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North Carolina High School Football Scoreboard

October 4th, 2008 Posted in High School Football | No Comments »

Photo: Strong West Rowan defense as West Rowan wins again. Photo by James Sipes

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2008 NC High School Football
October 3rd Football scoreboard

Albemarle 35, North Stanly 0
Alleghany County 28, North Stokes 26
Apex 28, Apex Middle Creek 6
Ashe County 19, North Surry 14
Asheboro 36, Southwestern Randolph 0
Asheville 41, Enka 14
Asheville Reynolds 31, Alexander Central 7
Avery County 31, West Henderson 30
Belmont South Point 22, Gastonia Huss 0
Bertie County 32, Pasquotank County 20
Boonville Starmount 44, Wilkes Central 20
Brevard 28, Lawndale Burns 7
Burnsville Mountain Heritage 21, Polk County 15
Cape Fear 41, Fayetteville Pine Forest 28
Catawba Bandys 35, Claremont Bunker Hill 12
Central Davidson 28, Providence Grove 26
Chapel Hill 37, East Chapel Hill 0
Charlotte Catholic 30, Charlotte Waddell 6
Charlotte Christian 17, Charlotte Latin 9
Charlotte Independence 42, South Mecklenburg 14
Charlotte Myers Park 31, Weddington 14
Chatham Central 15, North Moore 6
Cherryville 42, Gastonia Highland Tech 35, OT
Clayton 24, Holly Springs 17
Davie County 50, Greensboro Page 49, OT
Dunn Midway 47, Dixon 14
Durham Hillside 14, Durham Jordan 9
East Bend Forbush 27, North Wilkes 14
East Bladen 42, Fairmont 0
East Burke 30, South Caldwell 8
East Columbus 22, North Brunswick 16
East Duplin 44, Richlands 41
East Lincoln 49, Lincolnton 14
East Rutherford 26, Charlotte Providence Day 16
East Wilkes 42, West Wilkes 6
Eastern Alamance 24, Hillsborough Cedar Ridge 9
Eastern Guilford 33, Southwest Guilford 8
Eastern Wayne 19, North Lenoir 7
Elizabeth City Northeastern 34, Kill Devil Hills First Flight 27
Erwin Triton 40, South Johnston 29
Fayetteville Britt 37, Hoke County 21
Fayetteville Sanford 24, Fayetteville Smith 20
Fayetteville Seventy-First 27, Fayetteville Byrd 14
Garner 31, Knightdale 10
Gastonia Ashbrook 42, North Gaston 7
Gastonia Forestview 17, Shelby Crest 14
Greensboro Dudley 41, Yanceyville Yancey 0
Harnett Central 28, Western Harnett 14
Harrells Christian Academy 69, Raleigh Wake Christian 0
Hayesville 29, Rosman 21
Hendersonville 42, Madison County 21
Hertford County 28, Edenton Holmes 14
Hickory St. Stephens 35, West Caldwell 14
Hobbton 14, Carrboro 7
Hope Mills Gray’s Creek 20, Spring Lake Overhills 7
Hope Mills South View 20, Pembroke Swett 14
Jacksonville 26, Wilmington Laney 24
Jacksonville Northside 17, Clinton 6
Jamestown Ragsdale 31, Eastern Randolph 12
Jones County 56, Rosewood 0
Kannapolis Brown 45, Monroe Parkwood 21
Kernersville Glenn 38, Winston-Salem Atkins 13
Kernersville McGuinness 37, South Davidson 0
Kings Mountain 42, East Gaston 14
Lake Norman 23, East Rowan 7
Lexington 24, Thomasville Ledford 21
Mallard Creek 47, Central Cabarrus 8
Manteo 47, Chocowinity Southside 6
Matthews Butler 35, Charlotte Providence 21
McDowell County 14, Morganton Freedom 7
Mooresville 35, Northwest Cabarrus 14
Mt. Airy 46, East Surry 8
Mt. Pleasant 21, South Stanly 20
Nash Central 34, Bunn 32, 3OT
New Bern 43, Greenville Conley 22
New Hanover County 28, Wilmington Ashley 21
Newton Foard 47, Hickory 28
North Forsyth 32, Greensboro Smith 12
North Henderson 17, Forest City Chase 3
North Lincoln 36, Bessemer City 28
Northeast Guilford 22, Southern Alamance 15
Northern Guilford 36, North Raleigh Christian 0
Oxford Webb 48, Orange County 6
Pamlico County 6, Currituck County 0
Panther Creek 21, Morrisville Green Hope 7
Pender County 21, Whiteville 20
Perquimans County 41, Pinetown Northside 6
Person County 14, Durham Riverside 12
Raleigh Athens Drive 37, Cary 27
Raleigh Broughton 35, Raleigh Leesville Road 7
Raleigh Ravenscroft 60, Fayetteville Christian 0
Raleigh Wakefield 33, Raleigh Millbrook 31
Reidsville 47, High Point Andrews 6
Richmond County 26, Fayetteville Westover 21
Salisbury 49, East Davidson 7
Shelby 27, Watauga County 6
Siler City Jordan-Matthews 20, West Montgomery 14, OT
South Brunswick 35, Rocky Point Trask 14
South Columbus 13, Wallace-Rose Hill 7
South Iredell 44, West Lincoln 0
South Rowan 15, China Grove Carson 6
Southeast Raleigh 34, Smithfield-Selma 13
Southern Durham 35, Northern Durham 28
Southern Lee 7, Cameron Union Pines 6
Southern Pines Pinecrest 31, Scotland County 7
Southwest Onslow 27, Croatan 6
Thomasville 43, East Montgomery 6
Topsail 37, Salemburg Lakewood 19
Trinity 14, Southeast Guilford 12
Wake Forest-Rolesville 48, Raleigh Enloe 7
Washington 26, South Central Pitt 20
West Charlotte 42, North Mecklenburg 33
West Craven 36, Greenville Rose 29
West Davidson 16, North Rowan 6
West Johnston 21, East Wake 7
West Mecklenburg 47, Charlotte Berry Tech 36
West Rowan 37, West Iredell 22
West Stokes 54, South Stokes 0
Western Alamance 48, Rockingham County 0
Western Guilford 43, Eden Morehead 0
Wilmington Hoggard 28, Kinston 27
Wilson Beddingfield 34, Wilson Fike 28
Winston-Salem Reynolds 25, Greensboro Grimsley 0

