Mabry gets two more offers

Rocky Mount junior All-Stater Tashawn Mabry received two more scholarship offers Monday.

Mabry, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound guard/forward, had already gotten offers from N.C. State, Wake Forest and Clemson.

Monday, he got offers from Marquette and LSU. Xavier and Virginia Tech are on the verge of making him an offer, says his dad Mike Mabry.

Although the NEW 6 All-Conference basketball team has not been released, Mabry, the co-MVP of the league last season, is a lock to be picked to the first team squad for the third straight season. He averaged 26.4 points this past season and is moving ever so close to becoming Rocky Mount's all-time scorer.

I will have to get up with Charlotte Bobcats assistant Phil Ford to see what he's up to next Christmas, when his 2,093 points - the RM scoring record he's held for 35 years, will come down. Mabry needs just over 280 points to get there.

Ford was very gracious in saluting Tyler Hansbrough when his 31-year stranglehold on UNC's top scoring mark went down this season.

Perhaps he'll do the same for Mabry.

RM's Goodwin named to All-America team

CHARLOTTE - Rocky Mount center fielder Brian Goodwin started gaining national attention for his talents last season and this past summer.

More attention was recently thrown his way when The Sporting News' 2009 Baseball Yearbook hit newstands with him as a member of its 2009 High School All-America Team.

He joins Charlotte Providence infielder Richie Shaffer as the only North Carolina players on the squad.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound senior was named to the 10-player All-America squad. Weather permitting, fans of the Gryphons can catch him in their season opener at home Wednesday against South Granville.

Goodwin helped Rocky Mount win the NCHSAA 3-A state championship last season while hitting .473, socking a state-leading 15 doubles and 21 RBI while stealing 21of 21 bases.

Goodwin has signed to play next season with the University of North Carolina, which The Sporting News ranked as the team to beat for an NCAA title this season.

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

Gryphon Seniors Pictures for sale

David Hahula has copies of this 5x7 photo of Rocky Mount's 2008 senior football class taken the evening of their last football game together.

If you would like a glossy copy or copies of this photo, please email your request to Mr. Hahula at: dhahula@embarqmail.com or call him at 813-2271. The photos are $4.00 each.

Lee selected new Louisburg head football coach

Rocky Mount assistant football coach Chris Lee has paid his dues and it's now time for him to run his own program.

He will be named as the new head football coach at Louisburg High School. He was offered the position last week and he accepted it Wednesday. RMHS head football coach B.W. Holt announced Lee's new position during the football team's award dinner Thursday evening.

He is the fourth Gryphon assistant under Holt (Dickie Schock - Franklinton, Hillsborough Orange; Brent David - Winston-Salem Carver; Chad Smith - Northern Nash) to be selected a head coach since Holt arrived in July of 2003 - and the sixth Nash County assistant coach to become a head coach since 2002.

The others were Southern Nash assistant Lonnie Custer to North Lincoln and Nash Central's T.J. Worrell to Perquimans.

We will have more on Lee's decision to take the Louisburg head job once he is officially hired by the Franklin County Board of Education. Lee has informed RMHS that he will complete his season as JV girls basketball coach.

Gryphon News Tidbits

Here's an opportunity for me to send on some Gryphon news tidbits about current and past Gryphon athletes.

I. Senior center Whit Barnes had successful outpatient surgery on his left shoulder last week and the damage wasn't as bad as originally thought. Barnes will have to endure wearing a sling for a few weeks and then in about a month, he will start rehab on it. It should be as good as new by graduation.

II. Former Rocky Mount pitcher Jeremy Ward and his wife are expecting their first child in April. Ward, of course, led the Gryphons to the 1996 NCHSAA 4-A east regional finals. He played his college ball at Wake Forest and Long Beach State before being drafted into the pros. The couple is now living in Texas.

More good news for Ward's parents Ted and Jackie. Son Travis, former Nash County Babe Ruth Baseball All-Star head coach and a Northern grad, ironically, and his new wife will be giving them a grandchild this spring as well.

