Just wondering who's going to be the teams to beat this year in the Metro and Piedmont 4A Conferences and why? Also who's going to be the sleeper in the Triad area this year?

Obviously I think Page and Northern Guilford will still be among the top teams in their class. However I feel that Northern is probably the only team who will contend for another state title.

Page will probably go undefeated or at worst maybe 9-1 in the regular season but I'm not sure that they'll make the same playoff run but never say never.

I know in the Metro that Dudley will be improved as will Smith.

I think NW Guilford will be the team to beat as far as the Guilford Piedmont Triad teams but I think that East Forsyth wins the overall league.

If you choose to call them that, I would say High Point Central could be a sleeper in the Piedmont Triad.

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Chris Hughes
chughes@carolinapreps.com

Agree....Page will be a real tough team to beat this year. I just don't see anyone in the Metro beating them for the league championship this season. I think Dudley comes in a close 2nd place......

Now with the Piedmont Triad 4A it gets very interesting......There was a 3 way tie for the Conference last year with NW, Ragsdale, and East Forsyth. All 3 teams return enough talent to win the Conference. I think right now East has to be the favorite with NW 2nd and either Ragsdale or HPC bringing up 3rd. Look for Glenn to upset a team or two as well.

I was looking over my notes and totally botched my Metro thoughts. Don't be shocked if Grinsley isn't the surprise team that shocks everyone. I could see the Whirlies winning their fair share.

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Chris Hughes
chughes@carolinapreps.com

@ Chris,

What makes you think Grimsley is going to upset a few teams?

Northern will have the best player in Guilford County next year, but I think Page will still be the overall best team. Dudley, Ragsdale, NW Guilford, and possibly teams like Andrews and NE Guilford could be in the 2nd tier.

With the loss of QB, no way Page is the best team. My opinion is that Dudley will be back strong and Ragsdale will re-load with several dangerous skill players returning. Xavier Jones (sub 4.3) will rise to the best player in Guilford County as long as he stays healthy. Brandon Walker at receiver will get much attention also.

Can't agree with you on this one. Page has a pretty good QB who didn't start last year. I think Page is by far the best team in the Metro.

As far as the Piedmont Triad goes Ragsdale may be 3rd or 4th best in that conference. The PT4A IMO is going to come down to NW and East Forsyth. Both teams return a lot of talent. As far as Xavier Jones being the best player in the county.....The kid has talent no doubt but he may not even be the best in his conference let alone the county. IMO the best all around player in the Piedmont 4A is Reid Baxter at NW Guilford or Duncan @ East Forsyth. Best all around in the Guilford county IMO is Logan over at Northern.

Yeah, I love it that Jordan Putnam is our best kept secret at QB...Nobody knows anything about him and that may be an advantage for us, but here is one fact, the kid has yet to lose one game in his career thus far at Page High...Page's JV team has been 29-1 the last three years, and it wasn't because it was just JV...Most of those games in Jordan's sophomore years, he never got to finish because Page was up so heavily...The junior players that we have coming back along with the good JV players coming up will make this team very good...There will be no question about the athletic ability of these kids, but you may be able to question the experience level of them...Having 16 starting seniors will be a big loss, but Page has very capable players coming back.

Look out for our 6'6'' defensive end coming up too...Lorenzo Featherstone is already causing some stir in the recruitment business...Don't waste your efforts trying to throw the ball, because he isn't going to give you the time...lol...Had it not been for the depth and upperclassman, Lorenzo would have been playing varsity. He played against Brock Stadnik for one quarter and a half and looked mighty good against Brock (who is no slouch going down to South Carolina)...

Dudley is always good and will always have athletes and big linemen, so I see nothing changing there..

Southeast has some very good players coming back and will be a team vying for that top spot.

I think Western's losing quite a bit, so it will be interesting to see who they will have at QB or what offense they'll be running...I never saw a back up for the Thompson kid other than Proehl who moved down to Charlotte last year...

Grimsley always has athletes too, and I think Loosemore will help them with their offense, which seemed to struggle last year...They play a hard nosed and tough defense and if they can get their offense clicking a bit, then they'll be tough...They have a good QB (who was hurt last year but who had a ton of experience as a freshman) coming back along with a pretty good running back, so they could end up being pretty good.

Southern Alamance will have one of the best players in the state with #5. They will have some players, but #5 will be the baller for them...He will be the TJ Logan of Southern Alamance.

