Thursday, November 17, 2011

Carolina Gridiron Game of the Week for Week 14

Making it to the third round of the playoffs is special for any team.  Teams that have made it this far consider the third round as the make or break round on the way to a state championship.  Although the pod system has caused much debate because of the uneven matchups it can present in the early rounds, by round three the best teams are still remaining and beginning to face off.  Be sure to go out and support your team or catch the big local game this Friday night.

Carolina Gridiron Game of the Week

3A football has been extremely exciting to watch this year across the state.  Programs that compete in the 3A level have both the combination of larger teams with more athletes while still keeping that hometown football team feel.  The teams in this week's matchup are no different.  This week's game of the week features the three-time defending 3A champion West Rowan Falcons taking on the Concord Spiders in the Midwest 3A sectional championship.

Scott Young's West Rowan Falcons (11-2) are no stranger to late playoff runs.  Along with their three recent titles, they were one of the winningest programs in North Carolina over the last ten year.  They have made the playoffs in each of those seasons, going multiple rounds in most of them.  The Falcons are led by offense by running back Dinkin Miller, whose explosive speed and quick moves on the field have allowed the Falcons to once again dominate the North Piedmont 3A conference.  Defensively, Logan Stoodley leads a defense that has only given up 15.4 points a game.  West Rowan defeated Mount Pleasant 31-12 in the first round of the playoffs and fought back to defeat Statesville last week.  A last second score gave the Falcons a 32-27 victory.

The Concord Spiders, led by coach Glenn Padgett, are 10-3 and in the third round for the second year in a row.  Concord is led on offense by quarterback B.J. Beecher and running back Denzel Philips.  Catching a lot of Beecher's passes is UNC-bound tight end Terrance Knox.  Offensively, the Spiders score 35.2 points a game while only giving up 17 a game on defense.  The Spiders finished second in the South Piedmont 3A conference and earned the #3 seed in the Midwest.  Concord defeated county rival  30-6 in the first round and Rockingham County 35-8 last week.

It looks to be a great game Friday night in Mt. Ulla.