NEW 6 Tournament Champs!

Rocky Mount's boys basketball team won its second consecutive NEW 6 Tournament title Friday with an 87-76 overtime win over Nash Central Friday evening. They will face Western Alamance in the first round of the NCHSAA 3-A state playoffs at home Monday at 7 p.m.

Two more Gryphons get scholarships

- RMHS senior Chris Pittman

Bring the total of Gryphons from the 2008 football class that are headed to college on a scholarship to six!

Four signed on National Signing Day, and now add defensive end Jermaine Fields and linebacker Chris Pittman to the list.

Fields, who inked with Elizabeth City State the day after his other teammates signed, will join teammate Keith Strickland there. Pittman will join Nick Harrison at UNC-Pembroke. He signed this past week. He chose between the new upstart D-II program and Catawba.

At 6-foot-2 1/2 and 215 pounds, Fields tallied 56 tackles and recorded five sacks. He also recovered three fumbles and deflected two passes. Fields also scored a touchdown this season when he blocked a punt against East Forsyth and recovered it in the end zone for a score.

An NEW 6 All-Conference selection, his best league game was his his nine tackles against Northern Nash.

Pittman, at 6-1, 192 pounds, received a first-team All-Conference nod for the second straight season and was voted as the league's Defensive Player of the Year and the Rocky Mount Telegram's Defensive Player of the Year. The NCPreps.com 3-A All-State selection led the Gryphons in tackles with 97 and had two sacks and two deflected passes. His conference high was his 11 tackles against Northern Nash.

At least two more Gryphons may sign in the coming days.

Former Gryphon Cobb inks with Arizona

Travis Cobb, who made more of a splash on the baseball field than on the gridiron when he was a student at Rocky Mount High School, has surfaced as one of the country's best junior college return men and has been signed to a letter of intent to play football at the University of Arizona.

The 6-foot, 180-pounder as a player at Blinn Community College near College Station, Tx. helped lead Blinn to a 9-3 record last fall.

Projected as kick returner and wide receiver by the Wildcats' staff, Cobb, who starred on Coach Pat Smith's baseball team in his third season at RMHS, had 36 catches for 508 yards and four touchdowns in 2008.

Cobb originally gave a verbal commitment to Utah before switching to the Wildcats.

He earned first-team All-Southwest Junior College Football Conference honors as a return specialist. He averaged 34 yards per kick return, with a 95-yarder for a touchdown.

Cobb's breakout game as a receiver was in the SJCFC championship game where he had five catches for 162 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-24 upset victory over then-No. 1 Navarro JUCO.

He was one of 15 Blinn players to sign with a D-I school. Eighteen players overall signed with a four-year college team.

He was coached by Brad Franchione, son of former Texas A&M head coach Dennis Franchione.

Arizona went 8-5 under fifth-year head coach Mike Stoops last fall and closed out the season with a 31-21 win over Brigham Young in the Las Vegas Bowl in Dec.

Former Gryphon sees son follow him to NCWC

Northern Nash senior catcher Tyler Clark, flanked by his parents Greg and Lisa, signs to play baseball at N.C. Wesleyan. Looking on are (l-r) Northern assistant coach Scott Benson and athletic director Dan Richwalski. Both of Clark's parents were standout athletes at NCWC. Father Greg also played baseball at RMHS. (Photo/Geoff Neville)

