The eighth week of Rockingham County football has come to a close, and was the first week that no Rockingham teams took a loss.
While McMichael was sidelined with a bye week, Rockingham improved to 5-2 and 3-1 in the conference, and Reidsville maintained their undefeated record. Also, Morehead notched a big win over T.W. Andrews, 24-14.
For the second year in a row, Rockingham shut High Point Central out. Their offense was struggling the past three weeks, averaging just six points per game, but heading into this one against an abysmal HPCHS defense, many felt that this could be the game to unlock their offense. It was. Parker Upchurch showed off his arm with some beautiful throws, connecting with Brady Ross twice for touchdowns, and the defense also did a great job, allowing just one first down and intercepting multiple passes. It was homecoming night, and Head Coach Doug Robertson was concerned about the focus of his team. He spoke of them needing to treat this game as “business as usual” before the game, and that’s exactly how it went down. Rockingham is now third in the eight-team Mid-State 3A, with a 3-1 record right behind the undefeated Dudley Panthers and Eastern Guilford Wildcats.
Now down to the Mid-State 2A. Reidsville took on West Stokes in an undefeated Mid-State 2A battle, and the two teams combined for over one hundred points. At the half, it was 28-28, and West Stokes recovered an onside kick to start the third quarter. After tying the ballgame four times, they finally took their first lead of the game, but they would not maintain it for long. Dionte Neal would score two rushing touchdowns and then sling it to Cam’Ron Jones, with those three touchdowns giving Reidsville a 49-34 lead. They finished the hard-fought win, 57-41, keeping their 66 game conference winning streak alive. There have been seven undefeated Reidsville seasons in the past two decades, and their search for number eight continues. Dionte Neal carried the team with 111 yards rushing, three rush touchdowns, 24/31, 335 air yards, and two pass touchdowns. They head into another battle of the conference undefeated when they play Walkertown next Friday, with both teams bringing a 3-0 conference record to an essentially impromptu regular season conference championship game.
And Morehead has now shocked everyone with a 2-2 conference record! After non-conference play this year, they were on the third longest losing streak in the state, but they took down T.W. Andrews with a massive win, 24-14, as the program under Coach Bobby Martin has started to build some real momentum heading into their bye week.
McMichael has failed to score a point in conference play, but they still have three more opportunities after this bye week. They’ll need it, as they are dealing with a vicious plethora of injuries to their star guys. Coach Tapley has an extra week to get his guys ready to go down to King to play West Stokes.
The most successful week in the county comes to a close. Rockingham notches a 42-0 win to improve to 3-1 in conference play, Reidsville keeps their amazing undefeated streak alive, and Morehead improves to 2-2 in conference play. A lot has changed since the beginning of the season, and things are looking pretty good if you are a fan of North Carolina’s North Star.