Friday night will be a night of rivalries in Rockingham County as McMichael and Morehead hit the gridiron in Mayodan while Reidsville travels six miles north to face Rockingham County. In this weekly preview edition, we go over the playoffs rankings, each team’s path to the playoffs, the Mid-State Conference standings, and upcoming games for all four of Rockingham County’s teams.
A helpful reminder that we went over last week is that the postseason takes the top 48 teams from each classification based on RPI. RPI is calculated by 0.4 x winning percentage + 0.4 x opponent’s winning percentage + 0.2 x opponents’ opponent’s winning percentage. Also, the Mid-State Conference standings do not influence the playoffs, but they do hang a banner. Tiebreakers are not used and there is no championship game for the conference, so whoever is at the top has a claim to the title belt at the end of the year.
Likely the most bitter rivalry in Rockingham County will take place tomorrow evening. In 2023, McMichael hung a banner on their side of Morehead’s field bragging about three wins over Morehead in a row, and that same night, they would win number four in a row. However, in 2024, with Morehead 707 days removed from a victory, they walked into MacField Stadium and took a 27-0 stunner of a victory. One Morehead fan even had a shirt made with that final scoreboard printed on it. There is no love lost between these two high schools, and tomorrow night should be another entertaining installment to the Dan River Rivalry.
After McMichael’s non-conference loss to Southwest Randolph, they tumbled eight spots in the 3A from 33rd to 41st. There are plenty of opportunities to secure that spot in the top 48 over the course of these final five weeks, but the sooner the better if you are the Fighting Phoenix. Currently at 2-3, McMichael’s path to a winning record would be helped by a win over Morehead and a win two weeks from now against Bartlett Yancey. Also on their side when it comes to establishing themselves as a playoff team is the fact that they have yet to play 5-1 Carver, 4-1 Walkertown, and 4-2 Reidsville, which will help their opponents’ winning percentage factor in the RPI determination.
The Morehead Panthers will have a difficult path to a second win if they cannot win this game against McMichael, as their final weeks consist of games against Rockingham County, Walkertown, and Reidsville. Morehead’s win over Bartlett Yancey only moved them up from 52nd to 50th in the RPI, likely due to BY’s 1-4 record, but their formidable opponents in the final weeks will help with their RPI. However, part of the equation is winning, so it is vital to pick up a W or 2 in October to slide into the top 48.
In the other county rivalry showdown, Reidsville has history on their side in their contest with Rockingham County. Reidsville has defeated Rockingham County in every matchup since 1989, carrying a 45-2 record in the series since their first matchup in 1977 (h/t Sam Hagwood). Reidsville flies in hot off of three wins in which they amassed forty points or more, while Rockingham County comes off of a no-contest against Walkertown and a 50-18 win over McMichael in the previous week.
The Reidsville Rams continue to look impressive in the weeks since their loss to Reagan, picking up their 70th and 71st straight conference victories to kick off Mid-State 3A/4A/5A play. The Rams moved from 6th in the RPI last week to number 2. They are 4-2 overall, but the important thing is that they have faced ridiculously difficult competition, which is just as vital in the NCHSAA. They have the best opponents’ winning percentage in the 4A. That key opponents’ win percentage is why Reidsville would be playing at home for most of the playoffs despite seventeen teams having a better or equivalent win-loss record and a below .500 opponents’ opponent’s win percentage.
Following a no-contest due to weather against the Walkertown Wolfpack, the Rockingham County Cougars moved down from 25th in the 5A to 29th. That Walkertown game was going to be important for their RPI, as Walkertown has an .800 win percentage. The Cougars are still firmly in a playoff spot at 29, but there is room for improvement. After they play Reidsville, the only 5A team in the Mid-State will be taking on Bartlett Yancey, Carver, and Morehead, before taking a bye week to end the season. The Cougars would have to move near the top sixteen to be in consideration for a bye week in the playoffs, but perhaps playing in the opening round would be helpful to make sure that they are not going into their first game in three weeks in a do-or-die elimination match.
For non-Rockingham County Mid-State teams, Carver, ranked 20th in the 4A, takes a bye week after their Reidsville loss ended their five-game undefeated run. BY and Walkertown will go head-to-head in a 3A battle as both teams hope for their first conference win. Bartlett-Yancey is ranked 53rd in the 3A after their conference loss to Morehead and Walkertown is ranked 14th in the 3A after weather cancelled their homecoming game against Rockingham County.
As of right now, here are how the Mid-State Conference Standings look and where each team stands in the RPI.
T1. Reidsville (2-0 conference, 4-2 overall) | 2nd in the 4A
T1. Rockingham County (1-0 conference, 2-3 overall) | 29th in the 5A
T3. Carver (1-1 conference, 5-1 overall) | 20th in the 4A
T3. Morehead (1-1 conference, 1-5 overall) | 50th in the 4A
T5. Bartlett Yancey (0-1 conference, 1-4 overall) | 53rd in the 3A
T5. McMichael (0-1 conference, 2-3 overall) | 41st in the 3A
T5. Walkertown (0-1 conference, 4-1 overall) | 14th in the 3A