III. Ex-Gryphon baseball player Will Pridgen recently got his Master's degree in Sports Management from N.C. State and has landed a position with the Campbell University sports department. The Fighting Camels are now blushing over their new football team and football stadium complex and their recently opened 3,100-seat Pope Convocation Center - replacing that rickety Carter Gym that sat a mere 900!

We were all saddened earlier in the month by the death of his grandfather Dudley Whitley, who was AD at RMHS when I was a student.

IV. Not long ago, we saw former Gryphon athlete Adam Weaver in the dugout as an assistant baseball coach at Wilson Hunt. Now the Elon alum has taken a position with the State Employees Credit Union here in Rocky Mount.

V. Former Gryphon All-Stater Danielle Powell has taken a teaching position at a community colllege outside Seattle, Wash. Powell, who lettered 12 times as a Gryphon (four years in volleyball, basketball and softball and a seven-time conference Player of the Year in those sports), got her Bachelor's and master's degrees in communications at James Madison and a master's degree in divinity from Wake Forest. She played basketball for three seasons at JMU before a knee injury ended her career. She is RMHS' second all-time leading girls basketball scorer at 1,472 points.

J.J. ready for Super matchup

By Geoff Neville

Franklin Times

Just across the border in Nash County, J.J. Arrington was a lightly recruited running back from Northern Nash High School earlier this decade.

Most people outside of the Nash area had never even heard of the diminutive-but-quick running back.

In fact, Arrington wasn’t even the most recruited member of his family. His older sister, Janette, was a star at Northern Nash, helping the Lady Knights win the 1998 Class 4-A State Girls Basketball Championship.

Janette ended up at Louisburg College, where she was a two-year standout before concluding her exceptional career at Division I Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C.J.J. regularly made the trip to Louisburg to watch his older sister in action, hoping he might have his opportunity to one day shine at a high level.

Sunday in Tampa, Arrington will compete on the grandest stage of all.

Now a member of the Arizona Cardinals, Arrington will line up against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl.

Arrington began his football career in 1992 as a member of the Nashville Hornets youth gridiron squad.

During his four-year stint with the Hornets, Arrington was coached by Jim Glover -- a former basketball stalwart at Louisburg College under J. Enid Drake. Glover taught Arrington the nuances of the game before sending him on to Nash Central Middle School and Northern Nash High School.

At Northern, Arrington was coached by legend Jim Brett -- who also guided current Franklinton mentor Clark Harrell when he prepped at Tarboro in the 1970s.

Arrington was a good high school back, but nobody could have imagined what would happen next. He was only 5-foot-9, so most area colleges shied away from Arrington.

Little did they know what he was on the cusp of accomplishing.One of Brett’s connections gave Arrington the opportunity to play at the College of the Canyons -- a junior college in California.

“J.J. really blossomed when he went out there,’’ said Northern Nash Athletic Director Dan Richwalski.

A successful two-year JUCO stint drew the interested eye of University of California coach Jeff Tedford.Arrington signed with Cal to play in the PAC-10 -- far, far away from his lifelong friends and family members.

An injury to Cal’s starting running back pushed Arrington into the starting lineup as a junior, and he never looked back.During his senior year, Arrington broke Cal’s single-season rushing mark with over 2,100 yards -- one of the most prolific totals in NCAA football history.

The Cardinals drafted Arrington in the second round of the NFL Draft in 2005. This is his fourth season in the desert, where Arrington has served as a backup running back and kickoff-return specialist.

One of Arrington’s strengths is catching the ball out of the backfield -- a strategy that many observers deem necessary for Arizona to be able to move the ball against the staunch Pittsburgh defense.

For the year, Arrington has rushed 31 times for 187 yards and caught 29 passes for 255 yards.In the NFC Championship Game against Philadelphia, Arrington was part of a flea-flicker pass play that resulted in a key touchdown for the Cardinals.

Arrington later left that game with a knee injury, but is expected to be ready Sunday in the Sunshine State.

Not bad for a personable guy from nearby Nash County that nobody wanted coming out of high school.

Silver anniversary reunion for 1984 Demons on Friday at Rocky Mount-Fike halftime

By Paul Durham

Wilson Daily Times

Twenty-five years after Fike's first -- and only -- boys basketball state championship, the memories remain fresh for many of the Golden Demons.

