It's a boy!!

Congratulations to former Rocky Mount assistant coach - now Northern Nash head football coach Chad Smith and his wife Hannah for the birth of their second child, a son - Ashton Dean Smith.

He was born in the wee hours Friday morning weighing seven pounds, 10 ounces and measured 20 1/2 inches. Mother and son are doing well.

Chad, along with their first-born Hunter, will no doubt be molding these boys into fine offensive linemen one day - just like their dad use to be!

Hahula's FG keeps Gryphons unbeaten

Rocky Mount junior kicker Nick Hahula bangs through a 32-yard field goal with 1.1 seconds left in the game to beat Wilson Fike 16-13 on a wet and muddy Buddy Bedgood Stadium field Friday night. The victory assured the Gryphons (10-0, 4-0) of no less than a tie for the NEW 6 Conference championship.

Sophomore back Marquavis Alston led all rushers with 120 yards on 21 carries.

For the first time in 55 years of Rocky Mount football, it has recorded four straight seasons of 10 victories or more.

For the record, Gryphon teams have now gotten a share or won outright four conference titles this fall.

Photo/Wilson Daily Times' Scott Jones

RMHS vs. 2007 Opponents

Here are the football series records for Rocky Mount versus all 11 of its 2007 season opponents.

Wilson Fike has been on RMHS' schedule the most times. They will meet for the 54th time Friday night at Buddy Bedgood Stadium.

Vs. Northampton-East: RM leads 1-0

Vs. Wilson Hunt: RM leads 15-10 (RM has won last six meetings)

Vs. Northern Vance: RM leads 3-1

Vs. J.H. Rose: RM tied 22-22

Vs. Hertford County: RM leads 4-0

Vs. Southern Wayne: RM leads 1-0

Vs. SW Edgecombe: RM leads 9-1

Vs. Southern Nash: RM leads 15-4

Vs. Nash Central: RM leads 5-0

REMAINING SCHEDULE

Vs. Wilson Fike: RM leads 28-23-2 (RM has won last five meetings)

Vs. Northern Nash: RM leads 21-17 (RM has won last four meetings. Neither team has ever won more than four games in-a-row in the series)

ECU schedules N.C. Wesleyan ... again!

Die-hard N.C. Wesleyan sports fans might just remember this date: Nov. 27, 1989.

That Monday evening, the Battling Bishops men's basketball team took on East Carolina University at Minges Coliseum and came away with a shocking 70-69 victory .... a little Div. III school knocking off a Div. I institution.

As if we weren't high enough after winning a Div. III baseball national championship five months earlier.

Former Northern Nash star forward Marvin Macklin put the Bishops on his back and guided them to the most unlikeliest of victories.

I was there, as were about 60-70 other Wesleyan fans who trekked over to Greenville in hopes of seeing an upset - and we got it. As a Wesleyan alum, I can't remember anything, at the time, being more joyous. We were beside ourselves!

The look on Don Scalf's face, the man who started the men's hoop program at NCWC, was priceless. One for the ages, most Wesleyan fans would say. That team, coached by Bill Chambers, went on to post a 20-6 record.

Well, NCWC has found itself on East Carolina's schedule once again.

The two programs will hook up for the first time since 1991 on Tues., Nov. 20 at a now-bigger Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. The Pirates lead their series 3-1.

I'm ready for another upset!

It could be time for the Gryphons to win the Wachovia Cup!

Rocky Mount High is having one of its best fall varsity sports seasons ever. And that's the kind of start you have to have if the Gryphons are to claim the Wachovia Cup for overall sports excellence in the NEW 6 Conference. They've come so close to winning it the last two years - only to bow out to Wilson Fike in the final days of the spring sports season.

Already, RMHS' girls volleyball team, boys soccer team and girls tennis team have won their respective NEW 6 Conference titles.

The varsity football team, under B.W. Holt, is well on its way to a second league title in three years. The boys cross country team finished second in the league at last week's conference championship, while the girls cross country team placed fourth.

