Nash Baseball planning hitting clinic

Nash Baseball will hold a Hitting Clinic on Saturday,  Dec. 3. The ages for this clinic will be 8 and under to 14 and under and only open to Nash County residents. The location for this clinic will be The Warehouse at 817 S. Pearl Street in Rocky Mount.

Former Rocky Mount baseball standout and former professional pitcher Jeremy Ward heads up Nash Baseball.

There will be a morning clinic and an afternoon clinic, both will only be able to accommodate 20 participants each. Ages 8-12 will have a clinic from 8 a.m. to 12 noon, and ages 9-13 will go from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Cost of each session is $35. Each camper will receive a free T-shirt.

Former Major Leaguer Brent Butler, who hails from Scotland County, will headline this event, along with current Nash Baseball staff: 

Jeremy Ward - Former professional pitcher, RMHS, Wake Forest and Long Beach State standout, and current private instructor of pitching
Xavier Macklin - Current professional player and former Nash County/N.C. A&T standout
Sam Toler - Nash County Little League coaching legend
Andy Jones - Former Nash County/N.C. Wesleyan baseball standout
Jeremy Stewart - Former Nash County/N.C. Wesleyan baseball standout
Travis Ward - Nash County prep coaching legend  

You can follow Nash Baseball on Facebook to see more details as they develop.

Woody's speaking in Greenville today

Woody Durham

For all you UNC football and basketball fans who even after his retirement, can't get enough of Woody Durham, here's a chance to hear him at least one more time.

Durham will be speaking in Greenville Thursday at the Greater Greenville Sports Club meeting at the Greenville Hilton.

After 40-years of bringing Tar Heel fans some of the most memorable moments in school history, Durham stepped down as the "Voice of the Tar Heels" on April 20. He called more than 1,800 football and men's basketball games, which included four NCAA men's basketball championships.

The lunch/meeting will begin at 11:45 a.m.!

Hines tops 1,000-yard rushing mark

Mason Hines

For the first time since 2009, a Rocky Mount football player has topped the1,000-yard mark in rushing.

Junior running back Mason Hines, with his 170-yard effort Friday in the Gryphons' 27-14 loss to Wilson Hunt, reached that magical mark.

He now has 149 carries for 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns and leads all rushers in the Big East Conference. His 82-yard kickoff return for a score against the Warriors was his second such effort of the season. He had earlier TD return against Bunn.  

RMHS ALL-TIME 1,000-YARD RUSHERS

1. 2,140, Demetric Marshall, 2006
2. 1,576, Marquavis Alston, 2007
3. 1,408, Kelvin Farmer, 1981
4. 1,376, J.J. Jones, 1990
5. 1,372, Kelly Hudgins, 2000
6. 1,354, Mychal Bynum, 2005

7. 1,227, Calvin Hudgins, 1998

8. 1,220, Linwood Silver, 1997
9. 1,181, Victor Thorne, 1979
10. 1,137, Marquavis Alston, 2009
11. 1,110, Jordan Ford, 2008
12. 1,106, Marquavis Alston, 2008

13. 1,100, Mason Hines, present
14. 1,097, Kendrick Dean, 2005
15. 1,031, Lloyd Bynum, 1976
16. 1,001, Delasio (P.D.) Bartley, 1973 

Media coverage of Big East 3-A Conference Football Openers

If you can't attend the opening night of Big East Conference high school football action Friday evening, you will have other options to keep up with what will be going on in Red Oak, Rocky Mount and Wilson.

Wilson Hunt @ Northern Nash 

Right now, this contest can be followed via the Internet at http://www.ihigh.com/absports/ . Wilson County announcer Alton Britt will be simulcasting his WLLY 1350 AM radio signal (which Nash/Edgecombe residents generally can't pick up) on his iHigh.com website, so anyone in the world can listen in! 

F.T. Franks will handle the color duties on the broadcast.

Southern Nash @ Wilson Fike

You will have two options for this game - listen to your radio or listen on line.

Paul Andre and Bob Maloney will provide the coverage for this clash on WDLX 99.3 FM beginning at 7 p.m. For those who may live too far away to pick up this very strong FM signal, you can click on this link  WDLX 99.3 FM and you may listen to the game on your computer or cell phone.