HPC will be right back at it next year but a little bit stronger than it was last year.

HPC,

How's the Bison looking for 2012?

Of course Bison08 will know more than I would on who is coming back, but from what I remember those Bisons were pretty young last year and they had some athletes who will be coming back...I think that team will be just fine...I think their biggest losses may have been #25 and Monk #5...Those were big losses, but they should have some very decent athletes coming back...

I remember when Page played them, I couldn't believe the size their kids had...They have some big boys over there...

Btw, is Monk going anywhere? He was a very good player, but I haven't heard anything on him lately...

@ Kharris

What about Ben L. Smith? I haven't heard anything out of them.....What do they have coming back? Can they make another run like they did 2 years ago?

I think Ben L. Smith has the talent and definitely the coaching staff to be the top third of the league. I don't expect them to be anywhere near the level of the special team when Ebron was a senior, but I think they can push the 6-7-8 win level.

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Chris Hughes
chughes@carolinapreps.com

Chris how many starters is Ben L Smith returning? Also do you know who some of their impact players will be on offense and defense?

Lashuarn Monk will be attending the University of Miami this fall. Now whether he plays for them or not, I'm not sure yet. Yes HPC lost a few on offense & defense will be another rebuilding year but a year more of experience worth to build on.

Now with the Piedmont Triad 4A it gets very interesting......There was a 3 way tie for the Conference last year with NW, Ragsdale, and East Forsyth. All 3 teams return enough talent to win the Conference. I think right now East has to be the favorite with NW 2nd and either Ragsdale or HPC bringing up 3rd. Look for Glenn to upset a team or two as well.[/QUOTE]


Over here in Forsyth county rumor has it several key players from East are going elsewhere next year which will greatly impact them. Of course as I said its just rumors, but East has been known to have talented players leave or just stop playing.

Over here in Forsyth county rumor has it several key players from East are going elsewhere next year which will greatly impact them. Of course as I said its just rumors, but East has been known to have talented players leave or just stop playing.[/QUOTE]

Key players? Who and Why? East should have a team that could contend for a conference title and a deep playoff run.....Do they not get along with the coaches?

High Point Central is the sleeper in the Piedmont Triad this year. Last season they had a young team and return the nucleus of that team this season. I think they have what it takes to win the conference and make a deep run in the playoffs. Don't count them out by talking about NW, East Forsyth, and Ragsdale battling for the crown... Hey with the young team that HPC had last season they easily could have beaten all 3 of those teams and matter of fact; they had the lead in all three of those games but youth and inexperience doomed them in the end. To state my facts the scores from those games were East 21 HPC 20, NW 21 HPC 13, and Ragsdale 20 HPC 16. So a year later with all that talent coming back mixed with size and speed and the best QB in the conference, they will make some noise.....

Who does HPC have coming back this year besides the QB? How many starters? As for the best QB in the conference that might just be the kid over at East Forsyth IMO.

HPC have around 13-16 starters coming back with a few uprising juniors. Plus a couple of key transferees from other schools. More info to come out soon this year.

Bison08....HPC seems to be the way Scotland was in 2010.We went 7-5 that season with a young team and came back last season,and won the "Ship".HPC can do the same thing

totally agree......

I'm not sure about all that. Scotland returned what, 18 (2-3 year) starters or so. I don't think HPC returns quite that much.

HPC doesn't have 18 players who were two or three year starters but it does return 17 players, 15 of whom were starters last season with a few who also earn some valuable playing time & key games. When it comes to experience, this team reminds me a lot of the 2009 team as far as defense goes but offense not quite like the 2010 offense. But the two transferees we have are a beast & I won't reveal their positions right now, I'll wait later for that.

With all due respect Joe, unless you are inside the Bison camp it's kind of hard to make that assumption. And for you to be apart of the staff here, you should know that HPC had a very young team last year. So to get the facts straight, we do have a great nucleus of kids returning this year. And this is coming from someone inside the Bison camp. Also we have a few transfers who are beasts. We may not be as young as that Scotland team was a few years ago but WE ARE NOT TO BE OVERLOOKED THIS SEASON!!!! As far as our conference, its very winnable!!!

High Point Andrews and Northeast Guilford are always overlooked in the triad/guilford county. These are not 4a teams but still.

