Rocky Mount High School | Archive | December, 2016

Rocky Mount High’s Michelle Gainey is the 2016 Telegram All-Area Volleyball Player of the year.

The Gainey family didn’t have much of a choice.

As teachers and basketball coaches at Rocky Mount High School, afternoon and evening babysitting options were not ideal for a family with two small children.

So it became a regular occurrence every late fall and winter that M.J. Gainey and his little sister, Michelle, were junior members of their parents’ teams.

“I could lay a blanket down for Michelle on the gym floor, and she’d fall asleep right there,” said Pam Gainey, the school’s girls’ basketball coach for more than the past two decades.

It would make sense given that bit of information, that Michelle Gainey, now a senior at the school, would have turned out to become a player who lives and breathes bouncing or playing ball of some kind.

That would not accurately describe Michelle, who despite growing up immersed in Gryphons athletics, has really just started coming into her own as an athlete.

The Telegram’s 2016 All-Area Volleyball Player of the Year is not the always-outgoing person that her father is, nor is she the more reserved, yet intense personality her mother displays as a coach.

Michelle is her own person.

“I’m not like either of them,” Michelle said. “I’m more laid back and quiet. I take my time. I do what I can. When it happens, it happens.”

Despite attending years of practices and games, when it came time to pick a sport, Michelle chose cheerleading – or so she tried.

The Gaineys allowed Michelle to be a part of a step team, but in the process, gave her basketball training on the side so that she would be prepared if the urge to play developed.

Volleyball was first, and as a seventh-grader, she began embracing the sport.

“It was more fun, and there wasn’t as much running,” Michelle said.

Now, Michelle is part volleyball and basketball player. Her 233 kills this season were an area-high as she helped lead the Gryphons to a second-place finish in the Big East.

She was versatile and willing to play wherever needed, as she showed an ability to be an above-average setter and hitter during the past two seasons for the Gryphons.

“My goal was just to help the team have a decent season,” Michelle said. “It wasn’t for myself.”

With that said, she stepped a little more out of her comfort zone this season by trying to embrace her leadership role. The program’s best player the past two seasons – Natalya Cannie – had graduated, and the Gryphons needed a new voice.

Michelle has understood schemes and strategies like a coach’s daughter, but leading others was something new and still is developing.

Pam Gainey said she would like to see her daughter speak up some more during basketball season, and perhaps volleyball season has been the first step.

It’s not easy for a player who hasn’t had a sports-first mentality.

“Michelle is a different young lady,” Mike Gainey said. “She enjoys sports, but that’s not her first thing in life. There is no stress on her.”

Michelle aspires to be a neo-natal nurse, and said she could see herself coaching in some form in the future.

As much as Michelle might resemble a younger version of her mother, she is different, but she will leave Rocky Mount High School next spring having absorbed a love for the place that helped raise her.

“It’s a family, I love it,” Michelle said. “That’s who I am.”

ALL-AREA VOLLEYBALL TEAM

Michelle Gainey, Sr., Rocky Mount High: Gainey finished with area-highs in kills (233) and digs (219) in helping the Gryphons earn a 3-A state playoffs berth.

Asia Jones, Sr., Rocky Mount High: Jones was on the basis of the attack for the Gryphons, completing her final season with an area-high 304 assists. She also had 159 digs and 80 kills.

Ashlee Brackett, Jr. Northern Nash: Brackett a solid all-around game with 90 kills, 65 blocks, 29 digs and 41 aces.

Keyanna Spivey, Sr., Rocky Mount High: Spivey had 85 kills and 28 blocks in her final season.

Ashley Hatfield, Sr., Rocky Mount High: Hatfield finished with 158 kills, 123 digs and 50 aces for the Gryphons, who finished in a tie for second place in the Big East Conference.

