A Record-Setting Year For Reidsville

As prolific as the Reidsville Rams were in winning back-to-back NCHSAA 2-AA championships in 2002-03, the 2007 Ram edition has been even more prolific.

As the Rams prepare for the Dec. 8 2-AA title game at Raleigh's Carter-Finley Stadium against long-time power and two-time defending state champion Shelby, it's time to take a short break and look at the statistical prowess of the current Reidsville Eleven.

Reidsville ended the regular season as the state's number one ranked 2-A team. And, through a four-game march through the East Regionals, the Rams have left little doubt as to why they were able to climb to such a lofty perch.

In posting a 15-0 record to date, the Rams have broke numerous records. That unblemished mark stands as the longest such streak in a single season a Reidsville Ram team has gone without a defeat.

As a team, Reidsville has already established a new single-season scoring mark with 742 points scored. The Rams have outscored the opposition by an amazing 243-24 in the first quarter of 15 games and own a staggering 227-16 advantage in the second quarter. Reidsville opponents have not scored more than an aggregate 73 points in a quarter (third) all season and have scored just 165 against the Ram defense all year.

The Rams have scored over 60 points four times this season and have yet to be held under 30 points in a single game.

Individually, linebacker John Connally surpassed the 500 career mark in tackles in the Nov. 30 win over Southern Vance.

On the offensive side of the ball, the year has belonged to running back Tayon Graves and the offensive line of Phillip McLaughlin, Lance Spivey, Devin Sessoms, Rashard Williamson, Jazz Totten, Joe Brown, and Ron Mitchell. That group has helped Graves reach some mighty lofty territory this year.

Graves has rushed for a record 2,079 yards to date and has 43 rushing touchdowns and 262 points scored this season alone. His 40 carries, 285 yards, and seven touchdowns against Southern Vance are all single game school records. Even more amazing is the fact he has only eight yards in losses from scrimmage all season.

The senior also holds school standards with 732 career rushes, 5,377 yards, and 92 touchdowns. He needs just 11 carries to eclipse his own record of 251 rushing attempts in a season.

Quarterback Ray Ray Butchee has added another 824 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns. The junior lefty has completed 88 of 146 passing attempts against just four interceptions for 1,885 yards and 21 touchdowns.

This year's championship game will pit the two winningest high school football programs in recorded North Carolina history.

Shelby tops the list in all-time wins with approximately 650 victories while Reidsville checks in with 611 wins against just 295 losses and 38 ties dating back to 1910 (there are perhaps more wins and losses but efforts to recover some years were unsuccessful as complete seasons were not found in extensive research done in 2004). Those totals combine the entire known history of Reidsville football featuring teams called the Golden Tornadoes, the Golden Lions, and the Rams.

The Golden Lions racked up a 286-158-36 worksheet before Reidsville High School consolidated with Booker T. Washington High School in 1969 and formed the Reidsville Rams.

Since 1969, the Rams have run up an impressive 325-137-2 record and have four of the school's record 15 state titles.

Currrent Reidsville coach Jimmy Teague has been on the sidelines for 181 of those 325 victories since 1992. Teague-coached teams have lost just 40 games during that same period.

Saturday's title game at Carter-Finley Stadium is also the site of Reidsville's most recent championship. In 2003, the Rams defeated Bandys 68-12.