Many more memories will be revived Friday night when the 1983-84 N.C. High School Athletic Association 4-A champions will reassemble at the school for a silver anniversary observance. Team members in attendance will be recognized at halftime of the Fike-Rocky Mount varsity boys game.

While most of the 1984 Golden Demons haven't seen each other since high school, the common denominator for all of them over the years was not only winning a title but playing for legendary head coach Harvey Reid Jr.

Reid, who passed away in 1990, is the winningest high school basketball coach in North Carolina history with 818 victories, including six state championships. He won two N.C. High School Athletic Conference state crowns at Elm City's Frederick Douglass High prior to integration then three more NCHSAA 2-A titles at Elm City High in the 1970s.

But Reid, who was assisted by the late Jimmy Howard, seemed to take special satisfaction in the 1984 Demons' accomplishment. No player on the team stood taller than 6-foot-3 and down the stretch in the state playoffs, Reid used his starting five -- dubbed the "Fit Five" -- almost exclusively.

"He made us believe in the impossible and we did the incredible," said reunion organizer Charles Howard, a starting forward on the '84 team.

"Winning the state 4-A championship with five guys and as small as we were -- that was an incredible thing to do."

Howard, a 6-3 junior forward, was joined in the starting lineup by 6-3 senior Andre Virgil, 6-2 sophomore John McNeil, 6-0 senior guard Michael Hilliard and senior point guard Brian Harris. Sixth-man Willie Harris led the group of reserves: Scotty Bridgers, Arthur Braswell, Tim Lucas, John T. Smith, Pat Marshall, Michael Williams, George Ruffin, Greg Ballard and Kevin Watson.

Fike struggled early in the season and lost both regular-season games to highly regarded Kinston, which featured 6-9 Charles Shackleford who would go on to play at N.C. State and Tony Dawson, who played for Florida State.

The Demons also lost to Beddingfield in the first round of the Eastern Carolina Classic holiday tournament.But down the stretch, Fike caught fire. The Demons defeated Hunt in the 4-A Big East Conference tournament semifinals then finally snapped Kinston's domination in the tournament championship.

That win proved to be a turning point for the Demons.

"Kinston was pretty much stacked," recalled Hilliard, now a Fayetteville resident. "We knew that if we could get together and get past Kinston, we could do it."Howard was in agreement.

"That was a big, big boost for us," he said. "We knew we had a chance to run the table then. We never really spoke about it but we had the look in our eyes and knew that if we listened to Coach Reid, who was a state championship coach, he could get us there."

In their first-ever playoff appearance, the Demons defeated Fayetteville Westover 52-47 to earn a berth in the East Regional at Hunt. The Demons downed Raeford Hoke, which had current Fike head coach George Drawhorn as an assistant, in the regional semifinals giving them one more shot at Kinston.

With the starters playing every second (and 63 of a possible 64 minutes in both regional games), Fike outlasted the Vikings 58-51 for its first trip to a state championship game in boys basketball.

In the state championship game in Greensboro Coliseum, McNeil continued his late-season surge by scoring a career-high 27 points in the Demons' 64-52 handling of Roxboro Person.

McNeil would end up signing with NCAA Division I Pittsburgh after graduating two years later but never played for the Panthers. Instead, he played at Chowan College before finishing up at Div. II Elizabeth City State.

Howard initially signed with Div. II Belmont Abbey before transferring to Div. I N.C. A&T State University. Brian Harris, Hillliard and Virgil all spent time in the military. Most of the former players no longer live in Wilson but Howard said the expected turnout should be 10 to 12 of the original 15.

"It will be the first time I've seen a lot of the guys since graduation," said Brian Harris, now a physician in the Clayton area. "I'm excited about that and catching up with everyone.

"There's no doubt the main topic of conversation will the man who put it all together."The thing that stands out to me about the whole time at Fike was being able to play for Coach Reid," Brian Harris said. "He's one of those coaches that has continued to have an impact on you."

Barnes to undergo shoulder surgery Friday

That tricky left shoulder Rocky Mount senior offensive lineman Whit Barnes dealt with this past season is going to get fixed, the Wake Forest-bound All-Stater said earlier this week.