Honorable Mention

Robbi Allen, Jr. Nash Central; Tiffany Chandler, So., Rocky Mount Academy; Starr Clarke, Sr., Southern Nash; Abigail Cowart, Jr., Southern Nash; Lauren Fassnacht, Jr.,Southern Nash; Carisha Leonard, Jr., Nash Central; J.D. Mattocks, Sr., Rocky Mount High; Jenna Mckenney, So. Northern Nash; Anna Reese Vick, Sr., Rocky Mount High; Ashley Wollett, Sr., Northern Nash

By Jessie Nunery
Sports Editor for Rocky Mount Telegram

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

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Rocky Mount High’s Sherrod Greene, left, tackles Belmont South Point’s Jake Alexander during a run Saturday in the NCHSAA 3-A state championship game at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem. Alexander rushed 28 times for 135 yards on Saturday.

WINSTON-SALEM — Belmont South Point’s playoff performances created a daunting perception of the team.

Scoring 172 points while only allowing six in the four-game stretch leading to the 3-A title game, the Raiders appeared unstoppable.

Rocky Mount High sent a reminder on Saturday that South Point was mortal in a 16-7 loss. The Gryphons held off multiple scoring touchdowns and kept the Raiders offense contained as long as it could, allowing 206 yards.

South Point’s offense had possession on the Rocky Mount side of the field six times, and the Gryphons restricted an offense that averaged 43 points per playoff game to 16. The defense propped up the team long enough to give the Gryphons a 4-point lead at halftime.

“They were doing some things to sort of deceive us and confuse our quarterback reads a little bit, and we were hitting people, but we weren’t getting movement,” South Point coach Mickey Lineberger said. “. . . Big 44 (Sherrod Greene), he has got a lot to do with that. He is a great football player, and we weren’t blocking him much in the first half.

“He had a daggum field day.”

The Gryphons took the fullback and quarterback runs away from the Raiders’ triple-option attack, using defensive speed to prevent chances at big plays. Rocky Mount forced runs to the outside and also looked to deliver hits. During South Point’s first drive of the game, Two plays defined the Gryphons’ approach.

On a third-down run to the left, Rocky Mount linebacker Rod’quon White blasted South Point quarterback Scottie Lee as he pitched the ball. Running back Nick Farmer grabbed it, but he was immediately stuffed with a big hit from Detrell Revis.

The following play, a fourth and 1, Greene nailed Lee on a scramble attempt and a turnover on downs. The Gryphons roared from the sideline.

After South Point scored its first field goal for a 3-0 lead, the Raiders defense picked off Shabios Lynch. But Rocky Mount’s defense came right back by snatching the ball back on a Detrell Revis interception.

“I believe that the whole defense as a unit, we gave it all that we got,” senior defensive tackle Thomas Battle said. “They just capitalized on our mistakes out there.

“We just came up short and basically gave it our all.”

Eventually, the defense could only hold for so much longer. South Point took the second half kickoff into Gryphons territory and got a field goal. The Raiders tossed a passing touchdown the next drive. South Point’s Jake Alexander rushed for 135 yards, 109 in the second half to break the offense free.

Greene, a South Carolina commit, finished with a game-high 14 tackles in his final high school game. Three of the Gryphons’ top five tacklers were part of the 2017 class. Senior defensive end Artavious Richardson, who had 1 1/2 tackles for loss, said the loss doesn’t diminish what the Gryphons accomplished.

“People didn’t expect us to probably make it to the second round, and we made it to the championship,” Richardson said. “Yeah, it is going to hurt, but we have got to look where we started and how we improved.”

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Rocky Mount High’s K.K. Edwards, right, is tackled by Belmont South Point’s Nathan Silver following a reception Saturday in the NCHSAA 3-A state championship game at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem.

WINSTON-SALEM – Rocky Mount High football coach Jason Battle stepped into the media room and took a seat. He was flanked by players Thomas Battle and Deangelo Collins, who peeled off their game jerseys moments earlier.

Jason Battle was asked to give an opening statement by an NCHSAA public relations coordinator to kick off the interview session.

“You mean like a courtroom opening statement?” Battle deadpanned.