North Johnston Drops to 1-5 Before Entering Conference Play

September 28th, 2008 Posted in High School Football | No Comments »

The Panthers of North Johnston traveled down to Bailey, NC this past Friday evening to hook up with the home standing Firebirds of Southern Nash on Homecoming. Last week, Southern Nash defeated a good team in Wilson-Hunt on this same turf. Firebird Stadium is a nice facility and it looks as if the community takes good care of the place.

The game begins with Southern Nash winning the coin flip and electing to defer to the second half. The Panthers take possession of the ball on their own 33 following the kick off and quickly punt it right back after a 3 and out. #11 Chris Whitley, the Firebird QB leads his squad onto the field for the first time taking possession on their own 24. Nash doesn’t waste much time in making it quite obvious that the right side of the NoJo D-line is their target of choice. The QB and #28 Clint Quickly, repeatedly are making dashes for the NJ side line hoping to turn the corner. The opening drive for SN takes up about 5 minutes of clock but eventually the defense holds for the Panthers after they force a fumble that is recovered by #9 Grey Bruton, with 4:30 to go in the opening quarter of play.

Taking possession of the ball on their own 45, the Panther’s ask Mr. Knight #28 if he would care to dance with the pig skin. On a muggy evening, when EJ is pulling double duty by playing on both sides of the ball, he steps up and makes the Fire birds pay for their error. Several short gains later, and with 1:34 left in the 1st quarter, Knight rumbles in to the right side of the end zone from 23 yards out to put NoJo on the scoreboard first. #11 Harrison Grady tacks on the extra point and NJ is out of the shoot early with a 7-0 lead.

After the score, when the kick team is lining up, something unusual is noticed. I may be dead wrong, but I don’t recall #36 Glenwood Watson performing any kicking duties earlier this year. Nevertheless, the guy who in all reality may be the best athlete on the team, kicks the ball off and danged if it didn’t land in the back of the end zone! Where did that come from? According to the coach at the end of the game, it was the result of a 1976, Spotbuilt flat toe. Where the heck did he find that thing? Ok ok back to the game. At the end of the first quarter of play the score is NJ 7 and SN 0.

After taking possession on their own 20 following the Glenwood Watson missile kick, the fire birds go 3 and out and punt the ball. NoJo fires up the offensive engine again from their own 25. On the next play, #5 Jaques Alston, bounces off defenders like a pinball rumbling almost 38 yards down to the Southern Nash 37. Knight continues to gain positive yards up the middle driving to the 16 before Kyle Sanders takes a pass form #7 Joe Harned all the way down to the SN 4 yard line. On the following play, with 8:02 to go in the first half, Knight takes a hand off up the middle and crosses over the goal line to score again. #11 Gray is good with the extra point and the score now is NJ 14 and SN 0. What a difference a week makes. Several times this year we have come out to start the game flat only to be forced into a catch up role for the rest of the game. Not tonight!

Following the second score of the night, Watson puts that antique Spotbuilt to use again. This time there is a fumble by the Fire birds on the kick off and it is recovered by #33 Spenser Lebbano on the SN 34 with 7:53 to go in the half. The Panthers attempt to pour more trouble into the lives of the homecoming crowd, but on a big 4th and 18 at the Nash 31, #7 Harned drops back and is picked off at the 10 yard line with 6:07 showing on the first half clock. Over the course of the remaining minutes, the Firebirds work the ball down to the NJ 40. However, Lewis, Hicks and the D-Line hold off the late opening half threat to go in 14-0 at the break.

**First Half Notes** Other than an opening possession scare, the defensive line for NJ is playing all out smash mouth football. EJ Knight is playing both sides of the ball tonight and is really excelling in his duties a middle linebacker as the night wears on. This is the mentality and kill instinct that has been missing in the early parts of games all year. A excellent first half. Knight is 11 rushes for 78 yards and 2 TD’s and Alston is 6 rushes for 51 yards all in the opening round. Southern Nash has been hit with lots of costly penalties that have kept drives alive for the Panthers and in a few instances killed drives of their own.

The Firebirds begin the 2nd half on offense taking possession at their own 9 following a penalty on the kick off. However, on the first play from scrimmage, their QB #11 Whitley, heaves a huge pass down the right side line that is complete down to the NJ 15. With their backs continuing to work the right side of the D-line, they get the ball closer and down to the NJ 9. The next play results in #24 Chris Simpson, rushing in for a touchdown with 8:35 to go in the 3rd. The point after attempt is good and SN is on the board but still trailing 14-7.

The Panthers take the kick off and assume possession on their own 34. The next 8 minutes of play are not easily described. Suffice it to say that NJ survives the defensive attack of Southern Nash and the self inflicted attack of penalties. We even talk the bad guys in to jumping offsides on 4th and 1. After eating up a huge amount of time on the clock, #5 Jaques Alston makes a dash for the left side of the SN line and sprints well over 30 yards to place another 6 on the scoreboard. Grey delivers on the kick and with 2:25 to go in the 3rd, the score is NJ 21 and SN 7.

After another kickoff, SN takes the ball on their own 45. With the penalty bug beginning bite consistently, NJ draws a flag and the ball is advanced across the 50 to the NJ 37. The quarter ends with the ball on the NJ 29 and the Firebirds driving.

On the first play of the final period, #28 Clint Quickly, rushes into the endzone from 29 yards out and makes thing a little more interesting. The point after is good and the score is now NJ 21 and SN 14 with 11:51 to go.