Nash Central @ Rocky Mount

Currently, there will be no radio stations or TV broadcasts of this game. WHIG TV, which is scheduled to tape the Wilson Hunt- Northern Nash game (with Wes Bradshaw and Edward Greene) for broadcast Saturday morning and Sunday evening, may pick up this game due to its recent emotional implication into the Bulldogs' program.

The school saw one of its student-athletes, John Stanley, pass away last week. The football team and cheerleaders plan to honor Stanley in a pregame tribute. WHIG would like to be there to share those moments, along with an emotion-filled game with all area fans who cannot be there.

But prior commitments may forced the crew to go to Red Oak. We'll see what happens!

All WHIG covered games can be seen online at whigtv.com

WFU's Barnes gets on the field in win over Gardner-Webb

Whit Barnes

His time finally came.

In the late stages of Wake Forest's football game at home against Gardner-Webb last Saturday, former Rocky Mount standout offensive lineman Whit Barnes saw his his first varsity playing time in a Demon Deacon uniform.

The redshirt sophomore who has bided his time on WFU's bench, played in one complete series Saturday during Wake's 48-5 blowout of the boys from Boiling Springs. The 6-foot-4, 290-pounder had been the second-string center this year for the Deacs, who have gotten out to a 2-1 start.

Barnes, an Associated Press All-Stater and Shrine Bowl participant for the Gryphons who went 38-6 on the field during his three years as a starter, has fought off shoulder and knee injuries to get to this point in his career. 

"I was in for one series, playing at center at the end of the game and I did well for the time I was in, " said Barnes, who has declared business and enterprise management as his major. 

He is enjoying a week off as his Deacs get ready for a trip to Chestnut Hill and the Boston College Eagles next Saturday. 

"I am looking forward to more playing time in the future," Barnes said. "But overall, this team has more motivation and excitement than either of the teams that I have been a part of the past two years. We had a close loss against Syracuse, and wins against N.C. State and Gardner-Webb. All of which have added up to a positive attitude going into these two weeks that we have to prepare for Boston College."

Even a bowl game is in the minds of WFU players. After a trip to the Orange Bowl during a dream 2007 season, the Deacs have had just one winning campaign since. You might say head coach Jim Grobe, one the ACC's highest paid football coaches ($2.4 million a year, second behind Georgia Tech's Paul Johnson), is on the hot seat.

"We are working hard to play in a bowl game," said Barnes. "We know that we can beat every team on our schedule, but we have to play our best every week. We have to cut down on the penalties and make more plays. But we know we have the athletes and the energy to do it. 

"This year has been exciting so far and we are all looking forward to going to BC and bringing home a win."

Health concerns forces former RM assistant to step down as Central Davidson's head coach

Former Rocky Mount assistant Mark Hoover during his days as Chatham Central's head coach. A heart ailment has forced him to step down as head coach at Central Davidson. 
  

LEXINGTON - Mark Hoover has relinquished his post as Central Davidson head football coach effective immediately due to heart-related health concerns. He will remain at the school as a physical education teacher. 

“It was a decision I had to make,” Hoover said Wednesday evening. “It’s been progressively getting worse.” 

Assistant coach Brad Morton will step in as head coach. 

Hoover took over the Spartans in 2009 after head coaching jobs at Chatham Central and West Lincoln and a defensive coordinator position at West Forsyth. The Spartans were 4-7 in 2009 and 7-5 in 2010, and they have begun 2011 0-3 while playing a more difficult non-conference schedule. 

Under Hoover, the Spartans have developed into a prolific running team with a disciplined commitment to offseason strength and conditioning programs.

“He’s been a lot to our kids, to our community,” athletic director Gene Poindexter said. “He came in and did everything that we asked him to do, and he did it with passion and with enthusiasm.”

Hoover said his doctors had suggested he step down before the season began, but he wanted to see the campaign through. When his health situation became worse, he, Poindexter and Central Davidson principal Tabitha Broadway agreed that the time had come to put down the whistle.

