Our Football Friday tour stayed local this week as we went over to newly-renovated Durham County Stadium to see the Northern Durham Knights take on the Walter Hines Page Pirates out of Greensboro.

Last week, Northern broke their 12 game losing streak with a win at Rocky Mount, and looked like a team that is making progress back to days of old, but turnovers and special teams were an issue.  Page had a punt return for a touchdown and capitalized on several Northern turnovers on their way to a 28-18 victory to go to 3-0 on the year.  For more details about the game, you can check out the article on the Herald-Sun.

Things of note:

• The renovations at County Stadium have made the stadium a very nice place to go to.  The field has the new style “field turf” that you see in a lot of new stadiums, similar to the turf at BB&T Field, home of Wake Forest.
• Although the crowd was late-arriving for a 7:00 PM start, there was a good home crowd for the Knights.  The fans really got into the game in the second half as Northern made it’s run.
• The food was okay.  Durham County has planned to have a company come in to handle the concessions, but they weren’t ready for the game, so the Northern athletic boosters had to fill in at the last minute.  As a result, the selection was not what it would normally be, so it would be difficult to fully judge the food at this point.
• The band was fairly into the game.  They did a small pre-game show and performed their halftime show from the stands.  Nothing really special here.

This game was probably more of a test than what Page expected, considering the outcome of last year’s match-up between these two teams.  The Pirates look poised to have a good year.  Northern didn’t win a game last year and looks like a team that’s in rebuilding mode.  They’re making progress, though, and I look forward to see what they do in the future.

A new feature for Football Friday that we’re adding is some video from the game.  It’s not professional, but I hope it will give you a little glimpse of what we saw at the game.

Next week, we head west on our first road trip of the year to Millers Creek, NC and my alma mater, West Wilkes, as they face Wilkes Central in their home opener.

High school football kicked off this past Friday night and our first Football Friday of 2010 took us to Hillsborough where we saw the Orange Panthers take on the Jordan Falcons.

The opening play from scrimmage where Jordan gained 30 yards on a toss sweep pretty much set the scene for how this one was going to play out.  I’ll spare you all the details, since you can read the Herald-Sun recap of the game.  A very sloppy game turned into a 50-6 blowout for the Falcons.

Things of note:

• Attendance was pretty decent for an opening night game.  I’m not sure what a normal night is at Orange, but the stands to the right of the picture were pretty full.  There were a number of people on the Jordan side (where we sat) as well.  Sadly, we didn’t see a lot of students, but school hasn’t started yet, which may have led to that.
• I didn’t have any concessions, but from hearing John and Kevin, they weren’t as good as their previous visits.
• The stadium layout was pretty good, as we had a good view of the field from our seats.  The scoreboard was green and looked like a football field with red numbers.  I don’t know really how to describe it.  The sound system was horrible.  One speaker on top of the press box that wasn’t very loud.  Basically, if you were on the visitor’s side, you couldn’t understand what was being said.
• Oh band… I liked the national anthem, until you put the embellished ending on it.  I didn’t hear the school’s fight song one single time, and a complete standstill show for a competitive marching band on opening night is not acceptable.  I heard you were invited to the Olympics a couple of years ago.  After hearing what I heard on Friday night, I would have called the person who told me out for that one, but they were wearing a badge.
• Orange’s uniforms would be considered an identity crisis for people from Oregon.  Their uniforms are orange and black, which look similar to Oregon State’s uniforms, but their helmets have the “O” that is similar to the ones for the University of Oregon (see the picture in the Hearld-Sun article for further detail)

Needless to say, the two-hour first half, sloppy game of penalties and turnovers, and general “blah” atmosphere left a lot to be desired.  Perhaps if there was a different team in town that was more evenly matched (it was 38-0 at half), this experience would have been better.  Jordan looks poised to have a good year, and Orange may have one once they get into conference play.

I’m taking next Friday off due to a previously scheduled appointment, but will be back in two weeks for the next Football Friday stop.  Stay tuned to Facebook and Twitter to find out where we’re heading next.

