Perhaps the biggest week for the Mid-State Conference was also the very first week of conference action, and it set the tone for the rest of the year. In what was referred to as an unofficial Mid-State championship, the Reidsville Rams defeated the Walkertown Wolfpack, 44-28, at Community Stadium in the Football Capital of NC. In a cross-county rivalry matchup, the Rockingham County Cougars pulled away from the McMichael Fighting Phoenix in the third quarter, winning 50-18. Also, the Carver Yellowjackets traveled from Winston-Salem to Eden to put away the Morehead Panthers, 28-0, keeping their perfect record and improving to 5-0.
In a game that featured a kickoff return for a touchdown, a squib kick fumble recovery, a fumble recovery on the one yard line, two pick sixes, and ten overall touchdowns, the Rockingham County Cougars defeated the McMichael Fighting Phoenix, 50-18. Things were very competitive in the first half, with pure chaos resulting in a 21-12 Cougar lead at halftime. In the second half, RCHS pulled away in major fashion, with James Thomas and Luke Strittmatter leading them to a 32-point win. This was the first time the Cougars had put up a 50-burger since 2017, and they extended their win streak over McMichael to nine wins in a row. Rockingham County improves to 1-0 in the conference and 2-3 overall after their first win of September, while McMichael drops to 0-1 in the conference and 2-2 overall. Next Friday, Rockingham County takes on Walkertown and McMichael competes in non-conference action against 4A Southwestern Randolph.
The Carver Yellowjackets shut out the Morehead Panthers, 28-0. The Panthers have now been outscored 148-13 in their first five games of the year, and they are 0-5. The Carver Yellowjackets, in a fairly surprising development, improve to 5-0. Heading into Friday, Carver was one of eight undefeated teams in the 4A. Morehead continues searching for their first win of the year when they take on Bartlett Yancey, the 1-3 team on a bye week, next Friday in Mid-State action.
Reidsville achieved a massive victory when they defeated Walkertown in what had been referred to as an unofficial Mid-State Conference championship game. The Rams were down early, but they did not give up, coming back for a 44-28 win. The Rams have played an incredibly difficult schedule, facing the likes of Northern Guilford, George Washington, Reagan, and Eastern Guilford in the leadup to this test, and next up, they will battle the 5-0 Carver Yellowjackets in a conference showdown on September 26th. It is a testament to Reidsville’s scheduling that the only undefeated team left in their conference seems to be one of the easiest games they will play. Reidsville is now 1-0 in the conference and 3-2 overall, while Walkertown is 0-1 in the conference and 4-1 overall.
The following are the conference standings for the Mid-State 3A/4A/5A.
T1. Carver (1-0 conference, 5-0 overall)
T1. Reidsville (1-0 conference, 3-2 overall)
T1. Rockingham County (1-0 conference, 2-3 overall)
4. Bartlett Yancey (0-0 conference, 1-3 overall)
T5. Walkertown (0-1 conference, 3-1 overall)
T5. McMichael (0-1 conference, 2-2 overall)
T5. Morehead (0-1 conference, 0-5 overall)
Next week around the Mid-State, Carver and Reidsville jockey for position at the top of the conference, Rockingham County stares down a tall task in the Walkertown Wolfpack, Morehead and Bartlett-Yancey vie for their first conference win of the year, and McMichael looks to get back in the win column in non-conference action against Southwestern Randolph.