“It absolutely kills me to step away in the middle of the season,” Hoover said. “But my wife is the most important person in my life, and if I go out and have a heart attack over high school football, it’s just not fair to her.

“Central Davidson football is my life and a huge part of my world. It’s not life and death.”

Morton has coached the game for four decades — most of it over 29 years in Covington, Va. — including 10 seasons as a head coach.

“You don’t like to step into these situations. Mark, over the last two years, has done a real good job of building the program,” Morton said. “To not be able to finish what you started is I’m sure weighing heavily on him. But he has to think about his health before anything else.

“The kids are I’m sure a little apprehensive about what the future holds right now. … We have to be positive for them, let them understand that this is one of those changes in life that happens. You’ve got to learn to overcome those bumps in life.”

Hoover will not coach for the foreseeable future. He did not rule out becoming an assistant coach after at least one or two years away from the game.

“I’m going to get myself back in physical shape the best I can,” Hoover said. “I will not be a head coach in the near future. I promised that to my wife.

“I’ll still see the kids during the day. I’ll still have my PE class.

“My message to them and their parents is: Thank you. They’ve done everything I’ve asked them to do.”

- Lexington Dispatch

Welcome aboard Golden East Crossing Chick-Fil-A!

David Langston was once a high school football player during his days at Northern Durham. 

And as a reserve, he and his teammates hosted Rocky Mount at the Durham County Stadium his junior season and posted a 24-0 shutout over the Gryphons during the 1999 season - the infamous Hurricane Floyd campaign.

He played RMHS at the RMAC during his senior year and also shutout the Gryphons.

Now for an about face, he's now supporting the Gryphons.

As owner and operator of the Golden East Crossing Chick-Fil-A, his business is this year's scoreboard sponsor and he is providing food for the press box this season.

We'd like to thank Langston and his staff for all their support.

And he had one more thing in common with the Gryphons. His alma mater's colors were also navy blue and gold.

Take time to become a Facebook friend of the Golden East Crossing Chick-Fil-A. Click here!

Suiter at UNC Saturday

Tom Suiter receives his NCHSAA Hall of Fame plaque Saturday at halftime of the UNC-Rutgers football game. (Photo/HighSchoolOT.com)

Rocky Mount native and WRAL-TV sports personality Tom Suiter was honored Saturday during NCHSAA Day at UNC's home football game with Rutgers. He and several others received their NCHSAA Hall of Fame plaques at halftime of the game. 

All members of the 2011 class of honorees, including former Southern Nash principal and coach Rosalie Bardin, will be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame during ceremonies next spring.

He joins the late Dr. Wiley (Army) Armstrong ('87) and former NCHSAA president and Rocky Mount boys basketball coach Richard Hicks ('07) as the only Rocky Mount natives in the Hall.

Hines leads the county

Gryphon junior Mason Hines

What a coming out party it has been for Rocky Mount junior running back Mason Hines.

After three games, he is the leading rusher among Nash County's high school teams. 

Hines has piled up 515 yards rushing on just 57 carries and has scored five touchdowns. He also returned a kickoff for 76 yards and a score in the Gryphons' season-opening win at Bunn.

Although he didn't get into the end zone, he helped set up two touchdowns as he ran for a career-high 188 yards Saturday in Rocky Mount's 28-22 victory at Hertford County.

Now the home folks will finally get to see him play when SouthWest Edgecombe comes to the RMAC Friday night.

Here are Nash County's top rushers thus far this season: 

Mason Hines (jr.), Rocky Mount - 57 car., 514 yds., five TDs
Terron Huffman (sr.), Southern Nash - 47 car., 466 yds., six TDs
Tracey Coppedge (sr.), Southern Nash - 44 car., 319 yds., four TDs

How are the former RMHS assistants faring?

Former Rocky Mount assistant Chris Lee is in his third season as head coach at Louisburg High. He and his team are off to an 0-1 start with a makeup game with Ravenscroft set for Monday.  
(Photo/Geoff Neville)

 

Since Rocky Mount's football program currently has five former assistants who are now high school head coaches, I figured we'd check in on them every two weeks or so to see how their seasons are going. 

And after two weeks of the 2011 campaign, only one of them is 2-0 and two of them are still undefeated.