We’re about a month out from high school football and “Football Fridays” starting up again and hopefully I’ll be posting soon about where we’re going for the first game of the year.  In anticipation of the upcoming season though, I thought I would post about a game I will never forget.

To set the scene for you, this was a second-round 2A state playoff game played on a cold, rainy November night in 2001 in Millers Creek, NC (November 23, 2001, to be exact).  One reason I remember this game so vividly is because at the time, I had ties to both schools.  I’m a 1996 graduate of West Wilkes, and in 2001, I was on the staff for the North Rowan Cavalier Marching Band (their band director was the music minister at the church I served at in Salisbury, so he brought me on staff for the marching season).  When the playoff brackets were released, I knew this was a possibility.  When North Rowan defeated Pisgah at home in the first round and West took care of Charlotte Catholic, it became clear that I would observe my first Blackhawk football game from the visitor’s side.

It was a very sloppy first half that saw North Rowan take a 6-0 halftime lead on a touchdown followed by a missed extra-point.  The third quarter was dominated by the Blackhawks, who scored three touchdowns on consecutive drives which were the results of a short punt and two fumbles by North Rowan quarterback Alfonzo Miller.

Looking dead in the water, trailing 22-6 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers began their comeback with a 17-yard Miller touchdown pass, followed by a two-point conversion to cut the lead to 22-14.  The Cavaliers defense blocked a Blackhawks punt on the next possession to turn a 19 yard drive into the game-tying touchdown following the second two-point conversion.

What happened next was probably the most gut-wrenching, emotional five minutes of football that I’ve ever seen in person.  On their next drive, West Wilkes ripped off a 38-yard run down inside the Cavaliers 5-yard-line.  On the next play, the Blackhawks fumbled the ball inside the 1, which was recovered by the North Rowan.  A pass got the ball out to the Cavaliers 26, but the drive stalled resulting in a punt.

The effects of the weather took it’s toll as a bad snap led to a blocked punt, and the Blackhawks returned the ball for a touchdown to go up 29-22 with 1:45 left.  Everyone in black and orange was going crazy.  I was excited, but being on the opposing sideline, could not jump up and down with everyone else at the time.  Although, 1:45 is a lot of time left in the game, so the feeling that this was over had not arrived yet.

In a minute and one second, Miller drove the Cavaliers 79 yards in four plays, completing a 26-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 29-28 with :44 left.  North Rowan head coach Roger Secreast called time out, and the tension began to mount as it became clear that they were going for two.  At the time, I thought they were crazy since the whole season was on the line, but then again, an extra point was not a sure thing either considering the kicking game had been abysmal at best that night.

After the time-out Miller came out and connected with a wide-open Lamar Geter for the two-point conversion, putting North Rowan ahead 30-29.  The Blackhawks’ final drive fell apart over the next four plays and the Cavalier fans stormed the field celebrating with their team on that night.

At the end of the game, I stood there in a mixed array of stunned, sad, and excited.  I was happy for the team and the kids in the band, but was devastated at it was at the expense of my high school and the way the game ended.  I’m still trying to figure out where this game stacks up on Bill Simmons’ Levels of Losing.

After the game, we got on the bus to head back to Salisbury and I called my parents.  Mom said they listened to the game on the radio (which was odd because they don’t watch football and rarely went to a game while I was a student at West).  A bunch of us headed over to Christo’s for our normal ritual of wings and Mountain Dew after we got back, and I stayed up most of the night reflecting on those past few hours.  The next week, North Rowan was crushed by Burlington Cummings 67-34 in what turned out to be Coach Seacrest’s last game.

Thanks to a Salisbury Post article by Steve Huffman that I had saved for filling in all the details about this game.  Stay tuned for details on where our first Football Friday stop will be.

This week was our “home game,” if you can call it that, as we stayed around Durham and headed to Charles E. Jordan High School to watch the Falcons face off against the Northern Durham Knights.  It was homecoming at Jordan, plus we had a special 5th Quarter over at Yates Baptist Church after the game.