The kick is taken by NoJo down to their own 43. Soon there after, at the 10:38 mark the offense fumbles and turns the ball over to Southern Nash on the NJ 48. In all honesty it looks like the same penalty and mistake demon that plagued SN in the first half has jumped sides and is now whipping the Panthers hind end like a rented mule!

Five minutes and several offensive plays later, the Firebirds toss a beautiful pass right into the middle of the endzone at the 5:36 mark. When the play was over, everyone got up except for NJ’s own #1 Laquan Cox. Cox was playing defensive back on the score by SN and immediately was crying out in a terrible amount of pain. Holding his left knee and rolling on the ground, it was obvious this was serious. After several minutes surrounded by trainers and coaches, two team matres carried Cox off the field where he was loaded into a waiting ambulance. You could honestly see the wind fall out of the sidelines sails.

Taking advantage of a drasitc swing in mood, the coaching staff for the Firebirds elect to go for a 2 point conversion in hopes of taking the lead at home with only a short amount of time left to play. The conversion is good and SN goes up 22-21 with approximatley 5 minutes left in the game.

On the ensuing kick off, the ball is kicked short and two NJ players attempt to field it at the same time. As expected that usually does not end with a good result and it didn’t this time either. The ball bounced off the shoulder pads of a Panther and right into the waiting arms of a Firebird specail teamer. Now we’re really looking at a tough scenario. With 4:13 showing to play, SN has the ball on the NJ 49. Shaking off the shell shock and cobb webbs, the defense bow their backs and make a last attempt to wrestle the ball away and give the offense one last shot. With 3:57 on the clock, SN is facing 4th down on the NJ 29. The SN coaching staff decide to go for it in an attempt to ice the game. However, with a heart aching wanting badly to go home victorious, the defense holds and assumes the ball on downs 70 yards from the promised land. We still had a little something left. Faced with a big 4th down and 20 and less than 2:00 to go, #7 Joe Harned rolls out and delivers a strike to #6 Charles Pipkin down to the SN 46. The clock is moving fast and we’re trying to cover a whole lot or real estate in a short amount of time. Facing 3rd and 10, Harned rolls out again but is intercepted as he is hit at the moment of release. Southern Nash just runs out the clock from there. God did it hurt!

Final score of the game Southern Nash 22 and North Johnston 21. How many times can a team be bitten by the 1 point snake?

**Quotes from the Coach following the game**
** Speaking with his troops**

“You played your guts out”

“It’s the first time this year that I have seen it hurt so much that tears are in your eyes.”

“There is a lot to be seen from the Panthers! If the team that showed up here tonight shows up, you will not lose the next 5 games.”

**Speaking with Press following the game**

“We might be 1-5 but the Carolina 1-A better watch out!”

“I’ll be able to sleep a lot better this weekend knowing what kind of effort our kids gave tonight.”

Game Stats provided by: Mike Wickham

SCORE BY QUARTERS 1 2 3 4 FINAL

NJ 7 7 7 0 21
S NASH 0 0 7 15 22

SCORING SUMMARY…..1ST (NJ) EJ Knight 24yd run. Harrison Grady kick(1:24)
2ND (NJ)Knight 5 yd run.Grady kick(8:02)
3RD (SN)Gary Tharrington 9yd run Jordan Hagler kick(8:35)
(NJ) Jacques Alston 29yd run.Grady kick(2:27)
4TH.(SN) Clinton Whitley 29yd run.Hagler kick((11:51)
(SN) Sampson 15yd pass from Whitley.Batchelor run(5:36)

TEAM SUMMARIES….. NJ SN
FIRST DOWNS 12 13
RUSHING ATT/YD 35-196 42-142
PASSES COM/ATT/INT/TD 3-11-2-0 2-3-0-1
PASSING YDS 48 93
FUMBLES/LOST 3-2 4-2
PEN/YDS 8-75 9-74
PUNTS/AVG 1-40.0 1-33.0

INDIVIDUAL STATS…..RUSHING (NJ) Knight 16-94,Bruton 4-2,Alston 8-81,Harned 2–19,Watson 5-38
PASSING (NJ) Harned 3-11-48 yds 2 int. REC.(NJ) Bruton 1-9,Sanders 1-15,Pipkin 1-24
SN could not provide a roster so i didnt have names for their stats……

Midway Remains Unbeaten, Controls NoJo Throughout Game

September 20th, 2008 Posted in High School Football, North Johnston Football | No Comments »

Last night would have been the 18th birthday of Nick Creech. Above, the team enters Midway’s new football stadium with Nick’s old helmet leading the way via the outstretched arm of #73 Charlie Young. As many of you remember, Nick and his best friend Reese Richardson, were tragically killed in an auto accident last fall.

With Nick and Reece in their memories, It would have been really nice to have come away from Spivey’s Corner with a win. Yet, the Raiders move on to 4-0 and the Panthers are still trying to figure out who they are and what they want to be, with a record of 1-4. Have no doubt, it is never as easy to write about a loss as it is a win. This reporters fingers desire to type out smack and smirk at the plight of our opponents ineptness. However, here I sit just trying to figure out how to say what I want to say without stepping on too many folks toes. It’s difficult to criticize the play of a bunch of 15,16, and 17 year olds. Nevertheless, at some point, a bit or responsibility must fall at the feet of the people wearing the pads. It’s not always the coaching staff.

Discipline
Desire (The Want To)
Sacrifice
Pride

These are the big words that every HS football coach attempts to instill into the hearts and minds of his young men. Some are receptive and as always others prefer to walk their own path. They simply seem satisfied to be allowed to wear the uniform on Friday night so they’ll look good in front of Mom and Dad and maybe get a few grass stains. If the kids who are afflicted with this attitude are given an opportunity, their bad habits eventually spill over and the epidemic eats the team from the inside out like a cancer. Believe me Panthers when you read this. It is not all about you. Success on the gridiron comes from a team mentality. If you are standing on the sideline, pouting about not getting the playing time you think that you deserve do something about it in practice. Don’t poison the atmosphere by running down your team mate just because you wish the coach had enough faith in you to place you out there instead.