Here is how they stand after Week 2 of their respective seasons! 

Alan Hess, Crawford County High (IN)

Week 1 – Lost to North Harrison, 26-21
Week 2 – Lost to Paoli, 75-7 (0-2) 

Mark Hoover, Central Davidson High

Week 1 – Lost to Carrboro, 47-36
Week 2 – Lost to Randleman, 50-40 (0-2) 

Chris Lee, Louisburg High

Week 1 – Lost to Southern Vance, 26-10
Week 2 – Ravenscroft, Monday 

Dickie Schock, Rocky Mount High

Week 1 – Defeated Bunn, 30-0
Week 2 – Ties Bertie, 22-22 (1-0-1) 

Chad Smith, Easley High (SC)

Week 1 – Defeated West Oak, 70-0
Week 2 – Defeated Daniel, 22-21 (2-0)

In my research to find out the names of other former RMHS assistants who went on to become a head coach, this is what I have come up with so far. Listed will be the assistant, then the school (s) name where they were head coaches.

Dudley Whitley - Rocky Mount
Walt Wiggins - Rocky Mount
Ray Durham - Jacksonville, Rocky Mount
Henry Trevathan - Wilson Fike
Shelton Chesson - Whiteville
Phil Harris - Washington
George Kelley - Rocky Mount
Brent David - Winston-Salem Carver

Gryphons have turned amphibious!

Rocky Mount quarterback Michael Hines scrambles for some yardage in Thursday's game against Bertie (Photo/Cal Bryant) - click on photo to enlarge

How many of you remember the Chicago Charities College All-Star Game - once played each summer before the Hall of Fame Game?

It was an exhibition game, played for charity, that pitted the defending Super Bowl champions (the Pittsburgh Steelers, in this case) against the best college football players of the previous season. It had a 42-year history.

It was held at Soldier Field and the last game of the series, as it turned out, was played the summer of 1976 when a downpour to end all downpours halted the game in the third period - a rarity for the NFL.

I watched that game on TV, but I relived it again last Thursday night - at least the rain part.

With Rocky Mount down 22-14 to Bertie with more than half the third quarter left, the Gryphons made the most heroic drive I have ever witnessed in over 40 years of watching them play.

The week before at Bunn, a driving rain didn't put a damper in the Gryphons' opening 80-yard drive. I kinda attributed it to their disgust of having to spend more than hour sitting on a bus waiting for a storm cell to pass by and start the season.

This time at Bertie, if you can imagine, the rain was much harder when RMHS took over the ball at its own 42. In fact, water was sheeting off the glass of the press box while fans scurried for cover.

This was a monsoon - more water than I had ever seen at a prep football game. Before it was over, even the press box was leaking.

But this was of no concern to these Gryphons. They relished in playing in the deluge, while Bertie's players were unsure and certainly unaware of RMHS' resolve in this type situation.

There were no fumbles, no bad snaps - just good old country running up the gut - mostly led by junior Mason Hines. It took 13 plays for the Gryphons to get to the end zone, and eight of them were hand offs to Mason.

He ended the drive with a 10-yard run to pull the Gryphons within two. His brother Michael, the quarterback tied it a 22-all when he somehow fell into the end zone in a mass of wet humanity.

A possession later at its own 20, a lightning bolt appeared and the players were called off the field with 21.7 second left in the period. The Gryphons made a bee-line to their buses.

Most thought there would be a 30-minute delay as prescribed by NCHSAA rules, but this contest wasn't going any further.

The back of the end zones were lakes and the sidelines had turned to rivers. Ponds were forming all over the playing field. There was no way play was going to continue that night.

So the game was ruled a tie - the first time the Gryphons have been involved in a deadlock since 1976 - the year before overtime came to be in N.C. high school football. RMHS came away from Durham with a 26-26 score with Hillside at Durham County Stadium.

Now the Gryphons might be looking for a little rain in every game. As for me, precipitation the day before is enough for me!

Gryphons featured in Nashville Graphic Football Tab

Check out the Rocky Mount Gryphons as well as all the Nash County high school football teams in the 2011 Pigskin Preview Football Tabloid published by the Nashville Graphic.