With the joke out of the way, a joke that lightened the mood in the room and wiped away, if only for a moment, the deep frowns from his players, the bearded coach grew serious. He went on to explain what happened in the 16-7 loss to Belmont South Point in the NCHSAA 3-A state title game on Saturday at BB&T Field on the campus of Wake Forest University.

The Gryphons’ steady coach, who will be the first to stand up for his kids, goes to work daily with a belief that his players are capable of anything. So it was fitting that he was grilled right away, fielding a question that wondered why he decided to go for it on a seemingly insurmountable situation.

That situation, fourth-and-17, trailing by a touchdown, a little more than six minutes left, was the real deal. Make a play or go home the runners-up.

“At that moment,” Battle said. “I felt like that was it. I thought our kids played their hearts out, and we just fell short today.”

After watching so many unlikely comebacks, and with a senior-laden, experienced group, Battle threw one his players’ way. Even though he knew the decision would likely be criticized, the hopeful piece of who makes Battle who he is, wanted to give his players a shot. Lynch was sacked, South Point took over with good field position and kicked a field goal that put the game out of reach. Just like that.

Lynch, meanwhile, was asked to have the game of his life. And before long, Lynch’s right arm became the Gryphons’ last resort.

The Gryphons had run the ball with a smooth confidence throughout the postseason, gashing and slicing their way through defenses unprepared to handle ground assaults with such gusto. But South Point was different. This Red Raiders team was fast, and they were prepared for the Gryphons’ backfield that boasts two 1,000-yard rushers. The Raiders were prepared for the wrecking ball runs and the speed on the edge, and the Gryphons couldn’t find a way to sustain drives.

“They were good, very good,” Jason Battle said of South Point. “Sound, strong, disciplined, all the things that I think our defense is, they were. And for us, we found out that they were faster than they looked like on film. They swarmed the ball, they controlled gaps inside, and they limit you and make you do what they want you to do.”

What South Point wanted to do was make the Gryphons get away from utilizing that backfield, which normally enjoyed gaps that blossomed into open lanes. Instead, sturdy runners found themselves being swallowed whole. RMH gained just 27 yards on the ground, the fewest this season, with Deangelo Collins leading the way with 23.

So with the running game stuck in neutral, the Gryphons asked Lynch to make plays with his arm.

Lynch, a first-year starter at the position, had never been asked to carry the offensive load. Lynch’s most pass attempts in a game this season was nine against Nash Central. On Saturday, the senior had 19 attempts with 10 completions for 91 yards and touchdown. The last time the Gryphons passed the ball at least 19 times, was during the state title game last season against South Point when Forrest Bell threw 21 times.

Lynch’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Shyheim Battle near the end of the second quarter gave the Gryphons their lone lead, but any more opportunities were dashed.

“They were so fast,” Lynch said. “They made me think quick about everything I did. Their linebackers had the gaps filled, and dropping back every time was crazy. I just tried to make plays.”

Lynch tried to be something bigger on Saturday, just as Battle expected.

It can be so easy to have a sour taste of the whole after viewing the ending. But this ending shouldn’t change any minds about this Gryphons team. It hard to play championship-caliber football, and this group did it in back-to-back seasons.

By PATRICK MASON
Sports Writer for Rocky Mount Telegram

Saturday, December 17, 2016

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Rocky Mount High School’s Rod’quon White displays his championship rings from the past three years on Tuesday at Rocky Mount High School during practice.

Rod’quon White had a different one for three fingers, and they made a sound like two marbles colliding when he made a fist. Moments earlier, the Rocky Mount High senior stuffed his left hand into his pocket, and pulled out three large rings.

Each had a different look. One was shaped like a square, while another looked like an oval. He earned all three by winning state football championships over the past three years. The first two came with Rocky Mount Academy, where White played as a freshman and sophomore during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. He then earned his third ring playing on Rocky Mount High’s championship team a season ago.

