Home > Jessie Nunery > Archives > 2008 > September > 05 > Entry
Strange day for Gryphons athletics
Finally, smarter heads prevailed. Rocky Mount High and Northern Vance did not play football Friday night as Tropical Storm Hanna approached the state. If it were up to the Gryphons, the game would have been postponed much sooner than shortly after 3 p.m. Friday when the word came down that the game would be rescheduled to Oct. 2.
I’m not sure what the Northern Vance coaching staff/administration was thinking on this one. There’s no question the game could have/should have been played Thursday night, well before poor weather took over the Central and Eastern parts of the state. Safety should come first for these athletes, and I’m not just talking about on-the-field safety. There was no way that the Gryphons should have even had to think about getting on a bus and traveling dangerous highways. Not only the players, but think of all the parents who would have to travel to see their children play. It’s a nonconference high school football game. It’s not worth it.
Gryphons athletics director Mike Gainey has been in contact with sports editor Ben Jones and staff writer Matt LaWell this week. Gainey told Jones earlier in the week that he wanted the game to be moved up or postponed, but the Northern Vance folks had not done so. Gainey told LaWell over the phone Friday afternoon that if the Gryphons were going to travel to Henderson, they would’ve done so without cheerleaders. That was excellent thinking by Gainey, who obviously understood that less students traveling would be a good thing.
In the end, the teams share an open date, making the decision easy to reschedule. Too bad it took too long to make the right choice. I’m just glad the folks at Northern Vance finally came to their senses.
So the Gryphons used an ineligible player in their 43-14 victory over East Forsyth on Aug. 22? I was surprised, but these things do happen. It’s a shame Rocky Mount will have a “loss” on its record, but at least the infraction was caught before the season went any further. Imagine the fallout if this wasn’t uncovered until midseason.
I’m not excusing what happened, and I’m sure coach B.W. Holt, his staff and the athletics department are not happy about the violation, but the team has to, and will, move on. Rocky Mount will not lose seeding priority over the violation since it occurred during an endowment game. The fact is that the Gryphons are still undefeated on the field, and the team will move on without the ineligible player.
It’s a shame, but players in all sports are lost due to eligibility. It happens at every school whether the athlete is a Gryphon, Bulldog, Knight, Eagle, Jaguar, Firebird, etc. Coaches and parents can only do so much. It’s up to the student to earn the grades.
Finally, on an eventful day at Rocky Mount High, word came down that the Gryphons’ annual Easter baseball tournament will not be held in the spring for the first time in more than 30 years. Scheduling conflicts with Nash-Rocky Mount Schools Spring/Easter Break left the Gryphons without opportunity to book enough teams for the eight-team field.
This would have been a great tournament, especially with Rocky Mount as the defending 3-A state champions. I was looking forward to seeing if the Gryphons could have booked a prominent team from the state or the country to come in and give them and the other teams in the area some decent competition.
Well, maybe local baseball teams can get that full week at the beach they usually crave around that time. Or perhaps, not. I’m sure the coaches have other ideas. Get ready guys. You might not be playing at Rocky Mount, but you will probably be playing somewhere.
Comments
By Practical Sam
September 6, 2008 11:08 AM | Link to this
Jessie, well stated.