Finally Friday! Best of 2012



After much careful thought, deliberation and dart-throwing I'm pleased to announce my "Best Of" winners for the 2012 regular season.  I can't reiterate enough how much I enjoyed going to all the different stadiums and meeting the students and student-athletes!  You should all be very proud.  Anyway, here's the list. 

Don't hate.

North Davidson Celebrates on Friday Knight!

In the frenzied aftermath of North Davidson's title-clinching victory over Davie on Friday, I had a chance to take a couple of videos and interview some of the Black Knight athletes.  Erin Andrews I'm not, but I enjoyed talking to this year's conference champions!

North Davidson vs Davie Pregame Video

Now that my knees don't hurt from running up and down the sidelines all night on Friday, I found time to piece together the all the video and audio I took.  Let's start with the scene prior to the kick.  Make no mistake, this was as fine an atmosphere as you'll find at a game on ANY level. Here's what I saw during pregame on Friday:

Suddenly Saturday- North Davidson v.Davie Recap

  

Emotions ran high at War Eagle Stadium for the contest between the War Eagles and the Black Knights from North Davidson Friday night, both on the field and in the stands.  Davie High's venerable stadium was filled to capacity on both sides, with considerable spillover in the SRO areas in the end zone.  The game lived up to the hype as the Black Knights eventually prevailed 34-24, wrapping up the Central Piedmont 4-A championship and a perfect season in the process.

Thank You- An Announcement

I started this little blog on August 24th of this year.  I didn't know what I was going to do so I decided to let you, the readers, tell me what you liked.  I hope that it has evolved into something that you all enjoy.  Apparently you do, or so my page view statistics tell me.  In fact, after nine weeks I can now go to different stadiums in the area and people know what the blog is about before I have to explain myself.

The only way that happens is by word of mouth.  Your mouths.  So, thank you.  My social media experiment has been what I consider a huge success. I'm very grateful that so many people are paying attention.  The season isn't over and I already can't wait for next year!

In fact, it's been successful enough that I started looking at avenues to "broaden my horizons".  Sixty days after opening Finally Friday!, I was happy to be announced as the new women's basketball writer for www.bloggersodear.com. Blogger So Dear is the Wake Forest community on SB Nation, a national online platform for sports media, and the premier independent site for Demon Deacon coverage. 

Those who know me understand that covering sports has been a dream of mine since childhood.  Thanks for helping me keep my silly dream alive. 

Now, this blog isn't shutting down.  At all.  Why would I do that when I finally just figured out what I was doing?  The only thing getting adjusted will be my basketball coverage.  My plans for covering high school hoops have obviously been canceled (for the most part).  I've got a wife and family and, um, want to keep them.  However, I do have a plan to keep the blog updated and fresh.  So don't go anywhere!

Now if you'll excuse me I have to get some work done before I head over to Mocks Vegas.  Rumor has it there's a football game over there tonight!

- John 

So Nice, I Posted it Twice- the Catherine Wayne Pop Quiz!

Beach Night!

I love it when a plan comes together.  My idea for the Pop Quiz! segment was to find the best and the brightest students that our area high schools had to offer, and give them a chance to represent their schools and themselves in an online forum. So far, I've yet to be disappointed.

This week's participant comes to us from Mount Tabor High School, at the recommendation of Principal Ed Weiss himself.  She is the President of the student body which, as I found out, entails so many duties that I included a link to the full description.

Frankly, she humbles me a bit.  As a matter of fact, everyone I've interviewed to date has humbled (shamed?) me.  When I was in high school, my responsibility list was as follows:

Go to school.

Work at the car wash across from school.

The end.

Anyway, before I get too wistful about my own shortcomings, I'm happy to introduce you to Miss Catherine Wayne.  Cat?

 

The Monday Mix- Davie vs Reagan

The night fell with such a quickness and crispness that it felt like...well, football.  It was Finally Friday and I was hanging at the home of the Reagan Raiders to watch what many felt was the game of the week in the Central Piedmont Conference.  For some reason, Reagan AD Alexis McCoy gave me access to the press box for the evening (for which I am eternally grateful).  The box was bustling with activity, as it was accommodating two radio crews.  One crew was from WSJS-600, which was doing its game of the week and the other was from WDSL-1520 from Davie County.  It was packed and there was certainly a buzz about the place.

While You're Waiting...

I realize some of you are waiting for my wrap-up of Friday's contest between Reagan and Davie, but sometimes blog posts have to take a back seat to 21 month-old little boy.  Actually, EVERYTHING takes a back seat to my pride and joy.

Finally Friday, Jr.

Anyway, my main man over at DEWshots made my job a lot harder by posting over 200 images from the game and they are fantabulous.  Please make a visit to his site and drop him a line thanking him for his hard work.  I mean, these are great.  In the meantime, I'll have the full wrap-up posted tomorrow morning.

Then I'm getting a water bottle.

Now this is cool, Reagan

No need to write anything here:

Finally!

It's here.

An Open Letter to Reagan High School

Dear Reagan Raider Nation,

During the first week of the football season I was asked by WXII to cover your game against Glenn and provide some details for the highlight show.  I sat in the stands (live tweeting the game) and thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and, of course, the football.  A week later, this little blog was born and I was off and running.

Fast forward 7 weeks and I am finally making my return visit to Pfafftown and I want nothing more than to showcase the Reagan Raiders and their incredible fans!  So this is my plea to you, dear Raiders.  I'm asking you to help me, help you.  Because you see, my friends, things have changed around these here parts.