OK, I’ve said more than enough and I’ll probably have parents who will be bringing rotten fruit to the Southern Nash game to throw at me next week. I’ll bring a poncho just in case…. Now to a brief outline of the game with a few pictures and even a video of the straw that broke the Panthers back.

Midway won the coin flip to start the game and elected to defer to the second half. The opening kickoff is returned up to approximately the 25 yard line and it didn’t take long for the first bad omen of the evening. The first play from scrimmage for North Johnston resulted in a 5 yard false start penalty. Then, two plays later, we fumble the ball and give the Raiders a early gift on our own 22. The defense does a good job early and holds the Raiders to a field goal attempt that they miss wide left. The first quarter of the game appears to be setting up a defensive struggle as the period ends with no points on the board for either squad.

The end of the opening quarter of play showed Midway driving the ball down the field and beginning the second period of play on the NoJo 24. With only a minute and thirty seconds gone in the second, Midway rushes in for their first score of the night from the 2 yard line. After spending a good deal of the first quarters offensive possessions playing around with a direct snap to #1 Lequan Cox, #7 Joe Harned enters the game at his regular QB position and the offense shows progress. #28 EJ Knight picks up some yardage and the Raiders appear to question their coverage assignments. At 6:28 to go in the half, Harned delivers on a 49 yard touchdown pass to #36 Glenwood Watson. The extra point is tacked on and we are tied at 7. By all appearances the game begins to take on a interesting stir.

For all intents and purposes, that “interesting stir” must have been the sound of the Raider coaching staff and players saying to themselves…Enough of this. In the remaining 6:28 of the first half, Midway would take maximum advantage of a Panther pass interception and a fumble to drop an additional 14 points on our heads. Half time score 21-7 Midway.

The start of the third quarter of play so no let up from the rampaging Midway Raiders. 55 seconds into the half, Midway QB #10 let loose with a 40 plus yard strike to score another touchdown. With almost the entire second half remaining to be played, the score was 28-7 Midway. Don’t run off, we hadn’t give up yet.

After going 3 and out and forcing the enemy to do the same on their next possession, a little light did shine on the good guys. At the 5:58 mark in the third, the Raiders were forced to punt and #36 Watson decided to thank them for their willingness to give up the ball by returning it 75 yards for a score. The extra point attempt was successful and the score was 28-14 Midway.

Hold tight, this quarter isn’t done being good to us yet. On their next possession, the Raiders eat up a lot of the clock by sustaining a long drive down the field. Short passes and runs around the left end of the D-line were working pretty well. However, with 1:05 left in the period, #10 Ivan Trevino, picks off a pass in the end zone and running hard gets back to the Midway 48 before being forced out of bounds. The start of the fourth quarter begins with NJ still in possession and driving deeper into Raider territory. With 9:12 remaining on the clock, #7 Joe Harned scrambles over to the far left of the line of scrimmage and fires a rifle shot into the open arms of #2 Jacob Lewis standing in the end zone. Again, the extra point is good and the score now stands at 28-21 Midway. The breaks are falling our way and we’ve been able to capitalize on the Raiders mistakes to this point. On the ensuing kick off, there appears to be a fumble by the Raiders, hopefully opening the door for yet another opportunity. However, the home cooking for the referees gets the best of them and the player is ruled down by contact. To say that their opinion was not shared by the NoJo faithful would be a gross understatement. However, that was the last site of any hope in coming back on this night.

Midway controlled the ball and the clock from there out. With 3:53 remaining in the match up, the Raiders threw for another touchdown over the middle and sealed the fate for NJ on early fall evening. The truth is that we (NJ) failed to do anything positive on offense in the first quarter of play. We turned the ball over throughout the second and dug ourselves a hole we couldn’t climb out of. Needless to say, at times early in the game we seemed listliss and without desire. Coach Nelson had some choice words for his team following the game as it was quite evident that he knew we had an opportunity and didn’t make the most of it.

“We lacked discipline tonight and we lacked emotion. When you decide that you want to be a good football team, we will. Until then we’ll continue to stumble around in mediocrity. I don’t know what I’ve got to do to get you guys to want to play on Friday nights.”

I think that just about says it. You could see the hurt in Coach Nelsons face tonight and he’s entitled to get frustrated just like the rest of us.

We put this one behind us and move on to Southern Nash next week.

NC High School Football - Week 5 Scoreboard

September 20th, 2008 Posted in High School Football | No Comments »

Photo: K.P. Parks leads West Rowan to victory, by James Sipes

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2008 North Carolina High School Football Scoreboard
Week Five Scores

