Fuquay-Varina is much improved...conference champions last year (for the first time since '96), and this year's team is better still, with a good shot at 8-3 or 9-2 going into the playoffs. This Garner team will go a long way; even with their best defensive player out, they made the plays they needed to win.

9/16/2006 10:38:17 AM

wow millbrook sucks so bad now...i saw earl smith yesterday in north raleigh, he was truly responsible for millbrook being good and him leaving is truly the cause for them sucking now

9/16/2006 10:51:58 AM

Surry Central 0
Eastern Randolph 34


Let the good times roll on! Conference play starts next week

9/16/2006 11:26:44 AM

Surprised noone has mentioned Independence...

They won 21-20 over Vance last night...

Indy had a 21-0 lead and Vance came back to score 3 touchdowns. After the 3rd TD, they opted to go for 2 and the win instead of the extra point. The 2-point conversion failed and Indy held on to win.

9/16/2006 11:50:06 AM

Thomasville baby like at least 1 state championship in football/basketball/soccer these last four years in our division

9/16/2006 12:51:54 PM

East Lincoln 30
Lake Norman 20

4-1 for the Mustangs, with a big matchup (potentially for the Conference Championship) vs North Lincoln this Friday.

^^Yeah, that was surprising. Vance is good, but I didn't think they were good enough to compete with Indy (though they are beatable this year). However, I don't understand them going for 2 at the end. They had all the momentum, and were shutting the Patriots down. I think they would have stopped Independence in OT if it went that far.

9/17/2006 10:56:25 PM

http://www.saintx.com/athletics_highlights.asp?Sport=Football&Team=Varsity&ID=1&Archive=True

http://www.saintx.com/athletics_schedule.asp?Sport=Football&Team=Varsity&ID=1&Season=FALL

still winning....

9/17/2006 10:58:11 PM

This week's rankings...for the first time in a while, Independence isn't #1.

The Fantastic 50 (W-L) Rating (Change)
1) Rose (4-0) 125.5 (-0.1, Up 1)
2) Grimsley (5-0) 124.8 (+1.4, Up 3)
3) Independence (4-0) 124.5 (-1.3, Dn 2)
4) A.C. Reynolds (5-0) 123.5 (-0.2, Unch)
5) E. Randolph (5-0) 123.4 (-1.0, Dn 2)
6) Shelby (4-0) 122.5 (+0.4, Up 2)
7) Davie County (5-0) 121.9 (-0.4, Dn 1)
8) Thomasville (5-0) 121.8 (-0.5, Dn 1)
9) Richmond County (4-0) 121.7 (+0.6, Up 1)
10) Wallace-Rose Hill (4-0) 121.2 (-0.4, Dn 1)
11) Dudley (4-1) 120.5 (+2.2, Up 2)
12) Cummings (4-1) 120.3 (+4.0, Up 6)
13) Scotland County (3-1) 119.2 (+0.9, Dn 1)
14) Hoggard (4-0) 118.2 (+1.0, Up 1)
15) Brevard (5-0) 118.1 (+4.2, Up 19)
16) Carver (4-1) 117.9 (+3.8, Up 17)
17) Charlotte Latin (4-0) 117.4 (+1.0, Unch)
18) W. Alamance (4-1) 116.8 (-3.0, Dn 7)
19) Crest (3-1) 116.7 (Unch, Dn 3)
20) South View (5-0) 116.3 (+0.4, Up 1)
21) Butler (3-1) 116.0 (+0.6, Up 2)
22) Seventy-First (3-1) 116.0 (+1.1, Up 4)
23) Maiden (5-0) 115.9 (+3.5, Up 19)
24) E. Bladen (4-0) 115.8 (+1.0, Up 4)
25) Reidsville (3-1) 115.7 (+1.0, Up 4)
26) Harnett Central (4-0) 115.6 (-0.5, Dn 7)
27) East Wake (4-0) 115.5 (+1.0, Up 3)
28) W. Rowan (3-1) 115.5 (+0.7, Dn 1)
29) Parkland (5-0) 115.3 (-0.5, Dn 7)
30) Wakefield (5-0) 115.2 (+1.4, Up 6)
31) Anson (4-1) 115.1 (+0.7, Up 1)
32) New Bern (3-1) 114.8 (-0.3, Dn 7)
33) Rocky Mount (4-1) 114.5 (Unch, Dn 2)
34) James Kenan (4-0) 114.3 (+0.5, Up 3)
35) Brown (5-0) 113.9 (+1.0, Up 5)
36) Franklin (5-0) 113.9 (-2.3, Dn 16)
37) Asheville (1-2) 113.7 (-3.5, Dn 23)
38) Hunter Huss (4-0) 113.7 (-0.1, Dn 3)
39) Elkin (5-0) 113.6 (Unch, Dn 1)
40) Roberson (4-1) 113.5 (+0.1, Dn 1)
41) Vance (3-2) 113.4 (+2.2, Up 7)
42) Char. Country Day (3-1) 112.8 (Unch, Dn 1)
43) Pisgah (4-0) 112.5 (+0.8, Up 3)
44) Garner (4-1) 112.2 (+1.3, New)
45) Greene Central (4-0) 112.1 (-3.2, Dn 21)
46) SW Edgecombe (4-0) 111.9 (+1.8, New)
47) N. Mecklenburg (4-1) 111.8 (-0.4, Dn 3)
48) S. Durham (3-1) 111.7 (+1.4, New)
49) Char. Catholic (3-2) 111.1 (+0.1, Up 1)
50) Providence (2-2) 111.0 (+2.5, New)
Dropped out:
#43 Glenn (Lost to W. Forsyth by 8)
#45 N. Forsyth (Lost to Carver by 28+)
#47 Newton-Conover (Lost to Maiden by 14)
#49 Clinton (Lost to E. Bladen by 3)