Yea true.... Not taking anything away from them but this is 4A football... Maybe in the 2A forum they are getting respect... Also, it will be hard for Andrews to get respect b/c they had a major meltdown last season after starting 7 or 8-0....

They beat Central last year though. I don't really see classifications like everyone else. But if the topic is just on 4a, I would say look out for Dudley and Hpc. I don't think they are getting much respect on the 2a forums, btw.

This may be a 4A forum, but 4A teams do not own Guilford County. Northern Guilford (3A) went 2-1 against Page, Dudly and NW Guilford last year and most likely will be one of the better teams in the area this year as well. Northeast Guilford has a good program and would most likely do well against many of Guilford County's 4A programs.

But can Northern find a replacement for their do everything QB Downing?

That's going to be tough, they still have Tj Logan, who is going to be tough to stop for anyone next year.

A 4A team did own Guilford county, and a Guilford County team owned Meck County and all of 4AA too.

Guilford County proved it has good football with Page and Northern winning it all and with some other teams going deep into the playoffs. I think Guilford County is a little underrated with all the good teams that this county has. As far as programs, well, IMO there are only a few schools in this county that has really laid that foundation. No need to mention the schools, because all of us who work or live in Guilford County already know; however, there are some teams this year that will probably surprise some people, and I do believe HPC will be one of those teams this year. I could be wrong, but from the players they have coming back, it would be a disappointment if they don't perform well this year. So, I'm picking them as my darkhorse team this year. Hopefully Page will still knock them out though...lol...

We all love a little ribbing from time to time, but I think we should just stick to the postitives of each team. I believe this would benefit more than just knocking another school. The kids don't deserve to be made fun of and made to feel like they aren't worthy just because the team they play for.

I couldn't of said it any better but I hope we are able beat Page this year.

When any team beats the top two Meck Co teams in back-to-back weeks, that team is as legitimate as they come.

Uhhhhhh......Joe..........remember...Page fell behind Butler 26-6 and Mallard Creek 19-6 before winning. Yes..they won both..but own? Cmon Joe, I know you know better. Don't let one successful season go to your head.

mrhonda,

Sounds like you are still a hater...lol...I don't know what Page ever did to you other than prove you wrong about the entire season, but we love our haters too.

Go Page!!!

Why does he have to be labeled as a Hater? Page has a awesome Coaching staff which prepared them quite well against Butler and MC. Summers put the team on his back and put on a show. As good as you Page guys won't to believe that your success will continue. I don't see it happening. Talk about a one man show...lol

work7,

1. I was ribbing mrhonda a bit...Personally, I don't care...I give mrhonda a hard time and have been giving him a hard time...He seems like a good person...We just differ in opinions...

2. I know and believe our success will continue...Will it equate to a state championship?..That is yet to be determined...Page has been successful before last year's team, and it will continue past this last year's team...Page has had a state championship drought before this past year; however, this school has always been a successful and much storied program...

But hey, I don't want sit here trying to convince you...I'm just telling you what I think and believe...So, whomever (would like to know who your team is though) you are pulling for then good luck to them...

I don't mind the good natured ribbing. I'm also not a Page hater. I live in Charlotte but don't have a horse in the race. I'm just a fan of the game. I just thought Summers carried that team. In the same way, MC lost partly because of not having a star QB. But, they also didn't have experience playing that deep in the playoffs on the road. MC was also out coached in that game.

All I'm saying is until Page beats those teams on a consistent basis, you can't say they own them.

Now one thing Meck schools need to be concerned about is CMS itself. Due to bonehead policies and budget problems they are lsing experienced teachers. That is going to include coaches. CMS has shown dominance over the last several years, but that was the result of two outstanding coaches...Knotts and Newsome.

James for sure carried us offensively and was a pure leader on the field...I would never deny that...I just think the same can be said for the majority of the high school teams and not just Page...What happens if Butler loses Ferguson? Now, I don't know who Butler has waiting in the wings, and I can only imagine the next QB will be pretty darn good too, since those schools seem to just reload, but losing Ferguson would have really hurt Butler IMO.

I may be wrong, but I do believe that Page has reloaded too, and I hope you can get a chance to see us...I think you'll like the kids that we'll have on the field...We'll finally have the most experienced o-line that we have ever had along with some newcomers, so the competition on the starting o-line should be fierce...I can't wait to see how that group pans out...I also thought our defense was huge reason for our success, which I know we are losing a lot of those guys, but the starters that we will have could be special. Offensively, it definitely will have to be more of a collective effort.