To read the tabloid, click on the following link: http://www.nashvillegraphic.com/photos/File129.pdf (give it a minute or two to download) and enlarge the page to about 125 percent so you can read the text. The tabloid is in a pdf file. 

This year, North Carolina Wesleyan's football team is also featured. The Battling Bishops, the defending USA South Conference champs, will be playing all their home games at Death Valley at Northern Nash High School. 

The Wilson Times has also published its annual football tab, which covers Southern Nash, all the Wilson County schools (Fike, Hunt, Beddingfield), Greene Central, North Johnston, C.B. Aycock and SouthWest Edgecombe.

To read its gridiron publication, click here!

Hurricane Irene forces football games to be moved up

The JV and varsity football games with Bertie High, scheduled for Thursday and Friday this week, respectively, have been moved up a day to avoid any conflict with impending weather from Hurricane Irene.

The JV contest was played Wednesday evening at the Rocky Mount Athletic Complex (RMHS won 26-0). 

The varsity game will be played Thursday at the Roy Bond Stadium at Bertie High in Windsor for the second year in a row. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m,

For those who can't make the trip, listen to WZAX 99.3 FM for all the action. It will be a part of the station's "Game of the Week" coverage. The broadcast will start at 7 p.m. 

Also, you can listen to the game online - just click here!

WHIG-TV "Game of the Week" high school football schedule set

Wes Bradshaw

Edward Greene

WHIG-TV, Rocky Mount's local cable-access station, has released its 2011 "Game of the Week" high school football schedule. 

The program kicks off Saturday morning with the re-broadcast of two-time defending NCHSAA 2-A state champion Tarboro at Nash Central - which will be played Monday night after it was rained out Friday. 

All games will be replayed on WHIG-TV each Saturday morning at 10 and again on Sunday evening after the Stretchlon Sports Show. The show is available online at whigtv.com.

Wes Bradshaw will handle the play-by-play duties, while Edward Greene will provide the color commentary. 

Bradshaw, a 2000 Rocky Mount High School graduate, has many years of on-air experience having spent several seasons covering RMHS football, basketball and baseball on the radio for several area stations. He has also served as the voice of the Gryphons as the PA announcer at RMHS home football and baseball games.

Greene, a 2009 graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill with a degree in journalism, is a native of Winterville and a South Central High School alum. Greene works as the technical operations manager of WHIG-TV. 

The game listed in bold will be the game currently scheduled to be covered, but it could change at the discretion of the station. 

2011 WHIG-TV "Game of the Week" High School Football Show 

August 22: Tarboro at Nash Central, Southwest Edgecombe at Southern Nash
August 29: North Edgecombe at SouthWest Edgecombe, ppd. Oct. 28
September 2: SouthWest Edgecombe at Hunt, Northern Nash at Tarboro, ppd. Sept. 23
September 9: SouthWest Edgecombe at Rocky Mount, Tarboro at North Edgecombe
September 15: Fike at Hunt (Non-Con)
September 26: Northern Nash at Tarboro
September 30: Hunt at Northern Nash, Southern Nash at Fike, Nash Central at Rocky Mount
October 7: Hunt at Rocky Mount, Fike at Nash Central, Northern Nash at Southern Nash
October 14: Southern Nash at Hunt, Rocky Mount at Fike, Northern Nash at Nash Central, Tarboro at SouthWest Edgecombe
October 21: Nash Central at Hunt, Fike at Northern Nash, Southern Nash at Rocky Mount
October 28: Hunt at Fike, Rocky Mount at Northern Nash, Nash Central at Southern Nash,
Beddingfield at Tarboro*
November 4: Playoffs

RMHS adds two alums to football staff

When Rocky Mount needed some help on its football coaching staff, in walked two former Gryphon players.

With three different assistant football coaches leaving the staff over the summer (Kent Cox took the girls golf coaching position, J.J. Jones took an hiatus from coaching, Alan Hess accepted a head coaching job back in his home state of Indiana), head coach Dickie Schock needed some help.

Things got even worse when Elbert Thomas, a current assistant, faced major surgery and would miss most of the Gryphons' preseason.