Barnes, who even missed a game (Southern Nash) to rest that shoulder, saw Dr. David Martin at Wake Forest University about a week ago and he said surgery was needed to fix his shoulder, which last popped out during the first half of the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas game in South Carolina the week before Christmas.

Barnes, who started the game for the Tar Heels, was taken out of the game in the second quarter when it happened and he wasn't allowed to return to the game.

Martin, who is in charge of sports medicine at Wake, has scheduled surgery on Barnes for Friday at Bowman-Gray Hospital in Winston-Salem.

"The recovery is about five months total so I should be ready to go by the time I head up to Wake," said Barnes, who plans to enroll at Wake during the second session summer school. "It will be nice to get this surgery out of the way so I wont have to worry about it when I am playing at Wake. I would hate to go to school in July and my shoulder messed up again and have to get surgery when I could be trying to win playing time as a young O-lineman."

Barnes, who made the Associated Press All-State team on Christmas Eve, will sign with Wake Forest on Wednesday, Feb. 4.

He should have some company that day.

So far, senior defensive end Nick Harrison and senior offensive lineman Brandon Dennis have announced that they will be signing that day with UNC-Pembroke. The upstart D-II program, in just its second season, went 9-1 as an independent.

RMHS head coach B.W. Holt feels that at least seven of his seniors should be signing by the spring.

Sharpe joins the 1,000-point Club

(Click on picture to enlarge)

Rocky Mount senior guard Alonzo Sharpe became the sixth boys basketball player in school history to score 1,000 points in a career when he hit a shot late in the second period of the Gryphons' NEW 6 contest at Northern Nash on Jan. 9.

Ahead of the four-year starter are Phil Ford (1974), teammate Tashawn Mabry, Buck Williams ('78), George McClain ('82) and Jeff Battle ('78). Four girls players have also accomplished the milestone.

In the picture above, Sharpe was given a commemorative ball for the feat before RMHS' game with Southern Nash last Friday. Sharpe is flanked by family members and Gryphon head basketball coach Mike Gainey.

(Photo/David Hahula)

Battle celebrates her 1,000th point

(Click on picture to enlarge)

Rocky Mount senior forward Dyonna Battle (center) received a commemorative basketball from Rocky Mount girls coach Pam Gainey (background, right) before a game with Hertford County on Jan. 7 to honor her 1,000th career point scored.

She scored that special point in a game at Kinston on Jan. 3 - the fourth female Rocky Mount player ever to top the 1,000-point mark. She joins the late Kim Taylor (RMSH Class of 1983), Danielle Powell ('92) and Latoya Armstrong ('03) on that special list.

Battle is flanked by her parents Donnell and Gail Battle.

(Photo/David Hahula)

RMHS football stats submitted to NCHSAA record book

The NCHSAA recently updated its online record book and after going through the 18 pages of stats, Rocky Mount's program has notable stats that fit right into some of the categories.

Leading the way was senior Nick Hahula, who will have four entries in the record book: his total games played (53), extra points in a season (72), career extra points (207) and his career kicking points (277).

Here are the entries I submitted and will be added to the book in the coming days:

COACHING

Career wins: B.W. Holt (Rocky Mount, West Montgomery, Tennessee High [Va.], Starmount, Franklinton, SW Randolph) 321-113-2 in 39 years (includes 2008)

POINTS

Points Scored by a Kicker, Career: 277, Nick Hahula (Rocky Mount), 24 field goals, 205 extra points, 2005-08

EXTRA POINTS

Career: 205, Nick Hahula (Rocky Mount), 2005-08

Season: 72, Nick Hahula (Rocky Mount), 2008

YARDS PER TOUCHDOWN CARRY

Season: 37.5, Jordan Ford (Rocky Mount), 2008 (10 TDs, 375 yards)

MOST GAMES PLAYED

53, Nick Hahula, Rocky Mount, 2005-08

53, Darrius Dubose, Rocky Mount, 2003-06

TOTAL RETURNS FOR TOUCHDOWNS

Career: 7, Brian Goodwin (Rocky Mount), 2006-08 (three kickoffs, four punts)

Awards dinner planned for Gryphon football team

A special awards dinner has been planned to honor the 2008 Rocky Mount High School football team.