Though JV sports don't count in the Cup standings, how about a shout-out for the RMHS JV football team, coached by Chris Lee and Kent Cox. The Baby Gryphs are 8-0 on the season and have won an amazing 19 straight games - dating back to Wilson Fike game in 2005.

RMHS' volleyball team has made the third round of the state playoffs which will give the school statewide Wachovia Cup points. The boys soccer team will start its state playoff run next week.

The 'FATS' will converge in Greenville this week!

Unknown to most area prep sports fans, there has been more going on between old rivals Rocky Mount and Greenville Rose the past few years than just games on the football, soccer and baseball fields and the basketball courts.

There are underground fan factions representing both schools - and we call ourselves the Rose High Fats and the Rocky Mount High Fats - two fans-based groups who love their beloved high school teams and follow them everywhere. And when it comes to sports trivia about these respective schools, nobody has it on these two groups!.

We decided last month that the two factions were going to have a face-off to see who knows the most about our respective sports teams (records, little-know facts, etc.)!

A special competition between these rival groups will take place this week at an undisclosed eatery in Greenville (if we told you where, we'd have to kill ya!).

We will let you know which team wins - the Rampants or the Gryphons!

And may the best bunch of FATS win!

RMHS players honor Holt for milestone win

Who better to honor Rocky Mount head coach B.W. Holt for his 300th career victory than the guys who got him to that milestone, his current Gryphon players.

They recently presented him with a large framed jersey specially printed with the 300th victory, the historic date and score and it was signed by every varsity player. Holt came to Rocky Mount with 251 wins and RMHS' players got him his last 49.

Photo/David Hahula

How the top football teams in the state fared Friday

Here are the results from Friday's games among the Associated Press' Top 10 teams in each classification:

4A
1. Charlotte Independence (7-1) beat Charlotte Providence 43-7.
2. Richmond County (8-0) beat Fayetteville Byrd 45-12.
3. Wilmington Hoggard (7-0) beat Wilmington Ashley 41-21.
4. Garner (8-0) did not play.
T5. Scotland County (8-0) beat Fayetteville Seventy-First 27-3.
T5. West Charlotte (7-1) did not play.
7. Matthews Butler (6-2) lost to East Mecklenburg 22-21.
8. Greensboro Grimsley (7-1) lost to Greensboro Page 24-23.
9. Hope Mills South View (9-0) beat Fayetteville Pine Forest 33-0.
10. Wake Forest-Rolesville (8-0) beat Raleigh Wakefield 17-0.

3A
1. Western Alamance (9-0) beat Yanceyville Yancey 42-12.
2. Rocky Mount (8-0) beat Southern Nash 37-7.
3. Belmont South Point (8-0) beat Gastonia Forestview 35-16.
4. SouthWest Edgecombe (5-2) lost to Nash Central 35-32.
5. Anson County (7-2) lost to Concord 38-27.
6. Kernersville Glenn (7-1) lost to Winston-Salem Carver 17-7.
T7. North Gaston (7-1) beat Shelby Crest 30-10.
T7 Charlotte Catholic (7-2) beat Charlotte Garinger 35-0.
T9. Hickory (7-0) did not play.
T9 Asheville Roberson (7-1) beat Enka 36-7.

2A
1. Reidsville (8-0) beat Eastern Guilford 67-10.
2. Shelby (7-1) beat Kings Mountain 41-14.
3. Jacksonville Northside (8-0) beat East Duplin 34-28.
4. South Columbus (8-0) beat Pender County 42-14.
5. Mt. Pleasant (8-0) beat North Stanly 42-8.
6. Southern Vance (7-1) beat Roanoke Rapids 43-15.
7. Southwest Onslow (7-1) beat South Lenoir 27-7.
8. West Davidson (7-1) beat Thomasville Ledford 21-14.
9. Pittsboro Northwood (7-1) beat Burlington Cummings 42-28.
10. Burlington Cummings (4-4) lost to Pittsboro Northwood 42-28.