Enter Rodney Birth and Brandon Arrington. Both former Gryphons, who approached Schock about openings on his staff, excelled not only in football, but in baseball, too.

Birth, who will help with the special teams, is a 1979 RMSH grad who played his college ball at N.C. Central. He was a running back and punter for the Gryphons, and he was a star pitcher in baseball.

Arrington, a 2006 RMHS alum who recently graduated from UNC-Pembroke in exercise sports science, was a standout wide receiver and solid center fielder for the Gryphons. He'll assist with the receivers.

Both have a standout football play in my memory banks. 

For Birth, it was a blowout game at Wilson Fike in the regular season finale his senior season that stood out.

With the Gryphons winning 41-0, RM got the ball on a punt at the Fike 48 with less than a minute left in the first half. Then-head coach Walt Wiggins didn't want to rub the score in, so he called a draw play to Birth.

At the handoff (from QB Bill Merrifield), there was hole in the middle of the line a semi could have cruised through. Birth went straight up the middle of the field for a 48-yard score. He didn't veer - just a straight line dash to the end zone. RM ended up winning 67-7.

Arrington, who caught 37 passes for 840 yards and eight TDs in his career as a Gryphon, ended up in the RM record books after his memorable play. Playing in his final season in a road game at Kinston, the Vikings had punted to the Gryphons.

After the ball rolled dead at the RM 2, Kinston's players downed it and celebrated like they had scored a TD.

But they didn't celebrate long.

Assistant coach Curtis Rushing suggested to then-head coach B.W. Holt that the Gryphons go to the air. So QB Jason Tyler went to a deep drop in the end zone and hit Arrington on the left at the Gryphon 19. He turned up field and outran the Kinston secondary for a 98-yard touchdown pass - the longest in school history.

RMHS went on to win the game handily.

"Coaching at my alma mater is a great opportunity for me," said Arrington recently. "RMHS has done a lot for me and prepare me for the next level and I wanted to give some of the skills I've learned back to the guys. I didn't think I'd ever be in the position to actually come back and help with a RM team. But when I had the opportunity, I jumped at the chance."

Perhaps the coaching twosome will be part of a memorable play or two as members of the RMHS coaching staff. It also features two more former Gryphon grads in Gerald Costen ('73) and Jason Battle ('98).

Goodwin becomes a millionaire

Brian Goodwin in now a National.

From MLB Daily Dish Blog

The Washington Nationals are just starting to warm up after coming to terms with the 34th overall pick Brian Goodwin to a deal believed to be $3.6 million. Goodwin is left-handed outfielder who may possibly stick at center.

He originally played at the University of North Carolina, but was dismissed from there due to academic issues. He then restarted his career at Miami Dade College, where he became Florida's top ranked college player.

He had a commitment to play at the University of South Carolina, but decided to sign with the Nationals instead. Last year, he had an on-base percentage of .500, allowing the Nationals to dream of him as a possible future leadoff hitter.

Goodwin had been drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2009 after playing at UNC, where he was named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American Team and the Gatorade Player of the Year in North Carolina.

Gryphons play well in scrimmages

Rocky Mount tangles with Roanoke Rapids last Wednesday in a practice session at Yellow Jackets'  Hoyle Field. (Photo/Roanoke Rapids News Herald)

Rocky Mount's football team finally got to hit someone else this past Wednesday and Friday.

The Gryphons traveled up I-95 to Roanoke Rapids to face the Yellow Jackets, champions of the Northern Carolina 2-A Conference last season and a 2-A playoff victim of Tarboro last season.

Rocky Mount outscored RoRap three to nothing.

At the Mellow Mushroom Pigskin Classic Friday evening at Wake Forest-Rolesville High's Trentini Stadium, RMHS squared off for an hour with Leesville Road. Both teams were missing starters. Big among the Gryphon MIAs was starting running back Rodquez Greene. A strained MCL was keeping him on the sidelines.

But the Gryphons played well on both sides of the ball as they prevailed two scores to none over a Pride team that went 9-3 last season.

Mason Hines' 1-yard plunge got RMHS its first score late in the first half. It culminated a nine-play, 60-yard drive. A two-point conversion pass failed.

