…Plus the NWG WR, Rakem Hammock is All-Conference and All-State material, waiting to be unleashed…He showed signs of being the best around, and his teammate and fellow wide receiver, Austin Mitchell is one heck of football man too..Mitchell as a receiver, a Punt Return Man, or Kickoff Return Man, he is a Crazy Man back there, and out there, and he is Crazy Good…Anders Mitchell is doing a fine job of running this NWG ball team, and their DE Rob Lange really impressed me too…NWG is a true contender, but not sure how close they will be able to keep the game vs. Grimsley…NWG and NG too, will have play near-perfect games to have a chance to in the game in the fourth quarter with Grimsley…
We told you Page was going to be OK, but nobody would listen to us…Page went out and hung 55 on Southwest Guilford on Friday night, so you have to feel like Page is back in the fold…One thing I saw from Page on the TV highlights show was Kasai Poindexter making a great catch, and it looked like it was going for a Touchdown…Poindexter is one of the best all-around athletes in the city, and he is only do what we have been preaching here all night tonight, He is only going to get better…Poindexter is the real deal, and the Page offense is now back on track…Does Page, Northwest Guilford, or Northern Guilford have a chance to beat the Grimsley Whirlies this season??? Probably not if you want to be serious about it, but everybody has a chance when they to the field each Friday night, but Grimsley for sure seems to have all the working parts necessary to Claim the Metro 4-A Conference for 2024…The game that might be one of the better ones, could well be the Page vs. Grimsley JV game…Both currently Undefeated and they might roll right up to the rivalry game meeting, still both Unbeaten…Page varsity is now scoring key points, but in some ways they are similar to Page in the past 2-3 years, but they are doing with a younger group of players, and that could well benefit them overall the next several seasons…
On another Metro 4-A Conference note…I saw former Grimsley coach Jeff Smouse at the Grimsley-Southeast Guilford JV back on Thursday night…Coach Smouse has lost a lot of weight, he is now bald, and I think he has battled health issues in the past few years, but do not know any details…Just good to see him, and he still had a real firm handshake…Do believe he might have there at Grimsley watching his grandson play football for the Grimsley JV football team…That team is (4-0), and the Page JV team is (4-0)…
Do believe that next week we will seeing from the Metro 4-A Conference these games…
1)Northwest Guilford(4-0/1-0) at Grimsley(4-0/1-0)…Both Unbeaten Overall and in Conference, and something has to give…NWG has to find a way to keep their Offense on the field, and Grimsley’s Offense off the field…
2)Northern Guilford(4-0/1-0) at Southeast Guilford(2-2/0-1)…Former NG QB Alexander Marsh now quarterbacks the Southeast Guilford Falcons, and the current NG QB Jaxson Kemp, is one of the fast-rising top QBs in the state…
3)Ragsdale(2-2/0-1) at Page(1-3/1-0)…A must conference win for Ragsdale, as you don’t want to fall behind two games, this early in the conference race….If Page wins this one, the Pirates are in the hunt, but they will also do what they were doing last year, winning the games they are supposed to, and expected to win…
4)Western Guilford(3-1/0-1) at Southwest Guilford(1-3/0-1)…Loser of this game is in BIG trouble…SWG won this matchup last year, but this Western Guilford team is much improved over last year….Both teams love to run the football, but WG was showing signs of going to air some, in crucial moments, vs. Northwest Guilford…
**********They Are Who We Thought They Are(Were)!!!*********
That title seems to fit what we are talking about…..
For the Mid-State 3-A Conference the story is the same as what we reading about up above…You know the theme,
and let’s say it altogether now, They Are Who We Thought They Are(Were)!!!…
1)Dudley just keeps on dealing and after this week’s shellacking of High Point Central, the Panthers get the WS Atkins Camels next…Atkins at (1-3/1-0) and Dudley has no blemishes, with the Panthers at (4-0/1-0) and still looking for a good litmus test for new QBs Jaquez Crawford and Bralen Jeffries…Dudley won’t see any reall competition at all until the Panthers hit say Round Three or Round Four of the playoffs, and that would some time around the third or fourth week of November…For Dudley, you can sum it up in 7 easy words, with this statement being the main theme of this week’s Friday Night Finish…Those words of wisdom for you are….
They Are Who We Thought They Are(Were)!!!
