Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Longtime RMHS football videographer passes

Earnest Graham "Gray" Capps
Aside from perhaps the returning players and coaches at Rocky Mount High School and myself, there had to be no other individual more excited to see Rocky Mount's new football stadium open than Gray Capps.

Capps and his brother Ken, both Rocky Mount alums, have been filming Rocky Mount High School varsity and junior varsity football games for the last 22 seasons. 

They both could be seen at every home game on the right side of the press box - with both of them operating cameras to record play-by-play for the Gryphon coaches.

And on the road, they  were there, too - whether opposing film crews gave them room or not.

One filmed action at the line of scrimmage, while the other took the wide angle of both teams.

They tried to give the coaches two angles of all the action.

Gray gave me grief during last season after the new stadium's home stands were fairly completed and the press box was in place. 

"Where am I going to stand?" "Are we going to lose space?'' "Where's the elevator for the press box?" were the kind of questions I'd get from him in conversations all last season in anticipation of playing football on campus for the first time school history. He figured I had all the answers.

Sadly, he won't have to worry about all those things now.

He will be watching from way above the press box!

Gray lost his very short battle with cancer Tuesday afternoon. He was 61. He was diagnosed in March and he basically never left the hospital once he was admitted. 

Like the late Jack Allsbrook, who accommodated the football officials and kept the clock at Rocky Mount games for over 40 years, Gray was a fixture who was as emotionally involved with every Rocky Mount kid as the coaches.

He had walked in their shoes.

He was an offensive guard for Rocky Mount - Class of '71. He and his wife Peggy never had children, but in a way, all those Gryphon players were like his kids. All he wanted them to do was to play hard and smart.

And he'd catch it all on tape.

We will all miss him so much, especially when the Gryphons open their new stadium on Friday, Aug. 17.

But we all know he WILL have the best seat in the stadium!

Moss receives national honor

Benton Moss
Rocky Mount's all-time winningest pitcher has picked up a national accolade after his first season with the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Four-year Gryphon starter Benton Moss has been named as a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

Moss, won a school record 32 games (32-3) at RMHS, completed his first year with a 7-2 record and a 1.94 ERA - tops among UNC's starters.

He came up a win short of the freshman pitching victory record set by former Gryphon hurler Carter Harrell who went 8-4 for UNC in 2002. But Moss had more innings pitched and more strikeouts.

Moss made 17 appearances with 16 starts. He threw 79 innings and struck out 83 batters.

Moss and his once Gryphon teammate Hobbs Johnson posted UNC's only wins on the mound during the NCAA Regionals in Chapel Hill last weekend.

2012 Big East All-Conference Baseball Teams

First Team

Jacob Page, Wilson Hunt
Alex Nguyen, Wilson Hunt
Parker Lamm, Wilson Hunt
Dillan Howard, Wilson Hunt
Zach Williams, Wilson Hunt
Logan Butts, Wilson Hunt
Khalil Macklin, Nash Central
Tyler King, Nash Central
Jordan Taylor, Nash Central
Dillon Moore, Nash Central
Derrick Carter, Northern Nash
David Wiliams, Northern Nash
Luke Joyner, Northern Nash
Jake Green, Northern Nash
Zach Parris, Southern Nash
Ryan Shearin, Southern Nash
Kevin Boykin, Southern Nash
Jeremy Johnson, Rocky Mount
Will Edwards, Rocky Mount
Travis Ricks, Wilson Fike
Honorable Mention

Cody Pittman, Wilson Hunt
Kyle Taylor, Nash Central
Dimaggio Silver, Northern Nash
Clay Whitley, Southern Nash
Spenser Ramsey, Rocky Mount
Charlie Vaughan, Wilson Fike

Player of the Year - Jacob Page, Wilson HUnt
Pitcher of the Year - Tyler King, Nash Central
Conference Coach of the Year - Jon Smith, Wilson Hunt