I hear ya on the budget mrhonda...Same up here in Guilford County...Just for comparison, it is crazy just how much South Carolina teachers/coaches get paid as compared to here in NC...I know these coaches mostly do it for the love of the game, but I think you'll continue to see big name coaches moving to schools out of the big cities (ie Newsome) and/or moving to other states (ie Knotts) for the chance at higher pay...

I didn't mean that Page owns those two teams for the rest of time. What I meant is that last year/season, Page owned them on those particular nights, especially in the 2nd half of both games.

Basically, I was trying to let the Northern Guilford fan know that Page was the best team in Guilford County and in 4AA (which included the best teams in Meck Co), because he was saying that NG was, which is clearly false. Page won the head-to-head and beat better teams in the playoffs.

We can agree on that.

I don't think he was saying Northern was the best team in Guilford county, I think he was more saying they were 2nd best.

First of all i just wanted to say that i cannot wait for this 2012 season! it seems like forever since last year! im looking forward to seeing all of the Guilford County teams get back on the field. as a fan of the metro i can give mybest input there. although i do think the piedmont triad conference will come to the top 3 in Nw guilford, east forsyth, and ragsdale. I think that the metro conference will come down to Page and Dudley.. I think southeast will bush hard for the 3rd spot along with smith. i just think that page and dudley has the top players in the conference and the best coaching staffs. everyone know about page, but im really interested in dudley this 2012 season. everyone remembers them starting 0-4 against one of the toughest non conference schedules in the state. but i believe those first four games were a great experience for thse panther puppies!! they finshed the season 6-2 as the conferene started and manage to get some experience in the playoffs making it to the second round. i know the panthers return alot of their core players from last year squad. especially on defense. The panther defense will be anchored around on of the top linebackers in the state as well as the southeast region in #6 CHRIS REGISTER. the kid is a stud and continues to make huge strides in recruitment. it seems as if he is picking heavy interest and offers weekly. the 6-4 210 pound rising junior has drawn srtong interest from the big boys such as south carolina, maryland, nc state, clemson and Alabama. I know that the alabama coaches came up a few weeks ago to talk with him and he is expected to camp with tem this summer. I know he picked up an offer this week from clemson university and is projected to be a 4 star rated linebacker this summer when the rankings come out for juniors. He missed the first 3 games last season due to injury and made a huge impact to the defense in his return. look out for him anchoring the dudley defense along with fellow linebacker spencer abraham, big DT albert mclean and DE naesza fewell. on the offensive side of the ball the panthers will be led by duel-threat QB Richard Hayes. He is probably the best running QBin Guilford County but dont sleep on his arm. the kid thrwe for well over 1,000 yards last year as dudley started opening up thier passing game. the panthers have a core of running backs they will use this season including edward moseley and spencer abraham. hayes has some weapons on the outide to throw it to including alex settle, emmanuel moseley and 6'3 rising sophomore tre' marsh.

My apologies if my post was not clear. I did not claim that Northern was the best team in Guilford County, only that it was 2-1 against Page (loss), NW (win) and Dudley (win). The point was that one can not limit a discussion on the best teams in Guilford County to 4A schools (i.e. 4A schools do not own Guilford County). There are schools in the county system at lower levels that can compete with the best of the 4A schools. The post prior to mine suggested Northeastern Guilford or Andrews should be part of the discussion. From what I have seen, Northeastern could compete with some of the current 4A programs in Guilford County (and it would do them a lot of good to do so) and Northern can definately compete with the best of the 4A programs. Again, this is not a claim that they are the best, only that they were on that level last year. No disrespect to Page, they were the best team in the county last year.

Thanks for clearing this up. In December a lot of folks were talking about how Northern would woop Page in a rematch and that they were the best team in the area/state. I guess i kind of interpreted your post like that.

Lots of talk going on here...a while back Chris mentioned my Whirlies being in the metro hunt...37 varsity letterwinners, 18 starters, with 17 only going to be juniors...The Whirlies do bring back a ton of experience and alot of quality size. They will continue to get better...No promises, but dont sleep on my boys. My son comes home jacked every day with excitement for this upcoming season...

I feel the same way you do because HPC returns around 23 kids, 17 of whom started or started half the season. Not to mention, it have two transferees who are beasts. So, I'm as excited as your son is about this year's team.