Albemarle 21, Fairmont 18

Alexander Central 30, Wilkes Central 11

Anson County 35, Kannapolis Brown 28

Asheville Roberson 27, Morganton Freedom 16

Belmont South Point 56, Lawndale Burns 0

Bertie County 28, Northern Nash 22

Black Mountain Owen 41, Enka 14

Brevard 28, Asheville 25

Bunn 36, Oxford Webb 28

Burnsville Mountain Heritage 21, Asheville Erwin 20

Canton Pisgah 49, Mitchell County 6

Cape Fear 49, Western Harnett 35

Chapel Hill 28, Southern Alamance 13

Charlotte Catholic 31, North Gaston 0

Charlotte Country Day 35, Bluefield, W.Va. 14

Charlotte Independence 42, Charlotte Vance 0

Charlotte Latin 35, First Presbyterian Day, Ga. 0

Charlotte Olympic 31, Gastonia Ashbrook 14

Charlotte Victory Christian 42, Eastern Randolph 7

China Grove Carson 33, East Rowan 21

Claremont Bunker Hill 29, West Caldwell 22, OT

Clinton 28, East Bladen 7

Concord First Assembly 44, Asheville School 7

Davie County 54, Charlotte Berry Tech 6

Dunn Midway 34, North Johnston 21

Durham Hillside 38, Northern Vance 13

Durham Jordan 37, Raleigh Enloe 12

East Burke 43, Boonville Starmount 21

East Columbus 44, South Robeson 23

East Forsyth 28, Winston-Salem Mt. Tabor 19

East Henderson 28, Hendersonville 25

East Lincoln 20, Northern Guilford 7

East Surry 41, South Stokes 7

East Wake 35, Holly Springs 33

Eastern Alamance 22, Orange County 7

Edenton Holmes 41, Chocowinity Southside 0

Elizabeth City Northeastern 35, Camden County 21

Elkin 29, Kernersville McGuinness 28, OT

Fayetteville Byrd 13, Fayetteville Smith 7

Fayetteville Pine Forest 21, Spring Lake Overhills 19

Forest City Chase 17, Polk County 14

Franklin 55, Sylva Smoky Mountain 0

Franklinton 28, Weldon 16

Gastonia Forestview 34, Charlotte Waddell 0

Graham 25, Burlington Williams 14

Greensboro Dudley 28, Greensboro Page 21

Harnett Central 47, Fayetteville Sanford 42

Havelock 19, Jacksonville White Oak 0

Hayesville 34, Towns County, Ga. 32

Hickory Ridge 33, Concord 14

Hickory St. Stephens 28, Hickory 21

High Point Andrews 23, High Point Central 16

Hillsborough Cedar Ridge 34, Carrboro 21

Hope Mills South View 49, Hoke County 26

Huntersville Hopewell 56, East Gaston 13

Jamestown Ragsdale 38, Greensboro Grimsley 7

Jamesville 34, Swan Quarter Mattamuskeet 6

Jones County 42, South Lenoir 0

Knightdale 20, Smithfield-Selma 7

Lake Norman 24, West Iredell 14

Lincolnton 14, Shelby 10

Louisburg 52, Manteo 6

Lumberton 20, Wilmington Laney 16

Mallard Creek 34, West Mecklenburg 0

Matthews Butler 34, West Charlotte 12

Mayodan McMichael 21, Rockingham County 6

McDowell County 23, Surry Central 6

Monroe Sun Valley 48, Monroe Piedmont 10

Mooresville 28, North Iredell 7

Mt. Airy 55, Alleghany County 0

Mt. Pleasant 27, Concord Robinson 7

Murphy 21, Darlington, Ga. 14

Nash Central 34, Washington 0

Newton-Conover 36, Maiden 7

North Brunswick 27, Lejeune 8

North Davidson 38, Lexington 14

North Lincoln 50, East Bend Forbush 0

North Mecklenburg 41, Charlotte Garinger 14

Pasquotank County 50, Columbia 6

Pembroke Swett 16, Scotland County 14

Pender County 31, Wallace-Rose Hill 6

Perquimans County 14, Gates County 8

Pinetown Northside 28, North Edgecombe 22

Pittsboro Northwood 63, Chatham Central 7

Raleigh Broughton 54, Raleigh Athens Drive 18

Raleigh Leesville Road 13, Apex Middle Creek 3

Raleigh Millbrook 35, Apex 7

Raleigh Ravenscroft 49, Forsyth County Day 6

Raleigh Sanderson 24, Cary 7

Raleigh Wakefield 31, Durham Riverside 26

Reidsville 39, Northeast Guilford 7

Richlands 51, Jacksonville 7

Robbinsville 64, Raleigh Wake Christian 13

Rocky Mount 42, Hertford County 14

Rosman 24, North Henderson 22

Siler City Jordan-Matthews 40, Randleman 21

South Brunswick 28, Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons 21

South Caldwell 24, South Iredell 21

South Columbus 35, West Columbus 14

South Granville 34, East Chapel Hill 0

South Mecklenburg 35, Charlotte Harding 20

South Stanly 58, North Moore 0

Southeast Guilford 10, Northwest Guilford 8

Southeast Raleigh 14, Clayton 9

Southern Durham 36, New Hanover County 6

Southern Guilford 41, Southwestern Randolph 7

Southern Lee 24, Lee County 6

Southern Nash 13, Wilson Hunt 7

SouthWest Edgecombe 45, Southern Vance 12

Statesville 24, South Rowan 21

Tarboro 48, Roanoke Rapids 0

Thomasville 29, Person County 14

Thomasville Ledford 21, Trinity 14

Topsail 41, Rocky Point Trask 20

Wake Forest-Rolesville 31, Northern Durham 21

Warsaw Kenan 25, East Duplin 7

Watauga County 27, Ashe County 6

Waynesville Tuscola 17, Asheville Reynolds 14

West Brunswick 28, Whiteville 6

West Forsyth 52, Winston-Salem Parkland 32

West Johnston 20, Garner 13

West Montgomery 24, Asheboro 19

West Rowan 28, Northwest Cabarrus 6

West Stanly 42, Central Cabarrus 0

West Stokes 33, North Surry 6

Western Alamance 42, Burlington Cummings 22

Western Guilford 32, Southwest Guilford 27

Wilmington Ashley 41, West Carteret 14

Wilmington Hoggard 27, Greenville Rose 14

Wilson Beddingfield 39, Farmville Central 20

Wilson Fike 35, Pikeville Aycock 6

Winston-Salem Carver 20, North Forsyth 8

Winston-Salem Reynolds 34, Kernersville Glenn 0

NoJo Panthers Eat Raiders Alive…

September 19th, 2008 Posted in High School Football, North Johnston Football | No Comments »

Tonight saw the Junior Varsity squad from Midway High invade the happy hunting grounds of the North Johnston Panthers. The Raiders brought a good sized squad and I guess their cheerleaders looked pretty good. Except for the guy…In JC we just don’t deal with guy cheerleaders at the high school level. OK OK enough already…to the game.