Northern Durham looked good early, recovering Jordan’s onside kick on the opening kick-off and marching down the field scoring on a 10 yard run four minutes in to take a 7-0 lead.  After a Falcons fumble, a trade of punts, and a interception over a five-minute span, Jordan ties the game at 7 on a 71 yard pass.  Three minutes in the second, Jordan strikes again through the air on a 50 yard pass, and scores again with a minute before the half to take a 20-7 halftime lead.

In the second half, the Falcons offense took the opening kick-off back to the Northern 26 yard line and threw a touchdown pass on the next play 30 seconds in to take a 27-7 lead, but the Knights were not to be counted out just yet.  After the teams traded a couple of possessions, the Northern offense came to life and marched 60 yards down the field scoring on a 1 yard quarterback run to cut the lead to 27-14 with less than five minutes left in the third.  A Falcons fumble on the next possession set up Northern at the Jordan 20 and on the next play the Knights scored, making it 27-20 with less than a minute left in the third.

Halfway through the fourth, Northern tied the game at 27 on a 25 yard pass, and momentum completely shifted at this point.  Jordan would take the lead again on a 2 yard run with a little over three minutes left.  Northern would have one final chance, but after having the ball on first and goal at the Jordan 9, the Falcons defense stopped the Knights four straight times, including a screen pass completion that was stopped just short of the goal line to make the final score 34-27.  Jordan would run out the clock and improve to 5-2 while keeping Northern winless at 0-7.

Things of note:

• Attendance wise, it was a great night.  Homecoming had a lot to do with that, but the Jordan side was packed.  The game kicked off at 7:00 PM, but a crowd was still lined up outside the metal detectors well after 7:30 PM.
• Facilities at Jordan are good.  We had a great view of the field, and they’ve built a new concession stand at the stadium.  My only complaint about the field is that they don’t put the Falcon in the center, but between the hash mark and the numbers on the 50 yard line closest to the home stand (see picture above).
• Speaking of concessions… I’m going to put this a nicely as I can, but that was the WORST HOT DOG I’VE EVER HAD!  Thoughts of the letter to the church at Laodicea came to my mind as I bit down into a luke-warm hot dog, wanting to spew it out of my mouth.
• As mentioned earlier, it was homecoming, and during halftime, we experienced the shortest homecoming ceremony ever.  As the court walked down the track, the announcer rattled off the names, then quickly announced the homecoming king and queen, and it was all over in less than three minutes.
• Jordan’s band is very good.  As a tradition on homecoming, they march the halftime show in various costumes, including super-hero characters, fast-food characters, Disney characters, and characters from TV and movies.  The most amusing part was watching the Chick-fil-A cow playing trumpet and marching around.

Despite the miserable food experience, it was a good night.  Northern almost came back to get their first win of the year, but it was not to be.  Jordan will continue on and make the playoffs while Northern will remain in sort of a rebuilding mode this year.

Next week, we had to one of our favorite places, Eastern Alamance High School in Mebane to watch the Eagles take on the Western Alamance Warriors.

Originally, we had plan to head east to Pikeville, NC to see the Charles B. Aycock Golden Falcons take on the James B. Hunt Warriors, but with the threat of rain and the possibility of traveling so far and the game being postponed, we decided to stay a little closer to home. So… we headed to Pittsboro, NC to see the Northwood Chargers host the Triton Hawks out of Erwin. We went to Northwood for a state playoff game last year, and despite freezing on that night, I enjoyed the atmosphere and was looking forward to going back again.

A scoreless first quarter consisted of Northwood five and a half minute drive deep into Triton territory only to fail on a fourth down conversion. The Hawks would put together a nice drive of their own before an interception gave the Chargers the ball on their 35 with a little over three minutes left. After a three-and-out and a punt to end the quarter, Triton would strike first on the opening play of the second quarter with a 50 yard touchdown run. After a botched snap on the extra point attempt, the broken play led to a two point conversion and an 8-0 Hawks lead. Both the spread offense of Northwood and the Wing-T of Triton would struggle for the rest of the half either due to turnovers or failing fourth down conversions, prompting the Northwood announcer to proclaim that the Charger passing attack was “feast or famine.”