By Geoff Neville, Nashville Graphic RED OAK -- If the leaf doesn’t fall too far from the tree, Tyler Clark is destined to enjoy a successful baseball career at North Carolina Wesleyan College. Clark is the son of Greg Clark, a former All-American at N.C. Wesleyan who starred for the Battling Bishops from 1979-82. How good was Clark? So much so that he was a member of N.C. Wesleyan’s inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame Class in 1999 -- along with the likes of Mike Fox, Don Scalf and Roger Taylor. Clark even has had his jersey retired by the school. Tyler Clark is now intent on forging his own diamond path at Wesleyan -- as soon as he closes out his career this spring with the Northern Nash Knights. Last Wednesday on the NNHS campus, Tyler Clark signed a letter-of-intent to join the Wesleyan baseball program. Three former Knights -- Jonathan Lucas, Andrew Webb and Daniel Moore -- are currently on the NCWC roster. Baseball has always been in Tyler Clark’s blood, going back to his days with the Nashville Recreation Department. Clark was on a Babe Ruth State Championship Team with Nashville, along with several of his current Northern Nash teammates. Tyler Clark was an outfielder back then, but he soon took up catching, and that would eventually become his position of preference. After playing at Red Oak Middle School, Tyler Clark spent one season on the JV team at Northern before taking over the varsity catching duties as a sophomore in 2007. And what a campaign that would be for the Knights. Handling a strong pitching staff that included fellow senior and East Carolina University signee Tyler Joyner, Tyler Clark helped Northern Nash reach the Class 3-A State Semifinals. Northern dropped a three-game series to a loaded and eventual champion C.B. Aycock squad (two games to one), but that didn’t take away from NN’s amazing campaign. Tyler Clark will close out his Northern career as a three-year starter behind the plate. Last season, Tyler Clark led the Knights with a sparkling .365 batting average. He also threw out 18 baserunners while earning all-conference honors. Tyler Clark, along with several boyhood friends and long-time teammates, will have one final go-round this spring for the Knights in the competitive NEW 6 Conference. He is Northern’s third signee from this current senior class. In addition to Joyner’s signature with East Carolina, NN’s Mike Williams has already inked a letter-of-intent to play at the University of North Carolina-Pembroke. Clark, Williams and Joyner were all teammates on the Nashville State Championship Squad, and each of them played key roles in Northern Nash’s march toward the Class 3-A State Semifnals two campaigns ago. But baseball isn’t Tyler Clark’s only endeavor. The son of teachers Greg and Lisa Clark, Tyler was also taught at a young age the value of being successful in the classroom. It’s a message that Tyler Clark took to heart, and it would prove to be a message that would pay off for him when it was time to finalize his plans for college. At North Carolina Wesleyan, Clark will receive the prestigious President’s Scholarship, which will help pay off a substantial amount of his tuition. Clark’s grade-point average is well over 4.0 at Northern Nash, and he may also be able to qualify for other forms of scholarship aid before he heads across Nash County to begin his stint at North Carolina Wesleyan. NC Wesleyan is a powerhouse Division III program with a lofty tradition -- a tradition that Greg Clark helped build over 30 years ago. For the Clark Family, the tradition will live on at Wesleyan four more years.

Gainey gets No. 200!

Rocky Mount head boys basketball coach Mike Gainey is given the game ball from his 200th coaching victory by Gryphon assistant coach Keith Barnes on Feb. 6. (Photo/David Hahula)

Rocky Mount head boys basketball coach Mike Gainey recorded his 200th career victory on Tuesday, Feb. 3 in the Gryphons' 65-43 win at NEW 6 Conference foe Southern Nash.

Gainey, with his win over SouthWest Edgecombe Friday, now has a career record of 201-102 (.663) in 12 seasons as the team's head coach.

His wife, Pam Gainey - girls basketball coach, is churning her way toward 300 career wins. Gainey, who recently moved over to RMHS as a physical education teacher (replacing retired Debbie Webb) after several years at Edwards Middle School, has 272 wins (272-127, .681) as she coaches her 16th season with the Lady Gryphons.

If the girls go really deep into the state playoffs and do well next season, Gainey might just reach the 300-win mark late next season. The only other girls coaches in the Twin Counties with more wins are SouthWest Edgecombe's Sandra Langley and Northern Nash's Grover Battle.

RMHS cancer donation in honor of Dudley Whitley

The family of the late Dudley Whitley was on hand on Friday, Jan. 30 at the Rocky Mount-Northern Nash basketball game as $1,379.16 was raised and given in his name and Rocky Mount High to the Jimmy V Foundation as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer initiative sponsored by the N.C. Coaches Association.

One dollar for every ticket sold that evening, plus donations from the crowd, went toward that total.

Whitley served in many posts during his tenure with the then-Rocky Mount City School System, including athletic director, principal and superintendent.

Pictured were (l-r) grandson Lee Whitley, son-in-law Dwayne Pridgen, daughter Beth Pridgen, widow Sheila Whitley, daughter-in-law Crystal Whitley, son Dee Whitley and grandson Ben Whitley.

(Click on picture to enlarge)

(Photo/David Hahula)

Gryphons sign on the dotted line - Photos from National Signing Day Wednesday

Gryphon senior wide receiver Keith Strickland signs with Elizabeth City State. Head football coach B.W. Holt looks on.

Gryphon senior center Whit Barnes signs with Wake Forest. He is flanked by his dad and mom, Russ and Martha. Behind them are (l-r) RMHS principal Leon Farrow, head football coach B.W. Holt and athletic director Michael Gainey.

Gryphon senior defensive end Nick Harrison signs with UNC-Pembroke. His mom Maggie is to his left. Behind them are (l-r) RMHS principal Leon Farrow, head football coach B.W. Holt and athletic director Michael Gainey.

Gryphon senior kicker/punter Nick Hahula signs with North Carolina Central. He is flanked by his dad and mom, David and Allison. Behind them is head football coach B.W. Holt.

(Click on each picture to enlarge)

Photos/David Hahula