It was not a night that the Raiders will desire to remember on film. Their defense resembled melted swiss cheese as #35 Phillip Parrish and #6 Brandon Crocker left bruises on every defender they could run on the field. The O-line played an excellent game all the way around. Buddy Lee, Deon Thomas, and Joe Ronczka controlled the line of scrimmage through out the entire night.

The Panthers scored on their first possession when #35 Parrish ran around the left side of the line to score from 33 yards out. The coaching staff elected to go for 2 after the score and failed leaving the score 6-0. The NoJo defense started out the game clicking as well. They held Midway scoreless in the first quarter. However the period ended with the Raiders driving and the ball resting on the one foot line of North Johnson. Not to be outdone yet, #11 the QB for Midway dropped back and delivered a beautiful pass into the right end zone for a touchdown making the score after a failed 2 point conversion 6-6. The next series sees the Panthers go three and out and punt to the Raiders. A few successful plays later and the visitors are all the way down to the NJ 7. Enter #5 Lawrence Daniels, #33 Ronald Jackson, #50 Jeremiah Holland and their co-horts. I told you the defense showed up tonight didn’t I? With 4:17 remaining in the first half and the ball on the 7, the D-line bows it’s neck and keeps the enemy troops out of the end zone by pushing the Raiders back to the 13 and forcing them to turn the ball over on downs.

At the 3:31 remaining mark, #15 QB Boone Langley and the Offense ride onto the field. The first play results in #35 Parrish rumbling down to the Midway 45. Pushing the ball methodically down the field, it isn’t long before pay dirt is hit again. With 3:31 on the clock #6 Brandon Crocker scampers into the right side of the end zone from 31 yards out. Crocker again has his number called on the two point conversion and again, he is successful. Going into halftime the score was NJ 14 and Midway 6.

Believe it or not people, the third quarter of this game was nothing less than football suicide for the Raiders. Repeat after me…you must not turn over the ball, you must not turn over the ball, you must …..I think you get the picture. During the course of a twelve minute quarter, Midway had a grand total of 3 fumbles and 1 Interception. Three of these resulted in very quick touch downs. A brief outline can be found below.

A fumble recovery after only nine seconds of play ends with a 23 yard TD pass from #15 Boone Langley to #43 Blake Faircloth in the right side of the end zone. The extra point attempt by #7 Ian Harned is good and the score is 21-6 NoJo.

Approximately four minutes later with 5:32 on the clock, #6 Crocker picks off the Raider QB on the right side of the line and returns it all the way back for another Panther TD. Score…27-6 NoJo.

35 seconds later, another Raider fumble at their own 27. The offense sputters just a hair and is faced with a 4th and 4 from around the 20 yard line. The coaching staff figures they will throw a little something different at the defense and sends in #14 Shelton Pittman to assume the QB duty. His first snap from center for the evening turns into a hard run around the right side of the line and into the promised land for yet another Panther TD. Score 34-6 NoJo.

Mercifully the third quarter comes to a end and the bench clearing begins in earnest. The fourth quarter of tonight’s game was simply a chance for everyone to see the field. You learn to cherish those instances because all these kids work so hard and fair or not, sometimes it’s not easy to take out the over achievers. Midway did score twice in the final period of play but it was not against the first string D. The final score of the game was 34-22 North Johnston. Great output tonight guys, hope the Varsity squad can deliver a little touch of this down in Spivey’s Corner tomorrow night.

It sure would be nice to get a big win on what would have been Nick Creech’s Birthday.

North Johnston Ruins Hobbton Homecoming 13-7

September 13th, 2008 Posted in High School Football | No Comments »

Is it only me, or is it not just a wee bit early for homecoming games? I’m sorry but I prefer at least a little nip of cold in the air for homecoming to feel right. In my humble opinion, it should be down right COOOOLD for that night to even begin to feel right. Nevertheless, the fine faculty & staff over at Hobbton High decided that tonight would be their big event and I guess they were pretty confident that they had scheduled the right cup cake for the evening’s festivities. After all, the Panthers have failed to defeat the Wildcats in their last two meetings and quite frankly, Hobbton was 2-0 coming into the night and NOJO was 0-3. I guess that’s why they play the games.

Over the past week, the folks in and around Hobbton High have had to deal with over 10” of rainfall. Drought? What drought? Because of the onslaught of water in such a short period of time, it smelled as if every hog lagoon and septic tank between Newton Grove and Clinton had over run onto the Wildcat football field. We’re talkin’ major league STANK people. The sideline and field tonight, were better suited for 4×4 mud slinging than a football game and if the mosquitoes were any larger they would have needed landing gear. Man am I glad to have a wife that remembers to bring the bug spray and my cheap Wal-Mart flip-flops!

The game begins with Hobbton winning the coin flip and electing to defer possession until the start of the second half. Upon receiving the ball on kick off, the NOJO offense comes out cold and doesn’t appear to be firing on all cylinders just yet. #40 Wayne Johnson is forced to punt, giving the Wildcats their first opportunity to move the ball. Hobbton marches up the field rather quickly right out of the gate. Not slow to warm up, #7 Caldwell for Hobbton breaks off a few good runs around the ends and their Quarterback #12 delivers on a 15 yard pass play to put the Cats in scoring position at the NJ 23 yard line. With 1:07 to go in the first quarter, #20 Michael Williams dashes around the left end of the line and runs into the end zone. The point after attempt is good and Hobbton is up 7-0.

