High School Football Tonight with Round One of the NCHSAA Football Playoffs…..
4-A West
#32 Western Guilford(4-6) at #1 Grimsley(10-0) 7:30pm at Jamieson Stadium…
Grimsley will be a heavy favorite with QB Faizon Brandon, and RB Mitchell Summers, plus WRs Kaden Catoe, DJ Howerton, Hudson Cooper, with Bryce Davis, Andre Hill, Ryan Debow and other leaders on Defense…Western Guilford counters with the running game from RBs Timothy Baker and Elijah Hayes, along with their QB Caleb Moore…Western will try and slow the game down some, but going to be hard to slow down Grimsley at home, because the Whirlies thrive in the attack mode, on both offense and defense…With two Guilford County teams on the center stage at the Bob Jamieson Stadium, we will have this game for you on GreensboroSports Radio…Coach Randy Norris will join us, and our pregame show will hit at around 6:45, with the 7pm kickoff coming up, on GreensboroSports Radio, with our Murphy Wainer Orthopedic Specialists Game of the Week…Remember that’s GreensboroSports Radio…(A number to keep in mind is, 417…That is the total of combined yards for Grimsley QB Faizon Brandon and RB Mitchell Summers in their last game vs. Northern Guilford, on November 1.)
#29 Ragsdale(4-6) at #4 Watauga(10-0) 7pm
The key to the Ragsdale offense is RB Fabian Diggs, and Fabian Diggs, and then more of Fabian Diggs…If it is rolling right for them, Ragsdale may run him 30-35 times in this game, and that will pay off for them…He is the key, to what makes the Ragsdale offense motor….Watch for his game totals, if he gets 30 carries and 3-4 TDs, Ragsdale wins this game, and will the Watauga Pioneers give up that much to the Tigers and their runner Fabian Diggs??? Not likely, but look forward to seeing what he can do….
#24 Page(3-7) at #9 Palisades(7-3) 7pm
The Page Pirates vs. the Palisades Pumas…Page should have freshman QB Zamari Williamson ready, along with freshman RB Jesse Poole, and senior RB Christian Brown, plus Kasai Poindexter…Poindexter could be a big key for Page, and if the Pirates can get him more involved, then the Pirates have a good chance to win this game on the road…
#23 West Cabarrus(5-5) at #10 Northern Guilford(9-1) 7:30pm
The NG Nighthawks have lost their QB Jaxson Kemp for the season, and that means a heavy load of key carries for RBs Dwight Hall-Lassiter Jr. and for Amare Akers…Got to get those two on the move upfield, and the QB role will probably fall into the hands of Kevin Willoughby…Chance Crews and Noah Smith at LB, continue to lead the ‘Hawks defense, while Kobe Guardado gives Northern a big kicking threat with key FGs made this season….NG home at the Johnny Roscoe Stadium…(Also, Northern has those big NightHogs up front on the offensive line, with Sam Bagley and Tristan Swinney as two of best interior line blockers in the state.)
#22 Charlotte Olympic (8-2)at #11 Northwest Guilford(8-2) 7:30pm
Kind of, sort of, one of those key first round matchups with both clubs at (8-2)…The big key for NWG could well be how well that running game gets running, with the key for NWG to be, RB Nathan Cox…Cox has speed and power, plus he is joined by RBs McKinnly Vance and Easton Dean…WR Rakem Hammock, becomes a primary target for NWG QB Anders Mitchell, while Quincy Bell Jr., and Austin Mitchell are other targets for QB Mitchell…Defense led by Collyn Shokes and Austin Jackson, with the NWG LBs being very important defensive cogs…Kickers Cody Trogden and Nolan Hagemann are also important parts for Northwest…Home at the RL Billings Stadium…
#17 Southeast Guilford(6-4) at #16 WS Reagan(6-4) 7pm
SEG will travel up I-40 West to meet Reagan at Pfafftown, N.C…..Southeast Guilford Falcons will come out running, with RBs Ian McKinnon and Teriq McLaughlin, plus QB Alexander Marsh runs the ball well too…SEG will try and use that running game to take down the WS Reagan Raiders…Very good blocker in big Micah Martin up front, and the SEG defense will be led by LBs McKinnon and Caleb Jackson, and we also might see a healthy portion of Jackson running the ball on offense too…The key will be for SEG, to get the most touches in the game….Need the ball and numerous possessions to really get all those backs running the way you would like them to…Another key on the SEG “D” is the Falcons’ DB Kingston Davenport…
3-A West:
#29 Northeast Guilford(6-4) at #4 JM Robinson(9-0) 7pm
This game will be played down in Concord, and NEG is probably the most pure passing team in the county…QB Tristan Tucker has thrown for good yardage this season, with his big-time targets Aaryn Tate and Ashton Timberlake…Tucker also has Bryon Canty in his sights, along with RB Tre Alexander coming out of the backfield…If the NEG passing game gets slowed down, the Rams are in big trouble…The NEG Rams need to be able to throw the football, to stay in this game…Tate is a DI prospect…Tucker is a big QB and carries 205 pounds, so he Tucker can tuck and run with the ball if necessary, and that really works when the DBs and LBs start dropping back in deep pass coverage…The outside corners should be open for nice Tucker tuck it, and runs….Jackson Hester and Jacen Hester help lead that NEG “D”…The Coulson kid up front, provides very good blocking for NEG…
