It was a night to forget in Rockingham County.
The 15-seeded Rockingham County Cougars lost 58-50 to the 18-seeded Dixon Bulldogs in double overtime, the 20-seeded Morehead Panthers lost 16-14 to 13-seeded Carver, and the 23-seeded McMichael Fighting Phoenix fell, 70-14, to 10-seeded Shelby. Every Rockingham County team that played was eliminated. The Reidsville Rams, thankfully, received a bye week and have automatically advanced to round two.
Down in Cleveland County, the McMichael Fighting Phoenix faced a program juggernaut in the Shelby Golden Lions. Competing for the right to face East Rutherford in the Round of 32, McMichael was able to gain an 8-7 lead in the first quarter. After that, they gave up nine touchdowns, back-to-back-to-back-to you get the picture. With a final score of 70-14, the Phoenix season ends with a 2-9 record and an eight game losing streak. Shelby, on the other hand, advances to the second round to face East Rutherford.
The Morehead Panthers almost pulled off an incredible upset against the Carver Yellow Jackets. Down 16-14 on the very last play, they were unable to score a touchdown from inside the ten. Carver, a 13 seed, moves on to face 4 Central Davidson in round two, as the Panthers are eliminated in heartbreaking fashion. Their season ends at 2-9 overall.
The Rockingham County Cougars faced a painful exit as well. With chance after chance to put the game on ice, they still came up short. In the fourth quarter, they were up fourteen on the Dixon Bulldogs with nine minutes to go. Then, up six, on fourth-and-three from the red zone with a kicker who was in range, they opted to go for it and failed with four minutes on the clock. Later on, with a 1:11 to play and a tie ballgame, they went three-and-out. In overtime, they scored eight points first, but were unable to stop the touchdown by JJ Gulat, as well as the subsequent two point conversion. After giving up eight in double overtime, they turned it over on downs to end the game when Gauge Rakestraw had a reception broken up at the last minute. The missed opportunities made the elimination all the more gut-wrenching, and now, Dixon, coming off of their first playoff win in program history, will head to two-seeded Northeast Guilford’s house in round two.
The Reidsville Rams are set to take on Red Springs in the Round of 32 after the 17 seed defeated 16 Jordan-Matthews, 37-12, in round one. Reidsville enjoyed a bye week to regroup for game number eleven on the season, as they fight for championship number twenty-four.
Around the rest of the Mid-State, Bartlett Yancey was shut out and met their end, whereas Walkertown received a bye week into round two, and, of course, the Carver Yellow Jackets moved on after their win against Morehead. Here is where each Mid-State Conference team stands heading into round two.
Bartlett Yancey — eliminated
13 Carver (4A East) — at 4 Central Davidson
McMichael — eliminated
Morehead — eliminated
1 Reidsville (4A East) — vs. 17 Red Springs
Rockingham County — eliminated
6 Walkertown (3A West) — vs. 22 Wheatmore
The Rockingham County Preview and Review essentially becomes the Reidsville Preview and Review from here on out. McMichael, Morehead, and Rockingham County have finished their football seasons tonight with losses that will be hard to move past for a good, long while.