The second quarter doesn’t start out looking any better for North Johnston. The Panthers with possession of the ball and driving on the Hobbton 40 turn the ball over on a fumble while working on a 3rd and 3 with 7:10 to go in the half. Not to be outdone by the visiting team, the Wildcats have a turnover of their own with a fumble not 30 seconds later on their own 25. Do you see a pattern forming here? Guess what happens next? That’s right, #28 EJ Knight is hit hard at the line of scrimmage and coughs the ball up for another turnover not 5 seconds after getting the ball back. Can you say frustrating boys and girls?….. Believe it or not, even with all this give and take going on, the NOJO defense is continuing to play inspired football and is limiting every positive play by Hobbton. With the clock running and each team attempting to find a way to spark their offense, something funny is happening in the Wildcats offensive huddle. With 5:08 showing on the clock, and with Hobbton being completely out of first half time outs, their coach is on the field and in the huddle with his players while the referees discuss a previous penalty. Coach Tom Nelson knowing that this is a violation and that their coach is using this time as an impromptu time out marches himself out to midfield to bring this to the referees attention. The ref acts as if it’s no big deal and refuses to throw his flag. I thought for a second that coach was about to get tossed but we lived to fight another day. In this case we lived to fight on the very next play. Backed up on their own 30, the Wildcat quarterback is rushed out of the pocket and while in the grasp of a Panther defender attempts to throw the ball away. Even these referees know that’s a no no and Hobbton is penalized for intentional grounding. With 4:46 remaining in the half, the home team is forced to punt from deep in their own neck of the woods and North Johnston takes over on their own 44. Now, let me go back just a little bit and explain something else about Hobbton that you may not have known. Yes, they were 2-0 coming into the nights game but there was also the little matter that no one had scored on them as of yet either. Oh well….all good things do tend to come to an end.

On the first play of the drive, #7 Joe Harned rolls out to his right and heaves a 48 yard pass completion to #5 Jackques Alston bringing the ball down to the Hobbton 3 yard line. On the next snap, #28 Knight takes the ball around the left end of the line and drives it straight into the end zone. An attempted two point conversion is unsuccessful leaving the score 7-6 in favor of Hobbton with 4:30 to go in the half. After a round or two of both offenses failing to move the ball, that ol’ fumble snake bites NJ again. With 53.9 seconds to go in the half, #28 Knight lets go of the pumpkin again, this time turning the ball over on NJ’s on 39. On the next play we are flagged for defensive pass interference and the ball is moved up to the NJ 24. With a couple of loss yardage snaps following, and with only 3 seconds left in the half, the Wildcats attempt a 42 yard field goal to no avail and the first half ends with a score of Hobbton 7 and North Johnston 6.

The beginning of the 2nd half shows Hobbton back to receive the kick off. However, Coach Tom Nelson has dug into his little baggie of dirty tricks and attempts a squibb kick in hopes of retaining possession of the ball and gaining a little MO to start the half. No such luck…the Wildcats recover the kick on their own 43 setting up great field position. With solid play continuing over from the first half, NOJO’s defense remains strong. Both teams trade possessions through out the 3rd quarter with neither group showing much production. Late in the 3rd quarter, Nelson goes to that baggie of his again in order to wake up a sleepy and listless offense. On four consecutive plays, the ball is direct snapped to #1 Laquan Cox in an effort to use his athletic ability to make a play. Didn’t happen! The entire possession resulted in little if any yardage gain and it was punt time again. At the end of the 3rd quarter, the score remained 7-6 in favor of the home team.

The 4th quarter began with the NJ punt hitting off the side of #40 Johnson’s foot. Hobbton began their possession on the Panther 30. Things really were not looking good and then the Wildcat QB connected on a 15-yard pass play bringing the ball down to the NJ 15. Miraculously the NOJO defense holds tight again and eventually takes over on downs at their on 7 yard line with 7:01 left to play. On the following play from scrimmage, Knight takes off around the left end of the line and motors 32 yards. On the next play call, Knight again carries the mail for another 15 yards and holes start showing up in the Wildcat D-Line. The next few plays get #9 Grey Bruton into the mix and the ball ends up on Hobbton’s 24-yard line.

The Panthers are working the clock down and know that this is most likely their last opportunity with the ball. Quickly it comes down to a gut check. With 3:48 left in the game NJ is faced with a 4th and 1 scenario. This will be the biggest play call of the game and in all likelihood the last if it’s not capitalized on. What play do you as a coach send in? Do you really have to think hard about this one? Neither did anyone else; you always stick with the horse that you rode to the party on. The ball is snapped and Knight carries the rock across the 5 and down to the 4-yard line. Finally, with 2:23 to go in the ballgame, #9 Bruton slams in over the goal line to score the go ahead touchdown and put NJ up 12-7.

Remember the failed two-point conversion earlier in the first half? Not caring to risk that again, Coach Nelson, sends in #76 Louis Perez to put his soccer trained toe into the point after attempt. What makes this interesting is that this is Louis’s first ever field goal attempt in a game. As a matter of fact, it’s his first ever-organized football game period! Nevertheless, the snap is good, the hold was good and the kick….even though it looked like a line drive down the third base line…was good by about 2” over the cross bar. Afterwards, Coach Nelson would tell the press “the kid was as nervous as a hound dog during the entire game.”

With a little over 2:00 remaining to be played North Johnston takes the lead 13-6. Hobbton would need a touchdown and extra point to pull out a win. I think we’ve been in this position once before and it didn’t turn out so well.

With that game most likely stirring around in his mind, Nelson decides to attempt the hard squibb kick again. I really don’t think the Wildcats saw this one coming. After the ball traveled the required distance, #33 Spencer Lebbano came up with the ball at the bottom of the pile for the Panthers. A great play call and a successful recovery sealed the fate of the Hobbton fateful on this night. A minute or so later and a couple of knees results in NJ raining on a undefeated opponents homecoming hopes thus lifting their own by finally getting a W in the column.

Meeting with the team on the field prior to heading to the locker room, Coach Nelson had a few words for his troops.

“Defense, you played a heck of a game for the most part except for that opening drive. Much much better.”

“Offense, it took us about 3 and a half quarters to come to life but we finally did it.”