9/18/2006 9:24:02 AM

did Athens make the playoffs last year?

I know they had a pretty good RB

as far as I know they haven't been to the playoffs since my senior year

we used to be a decent team

9/18/2006 10:20:16 AM

so indy is 3rd in the state but 5th in the nation

9/18/2006 11:36:13 AM

I doubt you'll see Indy in any national top-five lists this week. They were a 2-point conversion away from losing to a decent, but not great, team last Friday.

Athens hasn't made the playoffs in a while:
Last year, they were 2-9 (beating E. Chapel Hill & Knightdale)
2004: 1-10 (Sanderson)
2003: 1-10 (Riverside)
2002: 2-9 (South Johnston, and a forfeit over Garner in a game lost 70-6 on the field)
2001: 1-10 (South Johnston)
2000: 2-8 (Green Hope, Enloe)

That's as far back as the records go on the site I'm looking at. This year, they have a decent shot at winning as many games (9) as they've won in the last 6 years combined. Their first big test of the year is Friday at Fuquay-Varina...it should be a great game!

9/18/2006 10:57:56 PM

^^^^^

hey OmarBadu, half my family lives in Louisville and my cousins played for Saint X. That's awesome

9/19/2006 12:37:16 AM

Friday's big games locally...
#48 Southern Durham (3-1) at Northern Durham (3-1) -- A big rivalry game, & should be close
Athens Drive (5-0) at Fuquay-Varina (3-2) -- This will be easily the best team AD has faced
Lee County (3-2) at Cary (3-2) -- Lee RB Rashon Kennedy (413 yds., 5 TD last week) is terrific

Statewide...
#15 Brevard (5-0) at #6 Shelby (4-0) -- 2A Shelby has already beaten 4A power Crest
#36 Franklin (5-0) at #40 Asheville Roberson (4-1) -- two of the top five teams in the mountains
#45 Greene Central (4-0) at #34 James Kenan (4-0)
#10 Wallace-Rose Hill (5-0) at East Carteret (4-0)
#31 Anson County (4-1) at Parkwood (4-0)
North Gaston (5-0) at #38 Hunter Huss (4-0)
Bunn (5-0) at Nash Central (5-0)

9/20/2006 7:20:43 PM

I graduated in 96... thats the last year we made the playoffs

SE raleigh opened and better players went there instead of Athens

[Edited on September 20, 2006 at 7:30 PM. Reason : back when we were good!!!!]

9/20/2006 7:30:12 PM

southern northern should be a good game

9/20/2006 8:11:04 PM

With 5 wins, Athens has locked up a playoff spot. A win over Fuquay-Varina this week would put them in the middle of the Tri-7 conference championship race.

9/20/2006 9:20:51 PM

I thought about going back when I had some spare time and being an assistant coach

9/21/2006 4:49:52 PM

damn, wake county sure ain't producin this year


Garner's better than 41st or 44th or whatever they have them ranked, without a doubt. I'm goin down there Friday night to check out Culliver and Oglesby. (my cousin is on homecoming court also.

BTW- Lee will run all over Cary. Cary's top two defensive backs have missed the last few games with injuries.