Team members will be guests at the event - set for Thursday, Jan. 29 at 6:30 p.m. at the Rocky Mount Shrine Club, 320 Airport Rd. The menu, tentatively, will include chicken, barbecue and all the fixings. All parents, fans and supporters are encouraged to come out and support this record-setting team.

The dinner will be $10 per person. For more information, please contact Rocky Mount head coach B.W. Holt during school hours at 977-3085 or 977-3164.

The four football awards (Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Billy Smith Lineman Award, Team MVP) that were to have been given out at RMHS' fall athletic award ceremony back on Dec. 8 will be awarded that evening.

Also, the team's All-Conference and All-State players will be recognized. It will also be a send-off for the squad's 25 seniors, who compiled an impressive 27-3 record the past two seasons.

Mabry probable for Friday at Northern Nash; Sharpe on the edge of 1,000

Junior Tashawn Mabry has been hurting lately where the sun doesn't shine.

The 6-5 forward was going in for a dunk in the first half of the Kinston game Saturday night when he was fouled by a Viking player and fell three feet straight down on the court - on his tailbone.

I felt his pain when he hit the floor.

A few minutes later, Mabry attempted to take a charge from a Kinston player and got knocked to the floor on said backside.

He went straight to dressing room for the rest of the half.

He was of little help to his team in the second half and he was in obvious pain.

That pain apparently lingered through the weekend and into this week's play as he missed the game at Wilson Beddingfield Tuesday and at home Wednesday against Hertford County.

Head coach Mike Gainey feels he'll play Friday at Northern Nash provided he can keep loose during play.

The Knights have the best record in the Twin Counties at 12-2 and they will be a tough challenge for the Gryphons (7-6) in their NEW 6 opener.

Two milestones are in reach for Rocky Mount Friday. Mabry needs five points to reach the 1,500-mark in career scoring, while senior guard Alonzo Sharpe (pictured) needs six points to become the school's fifth 1,000-point male scorer.

The last time Rocky Mount had two 1,000-point scorers on the same team - 1978, in center Buck Williams and forward Jeff Battle.

(Photo/Britt Johnson)

Rocky Mount-North Mecklenburg press conference

If you would like to view the GlaxoSmithKline Tournament press conference after Rocky Mount downed No. 1-ranked North Mecklenburg earlier this week, click here!

The Gryphons won 66-62 in overtime!

Rocky Mount connections at Holliday Gym

A SHARPE DRIVE - Rocky Mount's Alonzo Sharpe drives to the basket for one of his 13 points Monday in the Gryphons' 66-62 overtime win over North Mecklenburg in a consolation bracket game of the GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational Tournament at Raleigh Broughton's Holliday Gym. (Photo/Britt Johnson)
________________________________________________________

Rocky Mount's return to the Glaxo has been one of nostalgia for me. People with ties to Rocky Mount have been popping up all over the place. In some ways, it's been like a reunion of sorts.

It started last Friday night before the Gryphons' much-anticipated tourney opener with nationally ranked Raleigh Word of God.

Who do I run into but Jerome Garrett, starting forward for the Gryphons' 1982 4-A state championship team. Now a resident of Raleigh, Garrett is attending the event to watch his son, Jerome Jr., play as a starter for Raleigh Enloe. I hadn't seen Garrett, Sr. since he and his teammates hoisted that championship trophy up as a team that great evening in March at the Greensboro Coliseum 26 years ago.

Yes, we turned the clock back for a few minutes, you might say!.

When I walked into the gym Monday, I was greeted by my old high school classmate Paul Thomas (RMSH '76). Thomas, uncle of recently graduated RMHS athlete Ashley Pearsall and a former Gryphon football player himself, is an accountant in the Raleigh area and a former Triangle area high school football official until knee problems ended that phase of his life.

He informed me that he was going to be the incoming president of Broughton's Booster Club. Considering how successful the Caps' athletic program usually is, that should be a pie job for him.

To top the day off, I had about a 15-minute conversation with recently "retired" WRAL-TV5 sports anchor and Rocky Mount native Tom Suiter.

