Panthers, Cougars set to meet in season finale

The win totals are identical to last season and although there are no playoff implications on the line Friday night in Eden, do not tell Rockingham County or Morehead that the game means nothing.
Last season the two county teams met – each with one win – and staged a thrilling back-and-forth battle that literally came down to the final second.
With no time left on the clock, then junior quarterback Cody Munson launched a desperation pass towards the end zone that Eric Kennedy somehow came down with while lying on the ground and Rockingham pulled out a 46-45 shootout victory.
Now the two schools meet – each with two wins, but for one team they can get a little taste of victory in their mouth heading into the off season and also help to wipe away a forgettable October.
For Morehead, the Panthers faced the Mid-State 3-A Conference’s top two teams in Northern Guilford and Eastern Alamance. The top of the heap handed Morehead a pair of losses by a combined score of 129-12. Most recently was the loss to the Nighthawks, last Friday that put Morehead at 2-8 overall and 0 for 6 in conference games.
Rockingham County faced off with the top three teams in the conference, playing Northern, Eastern and Western Alamance. All three were losses and came at a combined mark of 145-28.
On Friday, the Cougars ran into the Eastern Alamance Eagles’ high-powered offense and lost a 48-7 decision. RCHS comes into to Friday’s game also at 2-8 overall and 0 for 6 in conference tilts.
In last year’s finale, the two combined for 610 yards of offense, 30 first downs, 456 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.
Munson, now a senior, split time under center with Jake Wall and was only 4 of 14 passing for 53 yards – but 32 came in the game’s final play to Kennedy.
Kennedy, who still leads the Cougars in rushing and points scored, was lost in week three to an ACL tear and eight weeks later the search continues for an every down back.
RCHS head coach Lin Stadler has turned to senior Rob Fields, who had 66 yards last week, freshman John Jackson, who has struggled at times but scored his first varsity TD against Eastern Alamance as well as Lance Denny, Chris Lea and Alex Dalton.
Morehead’s recipe for success has been simpler – get the ball in the hands of junior quarterback Juwaan Winfield. Winfield, who had two touchdowns in the lost to RCHS last season, has accounted for nearly 2,000 total yards (800 rushing, 1,100 passing) and 21 TDs. Through the air, the senior QB has 11 TDs, but 20 interceptions and on the ground he has a team-high 171 carries for over 800 yards and 10 scores.
Winfield’s favorite target, but not the only one, is junior A.J. Artis. Artis, who leads the team in scoring with 66 points, has nine touchdowns (10 total) and over 600 yards receiving on 40 catches. Artis accounts for about 53 percent of Winfield’s completions and is averaging nearly a TD per game through the air.
On the ground, MHS head coach Jason Smart also turns to sophomore Jerry Anderson and junior Kersee King.
With only nine seniors set to graduate off Smart’s roster, there is an abundance of youth on this team and they are getting valuable playing time now.
Although the Cougars are looking to graduate a slightly higher number (16) than the Panthers, Rockingham’s roster is nine players deeper and it too has a high number of young kids starting week in and week out.
Without a serious running threat, the Cougars rely heavily on the arm of Munson. Through 10 games, the senior QB has thrown for 1,356 yards and nine TDs against 15 INTs. Munson has added four rushing touchdowns and unlike the Panthers has six receivers with at least 10 receptions.
Backup quarterback Jordan Keen (So.) is the team’s leading receiver with 22 receptions and two TDs and both he and junior Chris Lea are averaging over 11 yards per catch.
When looking at the numbers, the Panthers are averaging slightly more per game at 19.9 points compared to the Cougars, who average 15.3 but Morehead has allowed 87 more on defense (41.4) than RCHS (32.7).
There are certainly more games around the area with more at stake or with playoff berths on the line, but this one could be setting up to be another Cougar-Panther shootout.