Wednesday, November U, 19M
THE GRYPHON
Page 7
Gryphon tackters stop
Grumpier cokJ. (photo by Allen)
Despite Losing, Gryphons Draw
Praise From Coaches AiiJ Fans'
The mark of a winning football team is usually the record it compiles, but not
always. A team can win by learning the true meaning of pride or the meaning of
respect. They can win by being sportsmen. Is this to say that every team is then a
winning one? No, it is not.
For many great teams are great because of their records. This is not to say that
having, a good record, one which makes a team great, is not desirable. I am simply
saying that often a team that is never even heard of is the greatest of all teams.
The Gryphons are not considered by many as a great team. The coaches of course
have respect for the boys who have given so much of their time to their school. But
few people think that we really had a winning season.
This is totally wrong. We did have a winning season here at RMSH because the
football program helped to hold the school together when trouble arose. When we
were having trouble here at the school, the Gryphons went and smeared Greenville
and then in their best game of the year, upset Goldsboro. These two victories help
ed to bring the school back together again.
The Gryphons also had a winning season for another reason. They were able to
forget the criticism which unknowing and unsportsmanlike fans threw their way. Of
course it bothered the team that some of their own classmates were against them,
but they withstood the criticism and played their hearts out for the very ones which
were cutting them and harassing them.
They were a winning team for one other reason. As they expressed in their letter
to the Speak CXit column of this paper, they learned respect for their coaches. Re
spect is One of the greatest assets that a team can have.
All of these reasons support the fact that the Gryphons were a winning team.
Hargrove for first doirn yard
age. (photo by Allen)
Cagers Optimistic About
First Basketball Season
Spirit and hustle are two of
the greatest assets that the
first RMSH basketball team has.
Since practice began on Novem
ber 1, they have only had one
bad practice and all fifteen
members of the squad have
adapted well to the type of
fense and defense which Coach
Hicks is hoping to run this sea
son.
An amazing number of 110
boys tried out for the team and
of these, Coach Hicks has kept
15 and Coach Chesson has kept
15 for the junior varsity. "We
were well pleased with the
amount of boys who tried out
for the team,” commented
Coach Hicks.
“We are going to have pretty
good height,” contended Hicks.
“With both our centers (Mike
Long and Mitchell Wiggins)
standing 6-5 and with six for
wards over 6-0, we feel like
we can get the rebounds.”
Another asset which the team
will have is speed. “We will
depend on speed, yet we are not
going to be a running team,”
said Hicks. "We will have a
medium slow offensive attack
and try to work for the good
shot.”
This is not to say that speed
will not be useful on defense.
,This year the coaches decided
to pick the players on the fol
lowing; 1. cleanliness, 2. phy
sical condition, and 3. if the boy
fit in well with th^ other boys
in the group. “We did this so
that we would have a bunch of
clean boys, not only clean phy
sically but also mentally; strong
boys, but most important, a
group that would be together,”
Hicks explained.
The cagers have really been
looking forward to the sea
son. “We have been impress
ed with the amount of spirit
which the team has shown,”
Hicks 'said. “They are really
out to have a good season.”
' Three new teams wiii onto-
iuti I?fsketball cluches of the
Gryphons this year, wew
Greenville, and Kinston have
moved up to the 4A ranks af
ter numerous years of suc
cess in the 3A division. “We
expect all of the teams in our
division to be tough,” Hicks
commented. “I think that itwill
be a fight right down to the finish
In our division and I think that
we will be right in the middle
of it.”
Only two boys from the old
RMSH and two from the old BTW
schools are returning to play
this year. “This lack of experi
ence scared me at first but I
was amazed at how fast these
guys have adapted to the type
of stuff that we have intro
duced to them,” Hicks said.
Coach Hicks commented that
many of his future plans de
pend on this type of adjust
ment.
This Gryphons begin their
season on December 3 when
Southern Nash travels here to
meet them. The Firebirds, un
der the direction of Head Coach
Bill Price, will have their hands
full but Hicks is not taking them
lightly.
“We have to win them as
they come and if we don’t think
highly of every team we play
then they will.beat us,” con
tended Hicks.
The Gryphons of the Week for the last five games were left to right Mike Wright, Ernie Mur
ray, Troy Brown, Steve Howard, Darnell Kimble, Pat Henry, Gralg Williams, Mutt Wilsoi, Ros-
coe Batts, Andre Sparrow, and Carson Robinson. These boys were picked by the coaches for out
standing performances in these games. (Gryphon photo by Perry.)
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