He and a friend of his dropped in to check out the Christ School-Kinston game - something he normally wouldn't have time for during his old working schedule. Christ School, located just south of Asheville near the town of Arden, is where Suiter attended school from age 13 through graduation.

He told me that wouldn't miss the grind of making the day-to-day telecasts, and contrary to popular belief, he has not confirmed to WRAL as of yet whether he will host the "Football Friday" program next fall.

Suiter, now 60, looked a bit weary and very ready for a nice long break from everything. He complained of arthritis in both his hands. Shaking hands with people can be painful for him, so he prefers an elbow bump, not unlike the fist bump made famous by misophobe (fear of germs)/comedian/game show host Howie Mandell.

I told him fall football without him would not be the same unless he came back. He feels that without that daily grind he's been making, doing the show after all that time off the air might not be pretty.

Tom, it's like riding a bike. Once you learn, you never forget. If anything, the time off should give you time to recharge your batteries.

We all hope that you will make your return next August. High school football in this area just won't be the same without you!

Word of God has final word in Gryphon loss

Raleigh Word of God's Stephon Drane (23) attempts to block the shot of Rocky Mount's Tashawn Mabry (43) during Friday's opening round game of the 37th Annual GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational Tournament at Raleigh Broughton's Holliday Gym. (Click on picture to enlarge)

A sellout crowd of over 3,000 witnessed the Gryphons fall 67-41 to the nationally-ranked Holy Rams. Mabry led all Gryphon scorers with 17 points.

The Gryphons will next face North Mecklenburg Monday at 2:20 p.m.

(Photo/David Hahula)

Barnes, Hahula voted to AP First-Team All-State Squad

RALEIGH - Rocky Mount's Whit Barnes and Nick Hahula got one Christmas present a day early Wednesday.

The two Rocky Mount seniors were voted to the 2008 Associated Press North Carolina All-State prep football team. Both were first-team selections - the first time in recent history two Rocky Mount football players on the same team have been accorded first-team honors.

A group of 20 statewide media members voted on the squad.

Barnes, who last week was the 42nd Rocky Mount player ever to play in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, was tied with Jack Britt's Xavier Nixon and East Forsyth's David Collins for the most votes with 18 out of 20. Ironically, all three are offensive linemen. Barnes, at center, led a senior Gryphon front line that helped Rocky Mount set a school record for total offense with 5,743 yards. It's the sixth straight season RMHS has broken that record.

Hahula was voted as the placekicker on the first team. He has set 18 school records, including scoring 393 total points in his career. He tallied 72 PATs and eight field goals in scoring 96 total kicking points this past season - second-highest in the state. His 205 career PATs ranks second highest all-time in the state of N.C.

Rocky Mount, Jack Britt, Greensboro Dudley and West Rowan were only schools to place two players on the team.

Here are the complete first team selections:

2008 North Carolina AP First-Team All-State Football Squad

OFFENSE

QB — Ricky Lewis, Greensboro Dudley (6)
RB — Kevin Parks, West Rowan (16)
RB — Jonathan Hinson-Braddy, Thomasville (9)
WR — Erik Highsmith, West Craven (13)
WR — Jheranie Boyd, Gastonia Ashbrook (7)
WR — Georgie Kerber, Murphy (7)
TE — Tucker Windle, Charlotte Catholic (13)
OL — Whit Barnes, Rocky Mount (18)
OL — David Collins, East Forsyth (18)
OL — Xavier Nixon, Jack Britt (18)
OL—Ty Howle, Bunn (11)
OL—Tim Pangburn, West Rowan (10)

DEFENSE

DL — Jared McAdoo, Chapel Hill (14)
DL — Donte Moss, Jacksonville Northside (14)
DL — Michael Brooks, Bartlett Yancey (12)
DL — Chris Neal, Greensboro Dudley (11)
DL — Chris Smith, West Rowan (11)
LB — Hawatha Bell, Matthews Butler (13)
LB — Jonathan Buffkin, South Columbus (12)
LB — Justin Jackson, Richmond County (10)
DB — Quin Smith, Lenoir Hibriten (15)
DB — Kewitt Koonce, Kinston (13)
DB — Tray Sanders, East Mecklenburg (10)
DB — Xavier Watson, Kannapolis Brown (9)

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK — Nick Hahula, Rocky Mount (7)
P — Marcus Lee, Wilmington Hoggard (10)
P — Matt Milisor, Greensboro Page (10)
KR — P.J. Clyburn, West Iredell (11)
ATH — Everett Proctor, Jack Britt (4)
ATH — Maurice Williams, North Pitt (4)

Phil Ford may see another record fall this time next year!