Now, White is hoping to fill up his hand. He is in a rare position to play for a fourth state title in as many seasons when the Gryphons face Belmont South Point in the NCHSAA 3-A championship game at 11:05 a.m. on Saturday at Wake Forest University.

“It’s exciting,” White said. “To have a chance to play for four state titles is something not many people can say. One every year, it seems normal to me now. I know I will still get jittery and a little nervous before the game, but I’ll remember that feeling and know how to deal with it.”

Having the feeling that playing for a state championship every season is normal might be an absurd thought to a player hoping to get just one in his career. But for White, this is his normal. His normal is playing more meaningful football over the past four seasons than just about anybody he knows, 55 games in all. His normal is winning the last game of every season.

“Having four,” teammate KK Edwards said, “that doesn’t seem right. He’s been great for us, so I can see why he’s had success.”

White, a sturdy 5-foot, 11-inch, 210 pounds, mans the inside linebacker position on a unit that gobbles up opposing runners and quarterbacks. The position suits his style of play, downhill and hard-hitting. His job is to clean up anything that roams to the middle of the field, and he’s done just that for the Gryphons.

His 88 total tackles, 68 of which are solo, puts him in a tie for the team lead with free safety Detrell Revis. He also collected four tackles for loss in the triple-overtime win over Havelock in the regional final, and he helped stuff a fourth-and-1 QB sneak attempt by the Rams that kept the Gryphons in the game.

“In the middle I can read and react more,” White said. “I can play more instinctually and not worry about thinking too much. That’s what happened to me when I played on the outside.”

White’s production comes on the heels of a strong junior season, one in which he played on the defensive side of the ball for the first time. Coming from Rocky Mount Academy as a running back, the Gryphons coaches saw his talents best being utilized at outside linebacker.

There, he recorded 34 tackles and two defensive touchdowns in 11 games.

“Rod is a really athletic kid,” Gryphons assistant coach Jermaine Jones said. “He really hadn’t been coached up to play linebacker when we got him. So with him starting so late, he had to learn on the run. It was a lot of frustration on my part and on his part, but eventually it worked out to where he became a regular.”

White was the perfect athlete for Rocky Mount Academy’s backfield. His quick, powerful movements allowed him to get into space where he would big up yards in chunks. With just eight players on each side, agility and speed won out over brute strength. White shined.

After playing a small role during his freshman season, White took over the backfield during his sophomore season. He had team highs in rushing touchdowns (24), yards (1825), and carries (141). But when he transferred to RMH, the backfield was stacked with two 1,000-yard rushers in Nick Bynum and BJ Sanders.

So the coaching staff didn’t want to waste his talents by leaving him to fight for touches in a deep position group, and they put him at outside linebacker. That position required much more coverage responsibilities, and the learning period had to be done on the fly. White would find himself being coached during games, from where to line up in the proper spot, to how to gain position when following an opposing receiver on a route.

“It was hard at first,” White said. “I was so used to being a running back, and now I had this whole new position, and I had to perform because this was a team that was going far and I wanted to be a part of it.”

Now, White anchors the linebacker group and has found a way to stand out on a defense that has playmakers all over the field. Revis keeps the secondary dangerous, while South Carolina commit Sherrod Grenne and White make for hard-hitting linebackers. Defensive linemen Artavious Richardson and Thomas Battle disrupt offenses with a devastating pass rush.

And, if White’s career has shown anything, it’s that he is always improving.

“He’s still learning,” Jones said. “That’s the best part. He’s a kid we wish we would have had early, growing up in the system and already knew exactly what to do. Getting him at the time we got him, we’re blessed to have him, but I wish we could’ve got him sooner.”

And with one game remaining, White is in search for some company on that lone finger.

“Some people told me that an eight-man title doesn’t mean as much,” White said. “I don’t look at it like that. You still have to go through a whole season and win at the end. Not everybody can do it.”

By PATRICK MASON
Sports Writer for Rocky Mount Telegram

Friday, December 16, 2016

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Rocky Mount High School’s Detrell Revis sits for a portrait before practice on Tuesday afternoon.

