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Couple big upsets tonight (Western Alamance, we hardly knew ye!) and a lot of one-sided games. Some quick thoughts before I swan dive into bed:

-Eastern Guilford took a big step forward tonight by knocking off Southeast. The Wildcats are going to be able to score points in bunches with Jason Davis and Gerrod Herbin, so you can never really rule them out of a game. Even money they beat Northeast next week.

-I watched the Rams get handled by Page tonight in their opener. Northeast is clearly young and it showed, but they're talented and they'll still win their share of games with running backs like Reyshawn Trader and a defense that's got some playmakers.

-The Pirates? Wow. I know Grimsley's looked good two weeks in a row, but I'd have to take Page as Metro 4-A favorites right now. Their defense looked darn near unbeatable for most of tonight, and Will Newman is about as good a quarterback as you're going to see at the high school level. Some very nice playcalling tonight, as well.

-Just got off the phone with Northwest coach Joe Woodruff, whose team beat Western 14-13 tonight despite 17 penalties. That was a huge concern for Woodruff, who said he went on a "galactic meltdown on them at halftime." Still, big accomplishment for Northwest, which is 2-0 for the first time since 2001, the last season it beat Western. The Vikings are on the road next week at Ragsdale, which also needed a little luck to stay undefeated tonight. Woodruff said he'll be up at 4 a.m. to start planning. "That's why God created energy drinks," he said.

-Big, big win for Dudley tonight rallying past Richmond County. A road win against a perennial power like that at this point of the season should be all the proof anyone needs that this team can contend for the state title again.

-Two other Grimsley players who impressed me but didn't get mentioned in Friday's story: Linebacker Andre Oliver, a big hitter who moves exceptionally well for his size, and kicker Joe Rossabi, a first-year soccer convert who's 12-for-12 on extra points and deserves some love after I misspelled his name in the paper.