- Tashawn Mabry

Former North Carolina All-American Phil Ford started his scoring parade right here on Nash St. in Rocky Mount's gym. But he took his talents to UNC and Carmichael Auditorium and the rest is history.

Thursday, he passed his Carolina scoring baton to Tyler Hansbrough. His 2,290 points, the UNC scoring record, stood for over 30 years.

But another Ford scoring record is in danger and it's been around for 35 seasons!

Ford is Rocky Mount's all-time leading scorer at 2,093 points. Current Gryphon junior forward Tashawn Mabry is on pace to break that record in about a year.

The talented 6-foot-5 southpaw took care of another All-American Thursday evening with his 35-point effort in an 89-87 loss to Goldsboro High.

Mabry passed former All-American center Buck Williams (1,402) to become the No. 2 scorer all-time in RMHS history. Mabry has now scored 1,407 points and needs 687 more to pass Ford.

Mabry is currently averaging a little over 26 points a game and the Gryphons have at least 17 more games this season. If he stays healthy and keeps up this same pace in his scoring, we might have Phil Ford in the house about this time next year to congratulate Mabry for getting his high school scoring mark, too!

Shrine Bowl practice for RMHS' Barnes

Rocky Mount offensive lineman Whit Barnes (right) bangs against a North Carolina teammate during Day 1 of practices Monday for the Shrine Bowl of North Carolina game set for Saturday afternoon at Wofford College. The South Carolina and North Carolina squads are holding practice at Dorman High School in Spartanburg, S.C.

The Wake Forest recruit, who wore No. 50 during his 48-game career at RMHS, will wear No. 51 in Saturday's contest. (Click on picture to enlarge)

To see some action footage of Barnes practicing this week, click here!

(Photo/GoUpstate.com)

Richwalski will not be a candidate for the NN football job

Northern Nash athletic director Dan Richwalski stated Monday that he will not be a candidate for the head football coaching position at the school. He said he was informed by the Nash-Rocky Mount Schools central office that he could hold both positions at the school.

Currently, no head football coach in the N-RM system is an athletic director. Incidently, no head football coach in the current NEW 6 3-A Conference, which Northern Nash is a member, is an athletic director.

That pattern will continue next year when SouthWest Edgecombe leaves the league and Wilson Hunt joins it. Hunt's AD Stevie Hinnant is an assistant coach with Warriors' football team.

Chad Smith resigned as the Knights' head football coach on Nov. 10.

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.

Rocky Mount-West Craven slideshow

Free-lance photographer David Hahula, father of RM athlete Nick Hahula, took about 100 shots for the Rocky Mount Telegram Friday night of the Gryphon fans, sideline action and halftime festivities during last Friday's West Craven football playoff game.

As a salute to the biggest crowd I have ever seen attend a Gryphon football game at the RMAC in its 22 seasons as Rocky Mount's home field, check out this slideshow by clicking here!

Rocky Mount takes broom out on Hertford County

AHOSKIE - Rocky Mount's varsity basketball teams made their longest road trip of the regular season Tuesday evening and came home with victories.

They traveled to Hertford County and came back with a 65-61 triumph in boys play and a 57-43 win in girls action.

The Gryphons rallied from a sluggish 24-6 deficit after the first period to end the first half up 36-30. The game was tied at 45-all starting the fourth quarter.

Junior Tashawn Mabry led all scorers with 28 points, followed by senior point guard Alonzo (Bobo) Sharpe with 22.

The Gryphons remained unbeaten on the season at 5-0.

The Lady Gryphs moved above .500 (3-2) for the first time this season after handing Hertford County a 57-43 defeat.

RMHS trailed 11-9 after the first period, but it outscored the Lady Bears 20-7 in the second quarter to take a 29-18 lead at intermission.