[Edited on September 21, 2006 at 4:53 PM. Reason : rr]

9/21/2006 4:51:36 PM

Garner will have the reserves in by halftime. 0-5 Clayton will be the cure for the Trojans' struggles.

9/21/2006 8:02:00 PM

^ One loss is a struggle?

9/22/2006 7:31:32 AM

A loss to a mediocre team, followed by a come-from-behind, 4-point victory over a team you beat 48-13 the year before, is struggling, at least by Garner's lofty standards.

9/22/2006 8:04:23 AM

True. But, FV has improved a LOT since last year. Not to mention the 6'8" o-line recruit they have.

9/22/2006 12:38:54 PM

I'm the PA announcer at F-V, so I know they've improved a little, although last year's FV team (that Garner destroyed) was a conference champion, too. Sam Jones, the NCSU recruit, wasn't especially impressive last week, and one offensive lineman can only do so much anyway. Best of luck to Garner!

9/22/2006 1:02:56 PM

I want to know how North Gaston isn't in that top 50. They're allowing 5 points a game, while scoring 42 a game (against some decent teams). That game vs Hunter Huss ought to be good.

East Lincoln VS North Lincoln may be one of the big games (especially to me), with possibly the top 2 QBs in the state (Payton Brady Vs. Trent Hopkins) facing off. Brady has completed 72% of his passes, including 25 of 30 last week. Hopkins is also putting up big numbers.

9/22/2006 2:03:41 PM

North Gaston's situation is a lot like Athens Drive's. NG is undefeated, but against a weak schedule (all five opponents have a losing record, two of them are winless). A win against Hunter Huss would go along way toward getting them at least ranked in the 3A top-15, and might put them into the overall top-50. I think they have a decent shot of winning...I have Huss favored by only 4. East Lincoln vs. North Lincoln appear to be two well-matched teams...that should be a good game, too.

http://www4.ncsu.edu/~rdpasteu/football

9/22/2006 2:49:17 PM

Harnett Central 49
South Johnston 19

We're rollin'

9/22/2006 3:00:38 PM

^When is Cox committin' to the Pack?

9/22/2006 3:45:49 PM

In my opinion, high school football is alot more exciting than college and pro ball

9/22/2006 3:55:00 PM

High school football is best to watch in person, college is second (but first sometimes because of tailgating) and i don't know about nfl since i've never been to a pro game.

9/22/2006 8:13:24 PM

Garner won 35-7 over Clayton

it was 35-0 at halftime..so they put in the scrubs for the whole 2nd half and just ran up the middle

and if Cox commits to the Pack, it will be in a position other than QB

[Edited on September 22, 2006 at 9:38 PM. Reason : yep]

9/22/2006 9:38:04 PM

^i left at the half. Garner was 20times better than Clayton at all aspects of the game. Garner looked Damn good.

Oglesby and Culliver are bigtime. Hopefully Culliver goes back on his original commitment and sticks with the Pack, although I think he could be Clemson bound.

9/22/2006 10:05:45 PM

SW Randolph 0
Eastern Randolph 55

Oh thats how we do baby, 6-0

9/22/2006 10:42:18 PM

Friday's big games locally...
#48 Southern Durham 20, Northern Durham 10
Fuquay-Varina 35, Athens Drive 21
Cary 35, Lee 6

Statewide...
#6 Shelby 23, #15 Brevard 3
#36 Franklin 20, #40 Asheville Roberson 17
#34 James Kenan 21, #45 Greene Central 8
#10 Wallace-Rose Hill 42, East Carteret 7
#31 Anson County 31, Parkwood 30
#38 Hunter Huss 28, North Gaston 21
Bunn 42, Nash Central 14

[Edited on September 23, 2006 at 12:05 AM. Reason : Update]

9/22/2006 11:45:55 PM

Southern Wayne 29 Southern Nash 18

9/23/2006 12:07:29 AM

yaye for southern

9/23/2006 12:22:29 AM

East Lincoln 40
North Lincoln 28

East comes back from 21-12 down to roll in the 2nd half. Up next is Lincolnton, who survived 21-18 against South Iredell. If East wins Friday, chances are they will win the conference.

It was also a bad night for North Lincoln's band. About 1/3 of their band fell at halftime when two groups collided in their formations. Later, someone in the band got hit by a missed field goal.

9/23/2006 12:45:21 AM

Hertford County Bears rolled 55-0

9/23/2006 11:15:33 AM

^^
Athens Drive old coach is coaching at East Lincoln. I went by to see him this week and East Lincoln looks like a pretty good team. Crisp practice, from what I saw.

