One Busy Holt!

Rocky Mount head coach B.W. Holt has been pretty busy lately, despite not having to get his team ready for the state finals.

Holt was in Bowling Green, Ky. late last week visiting his grandaughter (Maggie) and her family (son Stu is running backs coach at Western Kentucky), then he flew back to North Carolina Friday night.

He drove to Winston-Salem Saturday morning to see the 3-A and 3-AA state title games, then Sunday, he and wife Barbara will be in Charlotte for the Carolina Panthers' game with the Denver Broncos (they are season ticket holders).

While Barbara will head back to Rocky Mount, Holt will travel down I-85 to check out his player Whit Barnes and the N.C. team at the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas game practices. Holt and N.C. head coach Gary Fowler (Clayton) go way back, he says.

Then he will return to RM later in the week for his school duties - including a meeting of the NEW 6 football coaches to vote on the All-Conference team (look for the release of that team Friday - right here on this blog!)

Then it's back to Spartanburg Saturday for the Shrine Bowl game at Wofford College.

This man, at age 64, has more energy than I had at age 14!

Seeing the price of gas drop to sub-$1.60 a gallon levels doesn't hurt either!

West Rowan wins 3-A state title

My NCHSAA 3-A state championship poll voters were a little off, so it seems, as West Rowan claimed the NCHSAA 3-A state football title with a convincing 35-7 win over West Craven Saturday at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem.

In my poll results, only three percent of you chose West Rowan to win it all. Congrats to that small group for getting it right

Too bad the 65 percent who chose the Gryphons were wrong!

From reports I got Saturday (I saw the games in Raleigh at Carter-Finley Stadium) - mainly from WCTI TV 12 sports anchor Brian North, it may have been the setting, the overwhelming desire to get their coach a title for his retirement present or just plain nervousness that put West Craven in a hole from the very beginning of its game with West Rowan.

An 88-yard TD run on the very first play from scrimmage for West Rowan could do that!

Barnes is in S.C. practicing for Shrine Bowl

Rocky Mount senior center Whit Barnes reported to camp Saturday for the N.C. squad that will face South Carolina in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas in Spartantburg, S.C. this Saturday.

The game will be played at Wofford's Gibbs Stadium. Kick-off is at 1 p.m.

Clayton head coach Gary Fowler will guide the Tar Heel squad.

The game will not be on live TV, but it will be tape-delayed by ESPNU and can be seen on a rotating basis starting Jan. 9.