After the Hawks three-and-out to open the second half, a Northwood fumble sets up Triton at the Charger 32 and less than a minute later, a 17 yard run gives Triton a 15-0 lead four minutes into the third. The teams would trade punts, and then Northwood’s game changing moment came on a 73 yard pass followed by a two point conversion to cut the Hawks lead to 15-8 with a little over a minute left in the third. The teams would trade punts again as the game headed into the fourth quarter and about four minutes in with the Hawks inside the Northwood 30, on a third down play, the Triton quarterback suffered a knee injury and had to be helped off the field. The 37 yard field goal was partially blocked on the next play. The Chargers drove down an scored on a 2 yard run with 4:26 to play, but the 35 yard extra point attempt due to excessive celebration was wide left and left the score 15-14, Triton. On the next Triton possession, the back-up quarterback fumbled the snap on the first play and the Chargers recovered at the Triton 32. They would score on an 18 yard pass with 2:01 remaining to take a 22-15 lead.

Northwood would attempt a squib kick and after a fight for the ball, the Hawks would recover. On Triton’s final possession, they would get a huge run on first down, and tempers would flare leading to two personal foul penalties and an ejection on Northwood, setting up the Hawks first and goal at the Northwood 9 with 1:39 left. A toss-sweep to the left went for no gain, but off-setting personal fouls set up first down again. A toss-sweep to the right by Triton went for a loss of two. On second down, Triton loss more yardage after the tailback was tackled behind the line of scrimmage. After a false start, Northwood sacked the Hawks quarterback setting up fourth and goal from the 40. The fourth down play failed and the Chargers would run down the final seconds to stay unbeaten at 6-0. Triton fell to 4-2 after the heartbreaking loss.

Things of note:

• On a misty night, the crowd did not seem as big as I thought it would be. The cowbell contingent was there, but the crowd was mostly quiet until near the end of the third quarter. From our vantage point, you could hear the coaches yelling at the players on the field.
• There looked like there were a lot of students there. Unfortunately, they were all over by the concession stand behind the end zone and seemed disinterested in the game.
• The stadium had a nice layout, but the bleachers weren’t very high and it made it difficult to see the whole field. We would walk down from one end to the other a couple of times to see what was going on (note: this was easy to do while sitting on the visitors side). The sound system wasn’t very loud and you could barely hear it from the visitor’s side. Also, it’s not a good idea to play AC/DC while the opposing team’s quarterback is lying on the field with a knee injury.
• I enjoyed the band’s halftime show. I can’t really describe it, but they had a neat show design around the idea of “Escape.” I wished they would have played more and been more supportive of the team during the game. I heard “On Wisconsin” (their fight song) a total of about three times and the “Imperial March” once. That was it.
• The food was good, but a little over-priced. Hot dogs were $2.00, which was fine, but you had to pay $.50 extra for chili and slaw. Most concession stands would include the chili and slaw for no more than $2.00, so this was unheard of. The same went for nachos… if you wanted chili, you had to pay extra. I didn’t even think about getting a chicken sandwich, because they were $4.00. I wouldn’t be so aggravated about this except that when I wanted only slaw on my hot dog, I still got hit for $2.50. (Note: I expect these prices and higher at a college football game or a Durham Bulls game, but not for a high school football game).

Overall, I left this game with a weird feeling of “what if”. It was a great game, mind you, but what if Triton’s quarterback hadn’t been injured. Would it have changed the outcome of the game? It was definitely the turning point of the game. Also, I don’t know if it was the rain or what, but the experience fell short of my expectations based on the state playoff game we came to last year. Anyway, it turned out better than another game we had considered, so going to Northwood this week was a good idea.

Next week is our “home game,” if you can call it that. We’re staying in Durham as the Charles E. Jordan Falcons take on the Northern Durham Knights.

Our Football Friday stop this week was High Point, for the annual rivalry game between the High Point Central Bison and the T.W. Andrews Red Raiders.  This is the first game I’ve ever been to where both teams share the same stadium.  Andrews was the home team tonight, but if you were to look at the crowd, you would have thought it was the other way around.