#28 Asheboro(4-6) at #5 Dudley(10-0) 7pm
If Dudley is feeling the way they want to be feeling, and the way they should be feeling, this game should have a running clock, at the start of the second half…Dudley looking to get the ball to their outside receivers and let them run, with CJ Neely, a healthy Nasir Newkirk, Kordell Bartley, and Antonio Lee all ready to go for 20 or more yards a clip once they get their hands on the ball…RBs Jayden Brown, LJ Southern, and Rayshawn Wilson will get the call and Dudley will establish their ground game, and run past Asheboro in a hurry, if necessary…Maybe you think we are leaving out something, but not to be, we now remind you that the Dudley QB spot is in good hands with Jaquez Crawford and Brayden Jeffries taking the snaps/reps, and getting the ball out, or in the RBs hands in a hurry…Jordyn Ratliff, Dakota Brown, Andrew Rogers, and Jalile Elliot really set the tone for the Dudley Defense up front along that D-line…Jerron Blackwell is a DI defensive back, and recently Blackwell has decommitted from Marshall University, while Kordell Bartley has done a decommit from South Florida…
#22 Eastern Guilford(6-4) at #11 Crest(8-2) 7pm
The Crest Chargers are a historically strong playoff team and with Crest at home, they will be a tough out for Eastern Guilford…EG will have Javion Majette at QB, Caleb Creech at RB, and Steven Murray at WR, and we feel like those three young men are vital for the success of the EG Wildcats…Xavier Wilson, Junior Solomon, and Samari Smith are among the very important EG Wildcats on the defensive side of the ball…Wilson can catch some passes for you on offense too, while Solomon has been a part of the EG attack with his foot…Junior Solomon punting extremely strong for EG in the Dudley game, two weeks ago…Hard to crack that Crest bubble, but EG is on an Up, with the Wildcats playing lights out, for the majority of the second half of the 2024 regular season campaign…
2-A West:
#30 High Point Andrews(4-6) at #3 Monroe(9-0) 7pm
HP Andrews won their three four games of the season, then lost six in a-row, before defeating McMichael to close out the regular season….In that McMichael game, it was RB Darion Avery running wild, with 17 carries for 319 yards and 6 TDs..They/T. Wingate Andrews could use that type of game from him/Avery again tonight, and sort of reminds us of another hard running back from Andrews back in the day, and that back was Ted Brown…#23 in your program, and #1 in the hearts of the HP Andrews faithful back in the early 1970’s…Andrews will need a Ted Brown-type performance out of Avery if they want to knock off Monroe on the road…
#32 RS Central(4-6) at #1 Reidsville(10-0) 7:30pm
Just say the names of Kendre Harrison, Diante Neal, and Jeriell Cobb and you have said enough to get the Reidsville Rams rolling on offense, and among those three key components, they should be good for at least 42-plus points tonight for the Rams…Let’s track the Rams on this, and see how many yards and points, those three produce…
1-A West:
#17 Bishop McGuinness(6-4) at #16 Mountain Island Charter(5-5) 7pm
Don’t know a ton about the Bishop team, but do know how tough it is to win on the road in the playoffs…Going to be hard on the Villains this evening, but they have the same shot our other teams have, as the first whistle of the 2024 playoffs sounds…Sounds like a tough task for Bishop, but they are in it to win it, and you just never know when we hit what Jim Mora Sr. resounding declared as “The Playoffs”….
Also #30 Matthews Butler(4-6) at #3 East Forsyth(10-0) 7pm
#19 Cuthbertson(7-3) at #14 West Forsyth(7-3) 7pm
#21 Charlotte Independence(9-1) at #12 Mount Tabor(8-2) 7pm
#21 Surry Central(6-4) at #12 Walkertown(7-3) 7pm
#22 North Forsyth(5-5) at #11 West Stokes(8-2) 7:30pm
#29 East Gaston(4-6) at #4 Randleman(8-2) 7pm
#31 Morehead(2-8) at #2 Shelby(8-2) 7pm
#29 Swain County(1-9) at #4 Eastern Randolph(10-0) 7pm
#22 Thomasville(4-6) at #11 Robbinsville(5-6) 7pm
#20 WS Carver(4-6) at #13 Cherokee(6-4) 7pm
Picks for our Guilford County-area team’s games…
Grimsley
Watauga
Palisades
Northern Guilford
Northwest Guilford
WS Reagan
JM Robinson
Dudley
Crest
Monroe
Reidsville
Mountain Island Charter
Top Ten for this Week…
1)TIE:Grimsley(10-0)/Dudley(10-0)
3)Northern Guilford(9-1)
4)Northwest Guilford(8-2)
5)Eastern Guilford(6-4)
6)Southeast Guilford(6-4)
7)High Point Christian Academy(10-1)
8)Northeast Guilford(6-4)
9)Page(3-7)
10)TIE:Ragsdale(4-6)/Western Guilford(4-6)