9/23/2006 11:24:50 AM

Cary blasting Lee 35-6 is a surprise, especially after Lee's star Rashon Kennedy ran for 413 yds. and 5 TD the previous week. Also, Sanderson over previously undefeated Wakefield is a big upset.

9/23/2006 1:08:47 PM

^^Yeah, he has really turned things around there. We had a good coach when I played there. He then went to Myers Park. For the next couple of years, we had a coach who didn't know shit about the game. In 2 seasons, he won 5 games. Then, Coach Byus came in, and turned things around. They started 0-4 last season, with a brutal OOC schedule. Since that point, they have gone 12-3, with the 3 losses being to eventual 2A runner-up Lincolnton, 2A semi-finalist Forest Hills, and Newton-Conover this year, who is in the 2A top 10. You ought to come to the Lincolnton game Friday evening. It's going to be a hell of a game.

9/24/2006 12:16:27 AM

^ Where is Mike Byus coaching now? He was an assistant when I was at Enloe in the early 90s.

9/25/2006 11:31:00 AM

My cousin Garrett kicked a 47 yard field goal for North Johnston Friday night

new school record

9/25/2006 11:33:58 AM

^^
Hes at East Lincoln. Im in Robbinsville for work today and they love him here. He used to coach here as well.

9/25/2006 12:35:22 PM

Quote :

"^^^^^ hey OmarBadu, half my family lives in Louisville and my cousins played for Saint X. That's awesome"

it's not a bad school - some girls would make it better though - on another note we're still winning

9/25/2006 12:57:18 PM

This week's all-classifications rankings

The Fantastic 50 (W-L) Rating (Change)
1) Rose (5-0) 125.8 (+0.4, Unch)
2) Shelby (5-0) 124.6 (+2.1, Up 4)
3) Independence (5-0) 124.1 (-0.3, Unch)
4) Wallace-Rose Hill (5-0) 123.8 (+2.6, Up 6)
5) Grimsley (5-0) 123.6 (-1.2, Dn 3)
6) A.C. Reynolds (6-0) 123.3 (-0.2, Dn 2)
7) E. Randolph (6-0) 122.3 (-1.1, Dn 2)
8) Thomasville (6-0) 121.9 (+0.1, Unch)
9) Davie County (6-0) 121.7 (-0.2, Dn 2)
10) Richmond County (5-0) 121.6 (-0.1, Dn 1)
11) Cummings (5-1) 120.8 (+0.5, Up 1)
12) Dudley (5-1) 120.5 (+0.1, Dn 1)
13) Hoggard (5-0) 119.8 (+1.7, Up 1)
14) Crest (4-1) 118.6 (+1.9, Up 5)
15) Charlotte Latin (5-0) 118.0 (+0.6, Up 2)
16) Carver (5-1) 117.7 (-0.2, Unch)
17) Scotland County (4-1) 117.4 (-1.7, Dn 4)
18) South View (6-0) 117.0 (+0.7, Up 2)
19) Seventy-First (4-1) 116.6 (+0.7, Up 3)
20) James Kenan (5-0) 116.4 (+2.1, Up 14)
21) W. Alamance (5-1) 116.1 (-0.7, Dn 3)
22) Butler (4-1) 116.1 (Unch, Dn 1)
23) Brevard (5-1) 116.0 (-2.1, Dn 8)
24) Rocky Mount (5-1) 115.7 (+1.2, Up 9)
25) E. Bladen (5-0) 115.7 (-0.2, Dn 1)
26) Reidsville (4-1) 115.6 (Unch, Dn 1)
27) Harnett Central (5-0) 115.6 (-0.1, Dn 1)
28) Asheville (2-2) 115.3 (+1.6, Up 9)
29) W. Rowan (4-1) 115.2 (-0.3, Dn 1)
30) Franklin (6-0) 115.1 (+1.3, Up 6)
31) East Wake (5-0) 114.9 (-0.6, Dn 4)
32) New Bern (4-1) 114.8 (Unch, Unch)
33) Parkland (6-0) 114.8 (-0.5, Dn 4)
34) Maiden (6-0) 114.8 (-1.1, Dn 11)
35) Anson (5-1) 114.5 (-0.6, Dn 4)
36) Hunter Huss (5-0) 114.5 (+0.7, Up 2)
37) Vance (4-2) 113.4 (Unch, Up 4)
38) Pisgah (5-0) 113.3 (+0.9, Up 5)
39) S. Durham (4-1) 113.3 (+1.7, Up 9)
40) Char. Country Day (4-1) 113.3 (+0.4, Up 2)
41) Char. Catholic (4-2) 113.1 (+2.0, Up 8)
42) Bunn (6-0) 112.9 (+4.2, New)
43) Elkin (6-0) 112.0 (-1.6, Dn 4)
44) Garner (5-1) 111.9 (-0.3, Unch)
45) Roberson (4-2) 111.9 (-1.7, Dn 5)
46) W. Forsyth (4-2) 111.8 (+1.3, New)
47) Hertford County (5-1) 111.7 (+3.4, New)
48) N. Mecklenburg (4-1) 111.6 (-0.2, Dn 1)
49) Jack Britt (3-2) 111.3 (+2.3, New)
50) SW Edgecombe (5-0) 111.3 (-0.6, Dn 4)
Dropped out:
#30 Wakefield (Lost to Sanderson by 4)
#35 Brown (Lost to Sun Valley by 7)
#45 Greene Central (Lost to James Kenan by 13)
#50 Providence (Beat S. Mecklenburg by 5)