“We’ve got a long way to go boys. We’ve got to come back down here next week to play a good Midway team. They will be ready for us.”

“You guys get to the locker room, say hi to your Mom, eat your snack and make it quick. I want to get out of this hog swamp as soon as possible!”

The Midway game next week will be a tough one. These kids do not slack off and they’re sitting at 3-0 after demoralizing Princeton last night on their new field. That’s right, new field. We will be the second team to play them on it. I know you’re missing the photos that I usually attach to these stories. Fact is the camera I have is made for family photos not sports photography. That will change effective next week. Chuck Hardison is hooking a brother up…Better quality pics next week folks and continued videos. I have a total of 4 videos up on the site from last night’s game. Check’em out.

It’s 3AM….can I go to sleep now?

NC High School Football - Week Four Scores

September 12th, 2008 Posted in High School Football | No Comments »

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2008 North Carolina High School Football Scoreboard
Week Four Scores

Alleghany County 34, Andrews 30

Asheville Erwin 31, North Henderson 0

Asheville Reynolds 30, Asheville Roberson 13

Belmont South Point 54, Alexander Central 14

Bessemer City 16, Gastonia Highland Tech 12

Boonville Starmount 28, West Davidson 24

Burlington Williams 19, Asheboro 14

Burnsville Mountain Heritage 29, West Henderson 9

Canton Pisgah 13, North Buncombe 0

Cape Fear 45, Hope Mills Gray’s Creek 13

Charlotte Ardrey Kell 22, West Mecklenburg 12

Charlotte Christian 31, Asheville 3

Charlotte Independence 49, West Charlotte 3

Charlotte Olympic 24, South Mecklenburg 14

Charlotte Vance 22, Charlotte Harding 6

Cherokee 28, Choctaw Central, Miss. 14

Davie County 38, Charlotte Providence Day 20

East Burke 35, Gastonia Huss 8

East Forsyth 35, Winston-Salem Atkins 14

East Henderson 21, Black Mountain Owen 14

East Rutherford 37, West Lincoln 7

East Surry 31, East Wilkes 0

Eastern Alamance 41, Burlington Cummings 17

Edenton Holmes 14, Perquimans County 6

Elizabeth City Northeastern 43, Pasquotank County 22

Elkin 47, North Stokes 0

Enka 21, Derita Christian Academy 0

Fayetteville Britt 42, Fayetteville Sanford 28

Forest City Chase 16, Cherryville 0

Forsyth County Day 20, South Davidson 18

Franklin 14, Swain County 7

Franklinton 54, North Raleigh Christian 6

Gastonia Ashbrook 42, Lawndale Burns 7

Gastonia Forestview 21, Kings Mountain 20

Greene Central 19, Ayden-Grifton 12

Hayesville 27, Madison County 6

Hendersonville 55, Rosman 21

Hickory 27, Catawba Bandys 20

High Point Andrews 45, Greensboro Grimsley 13

Hoke County 19, Fayetteville Smith 6

Holly Springs 35, Panther Creek 14

Jacksonville Northside 48, North Brunswick 6

Kannapolis AL Brown 34, Monroe Sun Valley 31

Kernersville Glenn 13, North Forsyth 6

Lenoir Hibriten 49, Claremont Bunker Hill 0

Lincolnton 41, North Gaston 0

Louisburg 28, Bunn 20

Lumberton 42, Fairmont 6

Matthews Butler 66, Charlotte Berry Tech 12

Mayodan McMichael 17, Martinsville, Va. 16

Mitchell County 28, North Wilkes 14

Mooresville 48, China Grove Carson 6

Mt. Airy 70, South Stokes 0

Mt. Pleasant 42, Central Cabarrus 6

Murphy 36, Sylva Smoky Mountain 0

Nash Central 9, Wilson Hunt 0

New Bern 22, Wilmington Laney 18

New Hanover County 40, Cameron Union Pines 0

Newton Foard 47, Maiden 14

Newton-Conover 21, Hickory St. Stephens 6

North Johnston 13, Hobbton 7

North Pitt 24, Greenville Conley 17

North Stanly 51, Chatham Central 0

Northern Vance 42, Southern Vance 0

Person County 23, Halifax County, Va. 15

Pinetown Northside 57, North Edgecombe 16

R-S Central 19, McDowell County 14

Raleigh Broughton 17, Chapel Hill 7

Raleigh Enloe 26, Durham Riverside 17

Raleigh Leesville Road 49, Morrisville Green Hope 0

Raleigh Millbrook 55, Northern Durham 14

Raleigh Wakefield 35, Garner 28

Randleman 42, East Montgomery 21

Richmond County 38, Pembroke Swett 0

Roanoke Rapids 41, Rosewood 7

Rocky Mount 36, Greenville Rose 0

Rocky Mount Academy 36, St. David’s 21

Salisbury 45, West Stanly 21

Shelby 16, Shelby Crest 14

South Brunswick 25, West Brunswick 15

South Central Pitt 23, Bertie County 8

South Robeson 12, North Moore 6

Southern Pines Pinecrest 19, Southern Lee 0

SouthWest Edgecombe 53, Farmville Central 6

Tarboro 57, North Edgecombe 16

Thomasville 34, Albemarle 20

Thomasville Ledford 44, Southwest Guilford 29

Topsail 32, Swansboro 7

Wake Forest-Rolesville 28, High Point Central 6

Watauga County 26, North Surry 22

West Bladen 36, Wilmington Ashley 22

West Forsyth 47, Pfafftown Reagan 27

West Johnston 45, Spring Lake Overhills 26

West Stokes 34, Surry Central 14

West Wilkes 34, Kernersville McGuinness 28

Western Alamance 31, Graham 0

Whiteville 14, West Columbus 13

Wilkes Central 27, South Caldwell 16

Winston-Salem Carver 26, Winston-Salem Reynolds 14

Winston-Salem Mt. Tabor 28, Winston-Salem Parkland 26