Piedmont Triad week 9 high school football games to watch
Reidsville has 66 consecutive victories in the MidState 2A Conference, but needed a rally against then-6-1 West Stokes to extend the streak.
The Rams now face another 6-1 team in Walkertown, which has the Triad's best record among those teams who finished with a losing season in 2023.
Reidsville gained a season-high 654 yards against West Stokes, but also gave up 313 rushing yards to the Wildcats and more than 40 points for the first time since giving up 55 points to East Surry on Sept. 27, 2019. This week, the Rams will face the Triad's leading rusher Cam Kelly, who has 1,230 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns. Walkertown finished tied for fifth in the seven-team Mid-State 2A Conference last year and hasn't won a conference title since the program started in 2012. The game also has a significant impact on NCHSAA 2A playoff seeding, with undefeated Reidsville a contender for the No. 1 West seed.
High Point Christian hopes to go 8-0 for the first time in program history when it faces the Lions in this Big 6 Conference matchup. The Cougars will be trying to contain senior running back Anthony Hawkins, whom The Charlotte Observer has called "simply the best running back you've probably never heard of." Hawkins has rushed for 821 yards and 15 touchdowns this season and has 4,647 yards and 61 touchdowns for his career. HPCA won last year's matchup, and has an even stronger ground game with the addition of Jaylen Moore, who has rushed for 1,012 yards, the Greensboro area's second best totday, and 17 touchdowns in six games. In the conference race,
at Oak Grove (6-1, 2-0), 7:30 p.m.This relatively new neighborhood rivalry has been tightly contested between two schools only about five miles apart. Oak Grove leads the series 5-1 and won 41-7 in 2023, but prior to last year's result, this series had a four-game stretch where each game was decided by one score. This includes Oak Grove's overtime victory in 2019. Ledford's 3-4 start is its worst since beginning 2-5 in 2010, and it could be looking at its first losing season since 2012. Results this season have been much more consistent for Oak Grove, while Ledford has to shake off a two-game losing skid that has come after four straight wins.
(4-3, 2-2) at Western Guilford (4-3, 1-3), 7:30 p.m.It's a Metro 4A Conference matchup of turnaround teams jockeying for playoff positions. Western is making its third bid for its first five-win season since 2019 and still has a chance to finish with a winning record for the first time since 2008 with three regular-season games remaining. The Hornets suffered a dramatic 28-27 loss to Page last week, while Southeast has won back-to-back games for the first time since 2022. Southeast has averaged 5.3 yards per carry, but an indicator for success has been in its passing game. In four wins, they've completed 63% of its passes but only 32% in their three losses. With Southeast tied for fourth and Western in sixth in the conference, the game could be critical in determining a playoff spot.
Reagan suffered a 27-0 to West Forsyth and Parkland lost 62-6 to East Forsyth last week. After barely losing to West Forsyth, Parkland's season has gone downhill, but likely needs a win here to have hopes of avoiding a losing season for the first time since 2019 with Mount Tabor coming in the regular season finale. Reagan has to take care of business as it hopes to make a playoff push.
The teams may be closer in quality than their overall records indicate. McGuinness looks to have six-plus wins in consecutive seasons for the first time since going 9-3 in 2009 and 2010.
Andrews looks to salvage a disappointing season. North brings linebacker Xavier Johnson (64 tackles) to help stop a Red Raiders rushing attack averaging six yards per carry. Andrews has struggled with its passing game, completing just 43.2%.
(3-4, 2-2) at Eastern Guilford (4-3, 4-0)Eastern should be the heavy favorite at home as the Wildcats have cruised in Mid-State 3A Conference play. Southern may be up against it, but going from winless in 2023 to where they are in now in 2024 has been an intriguing story to follow. The Storm have won two straight.
Northern Guilford (7-0, 4-0)Northern should be heavily favored, with Page losing 45-12 to Northwest Guilford, who the Nighthawks defeated last week, and two of their Metro 4A wins coming over conference bottom-dwellers. However, Northern can't look ahead as it hopes to remain undefeated and keep pace with Grimsley, which faces last-place Southwest Guilford.
at Glenn (2-5, 0-4), 7 p.m.Glenn has to slow down the pace and move the chains to have any chance of pulling off an upset. They'll likely lean on running back Craig McGhee and can't throw interceptions or allow too many explosive plays.
High School Sports Reporter