The first half was full of defense, punts and lack of scoring as both teams took a 0-0 tie into the break.  High Point Central changed that, though, on the first play of the second half after they recovered a fumble and took it 40 yards to the end zone for a 6-0 lead after the fumbled extra point.  Andrews fell asleep on the ensuing kickoff as Central recovered the squib kick.  The teams exchanged turnovers before a 39 yard pass set up Central at the 1 yard line where they would score on the next play to make it 12-0 after a failed two-point conversion with eight minutes left in the third.  The Raiders fumble on their next possession, and a 34 yard pass leads to a Central 1 yard run to make it 19-0 with a little over three minutes left in the third.

While it was the Andrews turnovers that led to the Bison scoring in the third, bad penalties and a lousy secondary defense turned the game around for the Red Raiders.  After a 34 yard pass gave Andrews first and goal at the 2, the Raiders scored on the next play, one minute into the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to 19-6 after a failed two point conversion.  On the next Andrews possession, two 15 yard penalties gave the Raiders good field position and they scored 30 yard jailbreak screen pass with eight minutes left.  The line-drive extra point bounced off the cross bar leaving the score at 19-12.  Andrews would have one final possession for a chance to tie the game with a little over three minutes left, but after a nice 27 yard gain on the same play they scored on, they failed to gain any more yardage and Central ran out the clock.

Things of note:

• As mentioned earlier, both teams share A.J. Simeon Stadium at the High Point Athletic Complex for their home games.  An expected crowd of 8,000 turned out to be about 4,000, with weather playing a factor.  The Central (visitors) side was about 75% full while the Andrews (home) side was less than half full.
• High Point Central had a good-sized student section that covered the lower third of the seating area between the 40 yard lines.
• Concessions were pretty good, though the stand on the visitor’s side seemed crowded at times.  John commented that the hot dogs were above average and everything else was pre-packaged.  Also, it seemed that the chili made everything taste better.  I give the concession stand kudos for having Cheerwine in a can.  The only thing that would have been better is if it was Cheerwine in a bottle.
• I was a little disappointed to see the vulgarity among a couple of fans and on the part of the drum major for one of the bands.  A couple two rows down was making out throughout the game and the drum major for Central was humping the 50 yard line before the band came on the field.  Really… there’s no place for either one of those actions.
• I have never seen so much police presence at a game, but I guess with a rivalry like this, you need all the help you can get.

What was looking to be a snooze-fest at halftime turned into a pretty decent game, which you can generally expect out of rivalry games.  Central improves to 4-1 while Andrews falls to 2-3 as both teams prepare to enter conference play next week.  Also, games at municipal stadiums always seem to have a different feel than games at on-campus stadiums.  The same atmosphere can be found in Durham at County Stadium right down the road from where I live.  It was good to see this rivalry game between the main High Point schools, though.

Next week, we head east to Pikeville, NC in northern Wayne County to see the Charles B. Aycock Golden Falcons host the James B. Hunt Warriors out of Wilson.

Friday night was our first long road trip of the year as we headed to Morganton, NC to see the Freedom Patriots take on the East Burke Cavaliers.  It was my first time back to Freedom Stadium since October 1995 when I was there for a band competition that left a bitter taste in my mouth for this place which still lingers to this day.

East Burke started off the scoring, capping their 76 yard opening drive off with a 32 yard pass for a touchdown to go up 7-0 a little over four minutes in.  After recovering an onside kick, they went 48 yards in about a minute and a half and scored on a four yard pass to expand their lead to 14-0, and the tone for the game was set at that point.  They would score again on a four yard run to jump out 21-0 four minutes into the second quarter.  Their next possession, though, lead to their only real mistake as an interception was returned 50 yards by Freedom to cut the lead to 21-7.  The Cavaliers would answer back though, going 91 yards in a little over two minutes thanks to a 68 yard pass to take the 28-7 halftime lead.

East Burke wasted very little time in the third quarter, going 80 yards in a little over a minute and a half, scoring on a 24 yard option run to make it 35-7.  The teams would trade field goals late in the third and early in the fourth before Freedom scored their only offensive touchdown with 1:07 left as East Burke defeats the Patriots 38-16.