In the second half, quarterback Michael Hines hit Damien Strickland on a 70-yard scoring pass. RM was successful on a two-point toss as well.

RMHS' defense played solidly all game long and allowed the Pride to cross midfield only once.

But the games will count for real Friday as the Gryphons will travel to Bunn to open the regular season. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

RMHS is first in volleyball, second in boys soccer in preseason picks

I thought of doing this a few years ago, but I needed help. I got it Wednesday morning.

For the last eight or nine years, I have polled the Big East/NEW 6/Big East football coaches for their preseason football picks.

But I always wanted to poll some of the other fall sports coaches of their picks, but they meet at the same time as the football coaches and I couldn't be in three places at one time.

Enter friend Dave Buck and his son Stevie.

They administered poll ballots to the other coaches, while I took care of the football coaches. In the end, even with the absence of a couple coaches, we concluded with preseason conference polls in football, volleyball and boys soccer.

And Rocky Mount fared well in both, unlike football. Tabitha Wilcox's volleyball team finished narrowly in first, while Andrew Nick's squad placed behind Wilson Hunt for the boys soccer crown.

2011 Big East Preseason Volleyball Coaches Poll

(Five points for first place, four points for second place,. etc. Coaches could not vote for their own team)

1. Rocky Mount (2) 18 pts.

2. Wilson Hunt (3) 16 pts.

3. Northern Nash 14 pts.

4. Nash Central 12 pts.

5. Southern Nash 9 pts.

6. Wilson Fike 5 pts.

(one coach was absent for voting)

2011 Big East Preseason Boys Soccer Coaches Poll

(Five points for first place, four points for second place,. etc. Coaches could not vote for their own team)

1. Wilson Hunt (4) 24 pts.

2. Rocky Mount (1) 16 pts.

3. Wilson Fike 14 pts.

4. Southern Nash 10 pts.

T5. Nash Central 6 pts.

T5. Northern Nash 6 pts.

(one coach was absent for voting)

Gryphons picked to share last place in Big East football

Rocky Mount has had the pressure taken off it for the 2011 football season.

The Gryphons, a conference-winning favorite seven of the last nine years, along with Wilson Fike were picked to finish dead last in the Big East Conference race this season.

In a vote of the league's coaches at the Big East Conference Kickoff Meeting at Wilson Fike Wednesday, Rocky Mount and Wilson Fike got the lowest number points - seven.

Wilson Hunt, the co-champion last season, garnered all the first place votes it could (five) to get the No. 1 spot in the preseason poll (25 points). 

Southern Nash, which finished in the league race last season, got one first-place vote and was second with 20 points.

Northern Nash (16), which shared 2011 title with Hunt, outpointed Southern Nash (15) by one in the race for third place in the poll.

2011 Big East Preseason Football Coaches Poll

(Five points for first place, four points for second place,. etc. Coaches could not vote for their own team)

1. Wilson Hunt (5) 25 pts.

2. Southern Nash (1) 20 pts.

3. Northern Nash 16 pts.

4. Nash Central 15 pts.

T5. Rocky Mount 7 pts.

T5. Wilson Fike 7 pts.

Brown makes early commitment to East Carolina

Rocky Mount's J'Kyra Brown drives to the basket against Northern Nash in a game last season. (Photo/David Hahula)

Rocky Mount athletic director Mike Gainey confirmed Tuesday afternoon that Gryphon guard J'Kyra Brown, who played her first year of varsity basketball this past season, has verbally committed to play college basketball at East Carolina.

The rising junior, who missed her entire freshman year due a torn ACL, had a phenomenal season for her first time out of the gate. 

Brown was named to the NCPreps.com 3-A All-State Girls Basketball Team last season to go with her Player of the Year honor from the Big East Conference. 

She led the Lady Gryphons to a school-record 25 wins (25-4), a share of the Big East Conference regular season title, the conference's tournament championship and an Eastern sectional final berth with eventual state champion South Central.

Brown scored 14.8 points a game, pulled down 5.3 rebounds an outing and dished out 3.1 assists a contest. She also popped in a team-leading 44 3-pointers.