Almost Friday- Reagan vs. Davie

Marching orders have been given, cameras recharged and research begun as Finally Friday! heads to Pfafftown for this week's game between the Reagan Raiders and Davie War Eagles.  This is technically my second trip to Reagan, the first being their week one trouncing of the Glenn Bobcats.  At the time, however, there was no blog and @FinallyFri336 was mere hours old.  I also had the privilege of seeing the Raiders on my second trip to North Davidson a couple of weeks ago, and I'm looking forward to seeing them again.

ND vs Reagan Pregame

End-of-Year "Best Of" Lists

In the next two weeks I'm going to publish a list of the "Best Of" what I've seen this season.  Boy, is there a lot to choose from.  However, I offer this one caveat:  I've been to multiple places multiple times, and I've seen multiple schools multiple times.

So, my sample is limited in scope. 

Or, you could look at it this way:  I've been afforded ample time to closely examine most of the schools in the running.  Except Bishop McGuinness, who is at worst going to finish second in Cheer of the Year voting.

Suddenly Saturday! One Night in Mocksville

All that was missing was a crisp, biting Autumn chill. 

Otherwise, it was a perfect night for Southern Football in North Carolina.  Once again, if you are wondering why I capitalize "Southern Football", I'm sure there is a knitting show coming on HGTV in a few minutes.  It was Homecoming in Mocksville as the Davie War Eagles welcomed the Spartans from Mount Tabor, with second place in the conference up for grabs.

I arrived at War Eagle Stadium 80 minutes before kickoff, since there was so much I wanted to see and do...most of which had nothing to do with the contest on the field.

Pop Quiz! Caroline Wooten- North Davidson High School

When anyone asks me what I like best about covering prep sports so far, I have an easy answer: I'm constantly reminded that our community is filled with bright kids who are into much more than video games and Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

In fact, later today I will be creating a separate page strictly to display this season's Pop Quiz! participants.  I would encourage all visitors to this blog to read through each profile, even if it is about a student at a rival school. Each student's answers have been impressive in his or her own way, and this week's entrant is no different.

This past weekend, I got an unsolicited email in my inbox that said the following:

"Hello, my name is Caroline Wooten, and I am a varsity cheerleader at North Davidson High School. I just wanted to thank you for featuring North Davidson on your blog for the past two weeks! We're having a very good season, so I hope you drop by another game soon! Your blog is great and I'll make sure to tell everyone about it! Keep up the good work and have a great day!"

What?

I was shocked and moved at the same time.  I immediately asked Caroline if she wanted to participate in our Pop Quiz! and she readily accepted.  To my ultimate delight, Caroline fits right in with all of our other participants this year...but I'll let her tell you.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss Caroline Wooten!

Back to School- Coach Ryan McManus!

I'm aware that quite a few current football players and athletes from other sports follow me on Twitter.  For that reason, I'm always searching for high-profile folks to share a little of their story with you.  As a Winston-Salem resident and Wake Forest season ticket holder, I can tell you that there aren't many players I've respected more from the stands than this week's Back to School participant, Ryan McManus.  I'll let him tell you why:

1.     Identify yourself! (Name, high school, year of graduation, current occupation)

Ryan McManus, D.H. Conley High School class of 2005, Offensive Graduate Assistant at Wake Forest University

2.     You won the Wendy’s High School Heisman award as a senior, playing both football and baseball while in high school.  It’s almost a misleading name for the award, since to win you have to be a well-rounded student and member of your community.  Other than athletics, what else were you involved in?

Outside of school I was really involved in Young Life. I was an active member for all 4 years of high school and really involved with my youth group at church as well. School wise I was a member of a handful of clubs and honor societies. 

March on, Black Knights

One of the things I missed last week was the marching band.  With all the Homecoming festivities going on, I think I heard them play the National Anthem and that's it.  I'm a sucker for a good old marching band, and the Marching Black Knights did not disappoint.  They were absolutely fantastic!

See for yourself:

Taking the Field!



Once the smoke clears, the Black Knights gather in the endzone before taking the field.  If you watch closely, in one of the videos I (barely) capture one of the cheer squad executing a perfect layout!



Suddenly Saturday

I once again had the pleasure of spending a Football Friday in Welcome, North Carolina watching the North Davidson Black Knights run their record to 8-0 in front of their adoring fans.  This time, I brought my HD video camera to capture everything I missed last week! 

Additionally, my friend Dana Warren of DEWshots.com stopped by to capture some images for his award-winning photography portfolio.  I think he intended to stay for only a little while, and I saw him and his trademark hat on the sidelines for the duration.  He was just as impressed with North Davidson as I told him he'd be!  DEWshots is the preferred photography source for Finally Friday! and I encourage you to check out the scores of images Dana took from last night's game.

I'll be posting both photos and video this morning for your viewing pleasure!

Thanks so much to all the folks at North Davidson for their hospitality, and for my friends over at www.ourNDsports.com for all their help this week!  What a great two weeks of football!

In the meantime, you can read Doug Mead's game report from last night's 45-14 Black Knight rout over a talented Reagan Raider group here.

-John

A Conversation with OurNDSports.com

As I happily noted earlier in the week, I'm headed back to Welcome this week to cover the North Davidson/Reagan game.  This time, I hit up our friends over at www.ourndsports.com for some insight into what makes Black Knight football such a special experience.  Thanks to those guys for their thoughtful answers and their wonderful hospitality!