Things of note:

• This experience was along the lines of “this was good, but…”
• The hot dogs and hamburgers were good, but the setup of concessions created long waits and less than spectacular customer service.  The story is that due to health department concerns, they had to sell hamburgers and hot dogs off to the side of the concession stand and had outside venders come in to sell concessions as well.  Also, they ran out of peanuts by the end of the first quarter.
• The stadium layout was good, as we had a good view of the field, but bleachers were missing on most of the home side, leaving a lot of people to sit on concrete.  I’m not sure what the deal was there.  The scoreboard looked old.  The PA announcer was good, but was very loud considering we were sitting in front of the press box.
• The crowd was almost full on both sides, but the home side was definitely not into the game after the end of the first quarter and about half the people left at the end of the third.
• I enjoyed the band because they actually marched during halftime.  Freedom has always had a good band.  Before Patton High School was formed taking kids from Freedom, the Marching Patriots would march 225 without freshmen.  Now, they still march a respectable 122.
• The half-and-half was almost $350.00, which is good, but we didn’t win it.

I really thought this would be a better game than it turned out to be.  I’m not sure if Freedom’s program was hurt by the new high school that’s been built there or if they’re just having a down year.  East Burke looked strong and should be able to make a dent in the 2A playoffs.

I’m taking next week off for a medical appointment, so they’ll be no Football Friday post next weekend.  Hopefully, I’ll be back in two weeks with a new game.

Our Football Friday stop took us to Thomasville to see the defending I-AA State Champion Thomasville Bulldogs take on the defending I-A State Champion Mount Airy Bears.  The threat of rain lingered all throughout the game, and lightning was off in the distance when we arrived at the stadium.  Fortunately, the rain stayed north of I-85 and didn’t arrive until just after the final buzzer.

The tone of the night for Thomasville was set early as they fumbled on the opening kickoff, allowing Mount Airy to recover at the Bulldog 35 yard line.  Seven plays later, they scored on a ten yard run four minutes in to go up 7-0.  On the Bears’ next possession, a shanked two yard punt gave Thomasville the ball at the Bears 24, and the Bulldogs went on a seven play drive to score on a nine yard run with a little over three minutes left in the first to tie the game 7-7.

On Mount Airy’s next possession, they put together a 14 play, 79 yard drive and scored on a two yard run with just a little under seven minutes left.  The extra point was wide right and the Bears held a 13-7 lead.  After a Thomasville punt, Mount Airy fumbled the ball giving the Bulldogs good field position inside the Bears 40, but they fumbled the ball inside on the goal line on a potential score that would have tied or gave them the lead, and the Bears held a 13-7 halftime lead.

The third quarter belonged to Mount Airy as two touchdown 1 yard touchdown runs four minutes in and with thirteen seconds left in the quarter, plus a two-point conversion on the first touchdown, and at the end of the third, it was 28-7 Mount Airy.

Thomasville fought back, though, putting together an 11 play, 51 yard drive early in the fourth, which had a 40 yard pass on 4th and 12 that gave the Bulldogs 1st and goal at the Bears 1.  Two plays later, Thomasville scores on a three yard run and cuts the lead to 28-14.  A little over a minute later, the Bears snap the ball over the punters head and the ball trickles into the end zone, after a soccer-style attempt at kicking the ball out of the back of the end zone is missed by the punter, Thomasville recovers the ball and makes it a 28-21 game.

Thomasville had one final chance with about two minutes left to tie the game, but a 4th down pass went over the head of the receiver and Mount Airy burned all of Thomasville’s time-outs and the final minute and a half to seal a 28-21 victory.

Things of note:

• This was the first time I’ve been to a football game where the stadium is off-campus.  The stadium is about a mile down the road near the Armory in Thomasville.
• The facilities were good and the layout of the stadium was excellent.  There was no track to deal with, so if you are in the first few rows, you are almost right on top of the sideline.
• The Thomasville crowd was great, knowledgeable, and very much into the game.  Mount Airy brought a good crowd as well, which made it a great atmosphere for the game.
• The food was good, but there wasn’t much of a selection (as opposed to Western Alamance).
• I’m not much into step-bands, but Thomasville had a good sound to be so small (30 people, counting color guard and dance team).