2)Eastern Guilford just won their first game of the season, and the EG Wildcats won it convincingly…EG 54 to 24, over the Northeast Guilford Rams…Eastern(1-3/1-0) is now back on level ground, and the Wildcats will be expected to launch a strong campaign now, to finish second in the Mid-State 3-A….Looks like EG was scoring at will vs. Northeast, but I was not there so I can’t tell you for sure…If EG is not back, then at least you have to say that they are on their back…Plenty of time to keep on winning if you are a team like Eastern, looking for an Identity…Like the job Coach Tim Bagamary does, in leading this ‘Cat Crew’…..EG at High Point Central(0-4/0-1) next Friday night, and things just keep harder/tougher for HP Central…HP Central vs. Southern Guilford will be a game that works for parties involved…
3)Rockingham County might be the #3 team now in the Mid-State 3-A, and the ROCK Cougars did all that they could to dispel any rumors about somebody else being at the 3 spots, when The ROCK knocked off, Southern Guilford 9-0, on Friday night..Rock has Smith(2-2/0-1) coming up at The Rock, this coming Friday night…
4)Northeast Guilford might be able to still hang in there and go for the #4 spot, but the Rams(1-3/0-1) must begin to win, Real Soon…This coming Friday night it will be The Rock at Southern Guilford(1-3/0-1)…NEG can score some points, but the Rams are giving up too much on Defense…For Southern, they are having trouble scoring points…
5)According to the sources, Smith lost to WS Atkins back on Friday night, and the Golden Eagles are now at (2-2) for the season, and are coming off of back-to-back losses…Smith will have to pick them up and pull out some wins, so they can spread their wings and allow them to hit the Playoffs, at season’s end…Could we see Dudley, Eastern Guilford, Northeast Guilford, and Smith all in the playoffs, probably not…Dudley, EG, and either Smith or NEG getting in, but right now if things don’t pick back up, we may only get two teams at the BIG NCHSAA Today, with Irv Cross at the front gate….
I do believe we have talked about all of the Guilford County teams, that are making the Playoff Chase, a reality…
On High Point Andrews, the Red Raiders lost for the second this season, with Walkertown walking away with their 33-0 win over the HPA Red Raiders….Hard long looks for Offense, and no points vs. this conference foe, has to have the HP Andrews offensive leaders Shaking Their Heads/SMH….
Let’s go back to that NWG at WG game and get in on the Touchdown Tally, and we thank Bryant Roche, from the News and Record for passing this along our way…Thanks for this info, and here you go with the good old TD Tally, from the Western Guilford-Northwest Guilford game…
NWG: McKinnely Vance 6 run (Nolan Hagemann kick), 9:46 first quarter, Northwest 7-0
NWG: Anders Mitchell 1 run (Nolan Hagemann kick), 4:50 first quarter, Northwest 14-0
NWG: McKinnley Vance 10 run (kick blocked), 11:32 second quarter, Northwest 20-0
NWG: Rakem Hammock 45 pass from Anders Mitchell (Nolan Hagemann kick), 8:02 second quarter, Northwest 27-0
WG: Caleb Moore 5 run (kick no good), 6:41 third quarter, Northwest 27-6
NWG: Rakem Hammock 37 pass from Anders Mitchell (Nolan Hagemann kick), 5:50 third quarter, Northwest 34-6
WG: Timothy Baker 3 run (Caleb Moore run), 5:47 fourth quarter, Northwest 34-14
***********We had Rakem Hammock with the Mike Causey for Insurance Commissioner Play of the Game, on his first TD catch…McKinnly Vance, Rakem Hammock, and Anders Mitchell all tying for Mike Causey for Insurance Commissioner Player of the Game…And big nod to Austin Mitchell from NWG too, he was spot on with his Punt Returns, and with his receptions…..**********
Courtesy of one of our Western Guilford faithful at the game…
Hello Andy, Another good night for High School Football. Northwest taking on Western Guilford. Exciting atmosphere. Northwest jumps out to an early lead 21-0 playing stifling defense forcing the Hornets to punt all night. Big plays from NW. The Hornets plagued by huge penalties all night finally get on the board making the game 27-6. NW wins 34-14.
Western Guilford is showing progress…The Hornets actually won the second half, 14-7…That is taking many large steps in the right direction…Those Hornets are moving forward and it is a slow process, but the signs are there, that Western Guilford is headed to a good spot, and level playing ground is now attainable…Western Guilford football is definitely becoming relevant again…Good Job Hornets, and good job NWG Vikings….NWG offense and defense are very tough….NWG at Grimsley next week, will be a very BIG mid-term exam for the Vikings…
We had some fair-weather fans from some of our schools earlier this year, and makes you wonder what those fans feelings are now, since many of the teams that had been cast aside for NO GOOD, are now looking much better…Forward March to the Saturday Morning Rewind….
One more thought and then I will head to the farm…Western Guilford was starting so many of their drives from their own 20-yard line due the very good kickoffs from NWG’s Caleb Trogdon…Trogdon was a true weapon for NWG, and to make make matters worse for Western, they were starting more of those drives than not, from not their 20-yard line, but from their own 15…Penalties were killing WG….First-and-ten, becomes First-and-fifteen from your own 15-yard line and that is murder…Self-Destruction due to the penalties will kill you…Got to clean that phase of the game up in a hurry….
No fair weather just we are in conference play and let’s be honest the conference’s local are so lopsided. And who’s looks better. The teams that was talked about played teams they are better than. Congrats!
Those whose teams are now stepping up should be happy and celebrating…Got to let the noise be heard when your team is doing well, if not the sounds when your team starts having troubles may become deafening…Got to come up with enough positive noise and sound to drown out the negative vibes…The negative vibes will kill you and really get you down, if you let them…Time to stand up and shout…What about….High School Football(s) is/are in The Air…