1A
1. Thomasville (8-0) beat Siler City Jordan-Matthews 29-22.
2. Warsaw Kenan (8-0) beat Dunn Midway 37-14.
3. Mt. Airy (8-0) beat Kernersville McGuinness 38-0.
4. Plymouth (8-0) beat Williamston 52-13.
5. North Duplin (7-0) beat Princeton 33-13.
6. Ayden-Grifton (7-1) beat Seven Springs Spring Creek 64-7.
7. Siler City Jordan-Matthews (5-2-1) lost to Thomasville 29-22.
8. Polk County (8-1) beat Avery County 26-6.
9. Wallace-Rose Hill (6-2) beat Salemburg Lakewood 14-7.
10. West Montgomery (6-2) beat North Moore 56-0

RMHS-SouthWest Edgecombe Highlights - WNCT-TV9

Thanks to WNCT-TV9's and Touchdown Friday's Brian Bailey, here are highlights from Monday night's NEW 6 Conference football battle between the Cougars and the Gryphons - played before almost 5,000 fans at the Rocky Mount Athletic Complex.

The Gryphons, thanks to a key defensive play by Brian Goodwin and Jacobi Jenkins in the final two minutes, prevailed 15-12.

Rocky Mount now leads the series between the two schools 9-1 with RMHS holding a 6-0 edge at home.

SW Edgecombe vs. Rocky Mount - The Series

FYI, here is the all-time football series between SouthWest Edgecombe and Rocky Mount.

Rocky Mount leads the series 8-1, and is 5-0 at home vs. SWE. The two teams will play in their NEW 6 Conference opener at the RMAC Friday. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Ironically, in their previous NEW 6 regular season meetings, the two have not played on a Friday night. Both contests were played the following Monday after the scheduled games were postponed due to inclement weather.

Their lone recent Friday hookup was in the 2006 playoffs when all fans had to worry about was cold weather. The Gryphons advanced to the third round after a 21-7 victory over the Cougars:

ROCKY MOUNT vs. SOUTHWEST EDGECOMBE

1987: Rocky Mount 21, SW Edgecombe 18
1988: Rocky Mount 28, SW Edgecombe 0 (First-ever game played at the RMAC)
1989: Rocky Mount 40, SW Edgecombe 7
1990: Rocky Mount 15, SW Edgecombe 12
1991: Rocky Mount 24, SW Edgecombe 21
1992: Rocky Mount 12, SW Edgecombe 8
2005: Rocky Mount 24, SW Edgecombe 7
2005: Rocky Mount 21, SW Edgecombe 7 (3-A playoffs, 2nd round)
2006: SW Edgecombe 21, Rocky Mount 16

Tyler leads West Hills to its second win

COALINGA, Calif. - Former Rocky Mount Gryphon quarterback Jason Tyler had perhaps his best overall performance of the season as the freshman threw for three touchdowns and ran in two more in helping West Hills Community College defeat non-conference opponent Modesto Junior College 45-28 last Saturday afternoon.

Tyler, who started for the Gryphons for two seasons, completed 25 of 40 passes for 392 yards and four scores. He ran in two more - both 1-yard touchdowns. He had 19 yards on seven carries.

His touchdown tosses covered 57, 18 and 29 yards for the now 2-3 Falcons. West Hills piled up 491 total yards.

"This team has improved each and every week," said Tyler to the Coalinga Record, the weekly newspaper that covers West Hills. "We knew we were supposed to beat Modesto. The important thing is that we improve also. We have two weeks to prepare for Fresno City. To our team that translates into two more weeks of developing into a championship team."

Rocky Mount Telegram features Holt

The Rocky Mount Telegram sports department honored Rocky Mount
head football coach B.W. Holt in Monday's sports section with a beautiful pictorial page commemorating his 300th career coaching victory - a 49-7 win over Southern Wayne on Sept. 28.

