Gryphons' Thanksgiving

The Rocky Mount Gryphons practiced this morning at 9 o’clock for about an hour and a half. Even with Thanksgiving, the Gryphons know they can’t waste a final day of practice as they prepare for Eastern Alamance tomorrow night at the Rocky Mount Athletic Complex.

But practicing on turkey day morning has become a tradition for the Gryphons, and any parent with a son on the team knows ahead of time that there won’t be much traveling away from the area.

After practice I caught up with senior offensive linemen Whit Barnes and Tory ‘Pork Chop’ Lee and talked with them about the offensive line. I also grabbed senior Jermaine Fields and asked him about the D-Block side of the ball.

Both Barnes and Lee are seen as the leaders of an offensive line that has become one of the best in the state. Along with Greg ‘Frost’ Williams, Brandon Dennis, and Jaron Battle, the Rocky Mount linemen were featured in an ESPN Rise article earlier this season.

“It all comes back to dedication and hard work,” said Lee. “You’ve gotta be willing to do what you gotta do, and get the job done.”

Added Barnes: “You can see it in the weight room on Sundays when the whole O-Line comes and works out together and watches film, that we are a team.”

Thanksgiving week has become another week in the season for the Gryphons, something that Barnes and Lee have seen come around every year.

“It’s one of those things we look forward to every year, it’s normal to us now,” said Barnes.

“At Rocky Mount we have high expectations, like having 5,000 yards of total offense at the end of the year,” added Lee. “That’s a lot. An average team can’t get that, but we’re not an average team.”

Turning to the defensive side of the ball, Fields gave the perspective of leadership on his side of the ball.

Every week, the defense’s goal is to come away with a shutout, “which says we are one of the best defenses in the state of North Carolina,” said Fields.

“We practice hard, and practice like we play,” he said. “We are about to use our speed as an advantage.”

“To shut people out, it’s something that we should regularly do. It’s nothing major to us,” said Fields about the defense’s shutout expectations.

“It’s the spirit of Rocky Mount, just being a Gryphon. It just goes through the players to go out there and do what we do. No pressure put on our backs, just game by game, one at a time,” said Fields on the team philosophy.

As for any last thoughts on Eastern Alamance -

“Since we couldn’t get Western, we’re gonna take it all out on them,” replied Lee.

“Tell ‘em to bring their ‘A’ game,” added Fields.

Rocky Mount plays host to Eastern Alamance in the 4th Round of the NCHSAA 3-A playoffs Friday at 7:30 at the RMAC.