Detrell Revis was cold.

The Rocky Mount High junior was starting to lose feeling in his fingertips, so he slid on a pair of gloves over a pair he already had on, then jogged to a patch of grass about 30 yards behind the defense and waited for the punt.

It was Dec. 2 and the Gryphons were in the process of picking up a third-round 3-A playoffs win over Southern Guilford. The RMH defense bottled up a run and forced the Storm to punt to a normally steady Revis. But the Gryphons return man couldn’t feel the ball through his two pairs of gloves and fumbled.

He couldn’t believe it. Revis had this empty look on his face as if an epic argument was going on in his head. He kept wondering why?

“That was the first time I ever dropped a punt,” Revis said. “First time I ever fumbled. I won’t do two gloves again. It was a learning experience all around.”

It was a rare mistake for the Gryphons’ most electric player. But if coaches know anything about Revis, he’s already learned and moved on from the experience. Coaches rave about his knowledge on the football field, while their minds race to take advantage of his incredible athletic ability.

“He learns fast on the field,” RMH assistant coach Jermaine Jones said. “He’s probably the best athlete on the team because he can adapt to anything. His football IQ is so great.”

Revis sees the field different than most. He played quarterback in middle school, and it was during that time he taught himself how to read what is happening in front of him. He was a dangerous threat at the position because of the way he used his legs to run out of trouble, and how he understood what was a good decision and what’s not.

That has translated to his play at free safety, where he is adept at defending the pass as well as stuffing the run, highlighted by his being tied for the team lead in tackles with defensive lineman Rod’quon White with 88. He has a team-high eight interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown. As a returner, Revis has 390 total return yards on 16 chances. He’s gotten so successful setting up the Gryphons’ offense with good field position, that teams quit kicking to him entirely.

Because of that, the Gryphons work on recovering pooch kicks at the start of each practice.

“Teams stopped punting it to me,” Revis said. “I don’t go for it when they kick it short. I don’t want to make any mistakes. I be watching other folks to see how they do it, and I watch film on myself. If you study what you do, you’ll get better at it.”

He can also make plays on offense. He took his first reception of the season 99 yards in the triple-overtime win against Havelock last week, showing off his speed as he ran past the Storm who were simply trying to perserve the win.

“I don’t know what they were thinking guarding him like that,” RMH receiver KK Edwards said. “As soon as he lined up the way he did, I knew (Revis) was going to beat them.”

Revis popped up on the coaching staff’s radar during the 2014 season, his freshman year. It happened on a play during practice where Revis raced across the field to deliver a big hit on a teammate. Revis then recalls the coaching staff talking with him and telling him to be ready to play on varsity.

“Coaches were telling me, ‘You made a good tackle, a big hit.’ They wanted me to suit up for varsity,” Revis said. “Then the next day, Friday night, I got in on defense and made a big hit against Northern Nash in the final game of that year.”

Revis has been on varsity ever since, including winning a starting role his sophomore year as the starting free safety. He finished his first full varsity season with more than 100 tackles, including a season-high 12 in the state championship game. Now, Revis will lead the Gryphons defense this Friday in a rematch of last year’s title game against Belmont South Point.

“Revis has been in enough big games, being a young kid, that nothing is too big for him,”  Jones said. “His sophomore year there was no doubt that he was the next guy in line.”

By PATRICK MASON
Sports Writer for Rocky Mount Telegram

Thursday, December 15, 2016

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Our Gryphons will play the 3A State Championship Game on Saturday, December 17, 2016 at BB&T Field in Winston Salem, NC.

Kickoff is planned for 11:05 am.

Tickets will be pre-sold at Rocky Mount High School starting Wednesday, December 14 and ending on Friday, December 16 at 12:00 pm for $9.

GO GRYPHONS!!

BB&T Field:

499 Deacon Blvd, Winston Salem, North Carolina 27105

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