To check it out, click here!

Gryphs stay put at No. 2; SWE falls into tie at No. 4

Here is the latest Associated Press 3-A high school football poll. Rocky Mount stayed planted in the No. 2 spot, but mysteriously, the SouthWest Edgecombe Cougars, the Gryphons' next opponent (Oct. 5), dropped to a tie for fourth despite their 28-14 win over Tarboro last Friday.

Belmont South Point, a 31-0 winner over East Gaston Friday, leap-frogged the Cougars and left them in a tie for No. 4 with Asheville's T.C. Roberson.

Here is the complete 3-A poll:

Class 3-A

W-L Pts LW

1. Western Alamance (12) 6-0 147 1
2. Rocky Mount (3) 6-0 138 2
3. Belmont South Point 5-0 94 4
T4. Asheville Roberson 5-0 88 5
T4. SW Edgecombe 5-0 88 3
6. Anson County 5-1 51 7
7. Charlotte Catholic 4-2 49 6
8. West Rowan 5-0 38 10
9. North Gaston 4-1 36 8
10. Northeast Guilford 4-1 22 9

Others receiving votes: Kernersville Glenn 20, Hickory 14, Eastern Alamance 10, Kannapolis Brown 9, Greensboro Dudley 8, Wilson Hunt 7, Hertford County 6.

Postgame pictures from Holt's 300th victory

Thanks to David Hahula, we've got some shots from the postgame activities after Rocky Mount head coach B.W. Holt watched his Gryphons give him his 300th career victory with a 49-7 triumph over Southern Wayne.

By the way, don't pay attention to the scoreboard. It didn't work right the entire second half of the game. It, at one time, read "50-1" and the "50-7" score on it in the picture, of course, isn't right either. In fact, at one point, the scoreboard clock began ticking upward instead of downward! Iwas stuck on 1:42 when the game ended.

(To enlarge your view of each picture, just click on it!)

Hudgins plays big in Elon's win over Liberty

ELON - Redshirt sophomore All-America Terrell Hudgins had his best night ever as a receiver while helping Elon beat Liberty 42-14 Saturday.

The former Gryphon quarterback caught a school-record 16 passes for a career- best 218 yards and four touchdowns. With true freshman Scott Riddle (Eastern Randolph) delivering him the ball, Hudgins caught a 32-yard score in the first period, a 24-yard scoring strike in the second, a 15-yard TD as time ran out in the third and a 29-yarder for a score with about nine minutes left in the game.

Riddle was 33-of-39 for 368 yards. The Phoenix is now 2-1 in the season with Appalachian State coming to town this Saturday.

Already this season - in just three games, Hudgins has 38 receptions for 453 yards and six touchdowns.

When the NCAA stats were released Monday, Hudgins leads the Southern Conference and the nation in both receiving yards (151.0 per game) and receptions (12.7 per game). He was also named Monday as the Southern Conference Player of the Week and the Sports Network National Player of the Week.

Tyler shines in another West Hills loss

West Hills College (Calif.) is 0-3 so far this season, but its freshman quarterback Jason Tyler is doing his best to get the Falcons a win.

Tyler, who threw for more than 2,000 career yards as the Gryphons' signal caller, was 27-for-51 for 322 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-23 loss to College of San Mateo last Saturday. San Mateo is ranked as the No. 4 JUCO in Northern California.

Next up for the Falcons is a contest with winless Hartnell College in Salinas.

Gryphs solidly in second spot in AP 3-A poll

The Associated Press released its N.C. High School Football polls tonight and Rocky Mount maintained its No. 2 spot in the rankings, but the Gryphons did receive three first-place votes.

Guess who has jumped into the No. 3 spot - NEW 6 foe SouthWest Edgecombe. I watched the Cougars run all over Southern Vance Monday evening in their makeup game from last Friday. SWE nearly had three 100-yard rushers, and it mixed in the pass as well - including a 31-yard TD pass on a fourth-and-nine!

