Rockingham County received mixed results tonight as two teams stayed home and two teams traveled to different counties. It was a night of success for McMichael and Reidsville, with both teams picking up large margins of victory in their respective games. On the losing side, Rockingham County went for broke and lost after a failed two point conversion in the final hour, and Morehead suffered a 28-0 defeat at the hands of Cummings.
The Morehead Panthers struggled mightily against J.F. Webb, losing 28-0. Morehead is now 0-4 following losses to Northeast Guilford, Providence Grove, and Cummings. They head into their first conference game next week against a team with all of the momentum firmly planted on their side, as the Carver Yellow jackets attempt to improve to 5-0.
The Reidsville Rams looked exceptional in a bounce back win over the Eastern Guilford Wildcats, allowing Reidsville to improve to 2-2 and avoid their first 1-3 start in three decades. The Rams strongly improved their run defense, which was a question heading into the game, and Dionte Neal shined once again just two days before he announced his commitment to either App State, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNCG, Duke, Old Dominion, or Boston College. In their first game of conference play, they take on Walkertown in what Erik Teague referred to as an impromptu conference championship matchup. He could not have been more correct. Walkertown comes in off of a narrow victory, 40-35, over East Surry, but they carry with them a 4-0 record.
The McMichael Fighting Phoenix had an impressive win over Cedar Ridge, putting 42 points on the board to just 7 for Cedar Ridge. McMichael, who won just one game in 2024, now improves to 2-1 four weeks into the season after back-to-back weeks of holding their opponents to just one touchdown.
The Rockingham County Cougars almost took down Asheboro in a game they were not expected to win. It was a back-and-forth throughout the game, and things could not be settled in regulation. In overtime, Asheboro scored a touchdown and extra point first, but Rockingham County responded with a touchdown of their own. Not satisfied with another overtime, they decided to go for two, but unfortunately, they came up empty. In a quality loss, Rockingham County was defeated, 30-31.
McMichael and Rockingham County will battle in the first county rivalry matchup of the year, and it should be very entertaining. Last year, the squads kicked off the year in a matchup that ended with a Rockingham County victory, but McMichael hopes to end the streak of Wentworth victories in the feud. The Cougars are 1-3, but they have played a tougher schedule than the 2-1 McMichael Phoenix. These two teams will leave it all out on the field exactly seven days from now, and the Mid-State Conference cannot wait for it.
Looking around the Mid-State, Bartlett Yancey fell to 1-3 after an 18-57 loss to the Cummings Cavaliers. Carver made the leap to 4-0 with a dominant, 44-0 showing over College Prep and Leadership Academy. Finally, Walkertown took down East Surry, 40-35, to improve to 4-0. Bartlett Yancey of Caswell County gets the week off next week, Carver does battle with Morehead, and Walkertown faces Reidsville.
As we look forward to conference action, these are the unofficial standings simply based on their non-conference record. None of these rankings matter when it comes to crowning a conference champion, but it is interesting to see where everyone stands. Next week is when the conference picture starts to shake out.
T1. Carver (0-0 conference, 4-0 overall)
T1. Walkertown (0-0 conference, 4-0 overall)
3. McMichael (0-0 conference, 2-1 overall)
4. Reidsville (0-0 conference, 2-2 overall)
T5. Bartlett Yancey (0-0 conference, 1-3 overall)
T5. Rockingham County (0-0 conference, 1-3 overall)
7. Morehead (0-0 conference, 0-4 overall)
We look forward to conference action and rivalry action next week. Reidsville-Walkertown, McMichael-Rockingham County, and Carver-Morehead will tell us much of what we need to know about the Mid-State Conference.