9/25/2006 5:11:07 PM

I see 3 interesting games in Wake Co. between good teams this week...
#31 East Wake (5-0) at SE Raleigh (4-2) -- These two, & Garner, battle for Greater Neuse conf. title
Leesville Road (4-1) at Broughton (4-2) -- Much-improved Leesville could win Cap-7 conference
Cary (4-2) at Athens Drive (5-1) -- With pass-happy AD, every game can be a shootout

The top games around the state...
#48 N. Mecklenburg (4-1) at #2 Shelby (5-0) -- 2A Shelby may have the state's best defense
#49 Jack Britt (3-2) at #19 Seventy-First (4-1) -- Two of Fayetteville's best do battle
#6 A.C. Reynolds (6-0) at Alexander Central (5-0) -- Is Alexander Central for real?
#9 Davie County (6-0) at Winston-Salem Mt. Tabor (4-2) -- Usually solid Mt. Tabor is down this year

Upset watch...
Morganton Freedom (0-4) at Watauga (6-0) -- Strength-of-schedule makes these teams fairly even

Blowout watch...
E. Montgomery (1-4) at #8 Thomasville (6-0) -- 1AA T'ville beat defending 2A champ Clinton 36-0
Pinecrest (0-5) at #10 Richmond Co. (5-0) -- Patriots nearly disbanded the team for lack of players
#20 James Kenan (5-0) at Dixon (0-5) -- Dixon has lost 32 in a row, 2nd-longest active streak in NC

9/28/2006 9:33:18 AM

some people follow high school football a little too closely....

9/28/2006 9:34:24 AM

^ LOL...I used to be a coach at one of the local schools, before going back to school at NCSU. The rankings I post on here are carried by the commercial site NCpreps.com, in addition to being on my web page.

9/28/2006 9:42:38 AM

Garner is DAMN good. No way there are 43 better teams in this state.

9/28/2006 11:58:40 AM

Important local games...
SE Raleigh 31, #31 East Wake 29 -- SER upsets undefeated EW in the Greater Neuse Conf.
Leesville Road 46, Broughton 38 -- Coming from far behind, Leesville takes the Cap-7 lead
Athens Drive 21, Cary 15 -- A huge win for AD, after they lost to Cary 77-7 two years ago
Millbrook 12, Wakefield 10 -- After a 5-0 start, Wakefield has been upset two weeks in a row
Fuquay-Varina 10, Middle Creek 7 -- A 32-yard FG with no time left wins it for FV

Statewide...
#2 Shelby 14, #48 N. Mecklenburg 7 -- It's not an impressive score, but Shelby survives
#19 Seventy-First 33, #49 Jack Britt 19 -- Bob Paroli has 71st rolling
#6 A.C. Reynolds 28, Alexander Central 10 -- Both undefeated coming into the evening
Winston-Salem Mt. Tabor 24, #9 Davie County 21 -- One of the night's big upsets
Purnell Swett 22, #18 South View 21 (OT) -- An even bigger upset

Upset watch...
Watauga 14, Morganton Freedom 7 -- Undefeated Watauga survives against winless Freedom

Blowout watch...
#8 Thomasville 49, E. Montgomery 0
#10 Richmond Co. 59, Pinecrest 6 -- A moral victory for Pinecrest in getting on the scoreboard

9/29/2006 11:41:57 PM