Losses by North Gaston (No. 3), Kannapolis Brown (No. 4) and Hertford County (No. 5) opened the way for the Cougars to grab the No. 3 ranking.

Here is the 3-A Poll:

W-L Pts LW

1. Western Alamance (16) 5-0 186 1

2. Rocky Mount (3) 5-0 168 2

3. SW Edgecombe 4-0 108 6

4. Belmont South Point 4-0 105 8

5. Asheville Roberson 4-0 100 9

6. Charlotte Catholic 3-2 55 10

7. Anson County 4-1 41 —

8. North Gaston 3-1 36 3

9. Northeast Guilford 3-1 34 7

10. West Rowan 4-0 32

Others receiving votes: Kernersville Glenn 30, Kannapolis Brown 29, Hertford County 26, Eastern Alamance 23, Hickory 22, Wilson Hunt 13, Monroe Sun Valley 7, Greensboro Dudley 6, Asheville 6, Winston-Salem Parkland 4, Winston-Salem Carver 3, Franklin 3, East Rowan 2, Gastonia Forestview 2, Southern Lee 2, Jacksonville 1, Currituck County 1.

Trivia question for RM football fans

- RMHS senior Emmanuel Davis

Rocky Mount junior Brian Goodwin took the opening kickoff in the Hertford County game Friday 85 yards for a score.

The question is, who was the last Gryphon to perform that feat (a kickoff return for a score) and who was it against?

I'll give you a hint ... it was in 2005 and it was an 86-yard kickoff return for a score. (Use some internet resources because the answer can be found online!)

I'll give you until Thursday evening to guess. Just register your guess under the comment section of the blog below!


DAVIS PLAYS REALLY BIG: How big was the play of senior linebacker Emmanuel Davis in the game the Bears?

Can you spell H-U-G-E?

He recorded a career-high 21 tackles. He now leads the Gryphons in total tackles with 50. He also leads the squad in pass deflections (two).

Junior Chris Pittman is second with 37, followed by senior Ezra Hudgins with 31. Junior Nick Harrison leads the team in sacks with five, junior Zack Williams is tops in interceptions with two and junior Torey Lee is the fumble recovery leader with two.

LANE GETS IN: Senior kicker John Lane finally got some playing time in the Hertford County game.

The lanky former homeschooler got to launch Rocky Mount's only punt of the night and it went 38 yards with no return.

Time for No. 300?

If there ever was a time Rocky Mount football fans should hit the road, it's this week as the Gryphons will travel to Dudley to face the Southern Wayne Saints Friday.

A piece of N.C. prep sports history will be on the line along with an unblemished non-conference slate. Rocky Mount head coach B.W. Holt will be going for career win No. 300.

Should the Gryphons (5-0, ranked No. 2 in the AP 3-A poll) pull off the victory over the 2-3 Saints, Holt (299-109-2) would become just the sixth N.C. high school football coach to join the 300-win club.

The milestone is considered the benchmark among high school football coaches across the country.

Make plans to make the 53-mile trip Friday night to possibly see a bit of prep football history in the making!

Tyler passes for over 400 yds. in JUCO loss

On Saturday, Sept. 8, former Gryphon quarterback Jason Tyler had a career day - but it was not enough to get his West Hills CC (Ca.) team a win as the Falcons fell to Allen Hancock College 41-24.

Tyler, who is listed at 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, was 38-for-59 for 403 yards and two touchdowns in the loss. His TD passes were 31 and 51 yards - both coming in the fourth quarter. The Falcons fell to 0-2 with the loss.

"The team has made a lot of strives to be where we need to be and we are taking a lot of steps forward and not back," Tyler told the Coalinga Record, the weekly newspaper that covers the Falcons.

In West Hills' season opener the week before, Tyler had 200 yards passing in a loss to Foothills JUCO.