Dyonna Battle led Rocky Mount with 15 points. Danita Whitaker had 14 and Alexis Farmer added 10.

Lady Gryphons will play in the Nash County Christmas Tournament

While Rocky Mount's boys basketball team will be playing in the GlaxoSmithKline Invitational in Raleigh over the Christmas holidays, the Lady Gryphons will be taking the court in the annual Nash County Holiday Basketball Tournament to be held Dec. 22-23 (Monday-Tuesday) at Nash Central High School.

Rocky Mount is the defending girls champion. RMHS won the boys title last year also.

Here are the pairings for the event:

Dec. 22

• 2 p.m. -- Northern Nash girls vs. Rocky Mount girls
• 4 p.m. -- Southern Nash boys vs. Nash Central boys
• 6 p.m. -- Southern Nash girls vs. Nash Central girls
• 8 p.m. -- Bunn boys vs. Northern Nash boys

Dec. 23

• 2 p.m. -- Girls consolation game
• 4 p.m. -- Boys consolation game
• 6 p.m. -- Girls championship game
• 8 p.m. -- Boys championship game

Admission to the event will be $8 each day.

Stat Crunch: West Craven vs. Rocky Mount

(14 GAMES EACH)

POINTS SCORED

553 - Rocky Mount

515 - West Craven

POINTS ALLOWED

113 - Rocky Mount

173 - West Craven

RUSHING YDS.

551-3,797 - Rocky Mount

370-1,769 - West Craven

PASSING YDS.

77-139-5 1,531 - Rocky Mount

228-381-8 3,575 - West Craven

TOTAL OFFENSE

690-5,328 - Rocky Mount

751-5,344 - West Craven

TURNOVER RATIO

+9 (13/22) - Rocky Mount

+23 (12/35) - West Craven

TOP PASSER

1,418 - Collins Cuthrell, Rocky Mount

3,546 - Brett Mooring, West Craven

TOP RUSHER

975, 16 TDs - Marquavis Alston, Rocky Mount

294, 2 TDs - Tyree Dawson, West Craven

TOP RECEIVER

48-1,129, 9 TDs - Keith Strickland, Rocky Mount

66-1,272, 12 TDs - Erik Highsmith, West Craven

TOP DEFENDER

91 tackles - Chris Pittman, Rocky Mount

109 tackles - Justin Bryant, West Craven

Rocky Mount football records at a glance

Rocky Mount's football team needs 24 more points to set the school record for points scored in a season. RMHS currently has scored 511 points. School record – 534, 2004.

Junior Marquavis Alston needs 83 yards to become the first Rocky Mount running back to record two 1,000-yard seasons in rushing (1,576 in 2007). Until Alston came around, no sophomore had recorded a 1,000-yard rushing season, and his is about to become the first junior to do so, too.

Every 1,000-yard rusher in RMHS history, astoundingly, has been a senior up to Alston's appearance in the varsity lineup in 2007. Only Linwood Silver in 1996, as a junior, got close. He had 993 yards that season - one that ended with a playoff loss at Richmond County (26-3).

Another 108 yards of total offense will give RMHS its fourth straight season of 5,000 total yards or more. The 2007 team has the school record – 5,558. The current squad has 4,892. (5.219, 2005; 5,509, 2006; 5,558, 2007). Every year B.W. Holt has been at RMHS, the team has set a school record in that category.

Rocky Mount head coach B.W. Holt, in his sixth season at RMHS, recorded Gryphon win No. 70 Friday night. He is 70-12 and his career coaching record now stands at 320-112-2 in 39 seasons.

Senior kicker Nick Hahula has made 198 PATs (198/239, .828) in his career – which ties him for second in state history with Shon Rouser (East Duplin, 1995-98). The all-time leader is Albemarle’s Tyler Lewis (2000-2003) with 350. Hahula has scored more points than any football player in RMHS history (198 PATs, 24 field goals, 17 rushing TDs, 1 receiving TD, 1 2-pt. conversion run – 380 points). This season, this is his scoring breakdown: 65 PATs, 8 field goals, 11 rushing TDs, 1 receiving TD, 1 2-pt. conversion run – 163 pts.