This was a game between two fairly evenly-matched teams and the difference was that Mount Airy was the more disciplined team.  The turnovers on the opening kickoff and just before halftime really hurt Thomasville’s chances to make this a completely different ballgame.  Surprisingly, though, it was Mount Airy’s lack of discipline and bizarre play-calling in the fourth quarter that allowed Thomasville back into the game, but in the end the Bears did what the Bulldogs were not able to do, convert opportunities.  Both teams will be very good this year and will make deep playoff runs.

Next week, we take our first long road trip of the year as we head to Morganton to see the Freedom Patriots take on the East Burke Cavaliers.

High school football season began last night and our Yates Football Friday Crew (Jeff, John, John Mark, and myself) took off to Elon, NC to see the back-to-back defending state 2-AA champion Reidsville Rams put their 32 game winning streak on the line against the Western Alamance Warriors.

Western Alamance looked like a team that was prepared to pull off a shocker from the beginning, recovering an onside kick on the opening kickoff and marching down the field on a five minute drive scoring their only touchdown on a 13 yard pass to go up 7-0.  They attempted another onside kick on the following kickoff, but Reidsville was prepared and decided to show why they are back-to-back champions.  A little over a minute later, they scored on a 15 yard quarterback draw and made the 2-pt conversion to go up 8-7.

Things just fell apart for the Warriors after that.  Reidsville scored 3 touchdowns on a punt return and two fumble recoveries to take a 26-7 lead early in the second quarter.  After some trades in possession, the Rams score on a 14 yard pass with just before halftime to take a 33-7 lead into the locker room.

Jeff and I were standing on a patio area above the Warriors locker room as they came out to start the second half, and he commented that they looked like a beaten team.  After a three-and-out on their opening possession, the Warriors punter shanked a punt that went -8 yards, allowing the Rams to start their first possession of the second half on the Warrior 18 yard line.  Reidsville scored on their opening play to go up 41-7.  After another Warriors three and out, the six yard punt gave the Rams the ball deep in Warrior territory again and a 47-7 lead on a one yard run halfway through the third quarter.  Reidsville closed out the scoring on a 2 yard run halfway through the fourth quarter to go up by the final of 53-7, extending their win streak to 33.

Things I liked:

• Good crowd on both sides.  I say the stadium was relatively full and the Reidsville crowd traveled well.
• Food selection was good.  Everything from hot dogs, BBQ, Chick-fil-A, pizza, and it was all reasonably priced.
• Pretty good facilities.  No long lines for concessions considering there were plenty of stands.  Also, the patio area above the Warriors locker room gave an excellent view of the game.
• Western Alamance’s fight song is “Hail to the Redskins.”  Being a Redskins fan, I was amused.

Things I didn’t care much for:

• The band.  Okay, considered that I played in the band in high school and college, and was on the staff of a high school band in Salisbury at one time, I know a little of what I’m talking about here.  There seems to be a growing trend lately of bands not marching during halftime for the first couple of games.  I don’t like it, but I’ll deal with it.  The thing that bothered me more was that the band didn’t seem to get the flow of the game.  They played while the game action was going on (causing us to move from our seats to the patio area), and had a student rock band on the track playing as well.  If that’s your thing, it’s fine.  Yet, when your team just gave up a touchdown to go down 53-7, rocking out to some Reliant K probably isn’t the best choice at the time.  I will give the band kudos though for “Hail to the Redskins.”
• The speaker system at the stadium could use a little work.  Speakers were popping and cracking, along with going in and out throughout the game.  Also, a speaker or two by the patio area would be nice.
• The clock operator needs to pay attention.  After a couple of Reidsville touchdowns, the clock ran for a good 30 seconds before the referees noticed and stopped play.

All in all, it was a pretty good experience.  Reidsville is just on a whole different level and for a class 2A school, really could challenge some of the best 4A schools.  Western Alamance just had a bad night with turnovers and bad special teams.  I imagine they’ll rebound to have a good season and challenge in the 3A playoffs just two years removed from their own state championship.

Next week, Kevin and I head to Thomasville to see the defending 1-AA State Champion Thomasville Bulldogs face the defending I-A State Champion Mount Airy Bears.