Rockingham Jaguars complete undefeated middle school season

   WENTWORTH (Nov. 3) - Rockingham County completed the first undefeated season in school history by turning back Reidsville 20-8 Monday at Cougar Pride Stadium, winning the conference middle school championship.

   The Jaguars, led by head coach Ricky Miller, completed the regular season at 5-0, then defeated Western Rockingham 34-24 in a semifinal game. Reidsville ended at 4-2, both losses coming to Rockingham. The first meeting outcome was 16-8.

   The championship game wasn't decided until the final minute. Trailing 14-8, Reidsville advanced to the RCMS 11-yard line on a 23-yard pass from Mason McGibboney to Joseph Penn. But the next play ended in disaster for the Raiders as McGibboney was swarmed and sacked by Kolbe Lovings and his mates. The ball bounced loose and Zayden Craig cashed in with the scoop-and-score from 70 yards out, setting the final margin with 42 seconds left on the clock.

   The game was a defensive struggle at the outset, Reidsville failing to get anything going on its first two possessions and Rockingham turning the ball over with its first chance. Tavion Martin made the fumble recovery for the Raiders near midfield. But two plays lost yardage (RCMS tackles by Thomas Lincoln and Deshawn Herrington) and the Jaguars took over at the Reidsville 48.

   Six straight carries by Craig, an 185-pound eighth grader who played last season at Southern Alamance Middle, covered the entire distance. The payoff came on a 13-yard run with 4:03 left in the half. The try for the two-point conversion was stopped on a strong tackle by Karson Henry.

   Reidsville came right back to take the lead after a 41-yard kickoff return by Martin. Runs of 12 and 9 yards by Jaden Cunningham highlighted the 35-yard TD drive that was capped by McGibboney's quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line. Cunningham ran the two-point conversion to make it 8-6 with 1:47 left in the half.

   The Jaguars received the second-half kickoff and quickly regained the lead on a 40-yard end-around by Damoni Clemmons. Craig's two-point run made it 14-8 with 6:08 left in the third quarter.

   Reidsville stopped the Jaguars' next drive on key tackles by Jayden Williamson, Micah Langley and E.J. Pinnix and the Raiders took over on downs at midfield with 4:48 left on the clock. McGibboney's quarterback sneak for three yards converted a 4th-and-1. But after the pass to Penn provided a first-and-10 at the 11, the Jaguars made the biggest defensive play of the year.

  Craig was the offensive star for the Jaguars, carrying the ball 16 times for 107 yards. Often it took three or four Raiders to bring him down. Responsible for the work in the trenches were Thurston Finnley, Dylan Owens, Jeremiah Jackson, Samuel Byrd, Kymani Oliver, Jackson Smith and Herrington.

   Quarterback Elijah Adams directed the Rockingham attack and completed 13- and 16-yard passes to Clemmons.

   It was Rockingham Middle's second playoff championship in three years. In 2023, the Jaguars upended top-seeded Reidsville. Last year, Yanceyville Dillard took the title with a win over Reidsville.

SCORING SUMMARY

Reidsville                          0  8  0  0  -- 8

Rockingham County         0  6  8  6 -- 20

    RC -- Zayden Craig 13 run (run failed), 4:30 second quarter

    R -- Mason McGibboney 1 run (Jaden Cunningham run), 1:47 second quarter

    RC -- Damoni Clemmons 40 run (Craig run), 6:08 third quarter

    RC -- Craig 70 fumble return (run failed), 0:42 fourth quarter

Western Rockingham advances

   MADISON (Oct. 16) - Western Rockingham advanced to the semifinals of the middle school football playoffs with a 48-22 win over Yanceyville Dillard at Raymond H. Cure Stadium.

   Elijah Pulliam and Michael McCrickard scored a pair of touchdowns apiece to lead the offensive show. Quinton McKinney and Bentley Tucker also found the end zone for the Wildcats.

   Western Rockingham will face top-seed Rockingham Middle in Wentworth next Thursday in one semifinal. Eden Holmes will travel to Reidsville in the other semifinal game.

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Western Rockingham wins 40-32

   YANCEYVILLE (Oct. 7) - Elijah Pulliam scored three touchdowns to lead Western Rockingham to a 40-32 victory over Dillard.

    The best offensive output of the season for the Wildcats was led by the offensive line play of Hayden Easter, Zeke Alamiri, Matthew Southern, Zami Scott and Jace Smith.

   Michael McCrickard, Jaylen Norman and Quinton McKinney added touchdowns for Western Rockingham.