REIDSVILLE, N.C. — For the 30th time in program history. The Reidsville Rams will be playing in the last football game of the year. This time, they'll take on Clinton for the 2A State Title at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.
Last season, the Rams took on East Duplin in the State Championship game and came up just short of bringing home the hardware as East Duplin won the game 24 to 21.
So far in 2023, the Rams are 14-1, with a perfect 6-0 record in conference. The season's only loss for Reidsville came in Week 4, as they took Eastern Alamance, a 3A program.
This is the first season since 1996 that Jimmy Teague isn't patrolling the sidelines as the head coach for the Rams. However, there is a familiar face wearing the headset now. Jimmy's son, Erik, has taken over the program.
In his first season as head coach, Erik Teague has kept the ball rolling. The Rams are just one win away from their 23rd state championship in program history.
The Rams are led on offense by their 3rd year-starting quarterback, Al Lee. Lee is a senior who's seen the highs of winning a state championship as the backup in 2020 and felt the lows of losing as the starter last season.
"I just want to keep my guys spirit up," Lee said, "I just want to keep everyone where they need to be. That's my main thing, I want to make sure my guys feel appreciated. When something goes wrong we live for the next play," Lee told us.
Lee's level-headed demeanor is something first-year head coach Erik Teague is thankful for.
"There's a lot of expectations for the quarterback at Reidsville High School", Teague told us, "so when he doesn't quite perform well, they'll always have critics. But it seems like he (Lee) is blind to that. He comes to practice every day and works hard. He's grown tremendously in the three years he's been our starter", is how Teague describes his quarterback.
Kickoff of this year's 2A State Football Championship kickoffs at 3 pm this Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium.
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