High school football follow
First off, win or lose against Page, it was good to see Ragsdale pull itself together and turn in an outstanding game a week after the death of beloved assistant coach Ronnie Smith.
In fact, the Tigers did win 22-14, and Ladarious Canty's 99-yard TD reception played a big role in the victory. He told our reporter, Rob Daniels, that he wouldn't allow himself to be caught from behind on the play because he heard the voice of coach Smith telling him, 'If you get caught, I've got something for you.'"
Mighty Nine impact games:
Reidsville continues to prove itself a worthy No. 1 team in the area -- and in the state 2-A poll -- by rolling past a decent Rockingham County team 61-7 after laying Cummings to waste a week earlier. The Cavaliers are at risk of dropping out of the Mighty Nine after following that 36-16 loss with a 26-0 clunker against Eastern Alamance.
Thomasville extended its winning streak to 40 with a 12-7 squeaker against Albemarle. That's now the longest streak in the state, as Greenville JH Rose lost to Rocky Mount. Charlotte Independence saw its 109-game streak snapped a week earlier against Cincinnati Elder. The Bulldogs play 2-2 North Rowan this week.
Despite a lot of penalties -- two touchdowns were called back -- Grimsley improved to 4-0 with a 27-6 romp over Andrews. Likewise, Glenn, now 4-0, just seems to be getting stronger and stronger.
Dudley had no problems with Smith after solving the Eagles' bizarre three-man offensive line, 6-receiver set. More on that later this week. The Panthers won the Saturday-night tilt 50-7 in front of between 7,000-8,000 fans at Jamieson Stadium. ...
Not a bad crowd given how far Smith's program has fallen since Tony McKee's departure as coach.
That's a good split at the gate for the two schools, especially given that they got to play in the Guilford County Schools-owned stadium at no cost. Smith was responsible for security and clean-up. No word on whether the school put the Junior ROTC to work, as Page does the next when it's the home team against Grimsley at Jamieson. But Grimsley AD Lewis Newman reported no problems, just a good, well-behaved crowd.
As I'd reported earlier, Grimsley has raised a lot of private dollars to renovate and upgrade 58-year-old Jamieson Stadium over the years with some help from Greensboro College but little financial support from the county schools. (GC pays the county $350 for each of its home games at Jamieson and has a contract to play there through 2007.)
County bond money does help with upkeep, though. The Board of Education approved $11.3 million for Grimsley renovations in June as a part of its '07 bond projects package. That includes renovations to Jamieson Stadium as well as Grimsley's main gym. How the money will be allocated has yet to be determined, but Newman says the top priority for Jamieson is replacing the visitors-side bathrooms.