GREENSBORO, N.C. — There are three reigning football state champions that call the Triad home, and all three will kick off their seasons tonight.
It seems like just yesterday we crowned three Triad schools the kings of football. Now three months later, we're just a few hours away from the kickoff of a brand new season.
We caught up with players from our local championship teams about defending their titles, the quick turnaround from the spring season, and their quests to defend their titles.
High school football is back and the Triad is home to three reigning champions! Reidsville won their third 2A state championship in a row, and 22nd overall.
Mt. Tabor won their first football state championship in program history in class 3A, and the Whirlies from Grimsley won the Class 4A state title. The school's first since 1960.
And if you didn't know, the boys are back and ready to bring more titles back to the Triad.
When asked about continuing the championship legacy at Reidsville, Senior Lineman Vince Widerman had this to say "I just want to give it all I got, and want to continue to build the legacy that's been built by the seniors the last couple of years. I just want to keep it going and get back to state."
We spoke with Mt. Tabor seniors Lance Patterson and Noah Marshall about how it feels defending the school's first football state title in history.
"It's no added pressure to me or our team, we're used to this stage, we're used to playing big games. Like we say, big-time players, make big-time plays and that's what we're looking forward to see tonight" said Patterson.
"It was a great experience, it was a lot of people I looked up to on that team. They passed me down a lot of knowledge, I just wanted to win for them. I love those guys, it was great" is how Noah Marshall explained his feelings after winning the title last spring.
Alonza Barnett is the senior quarterback at Grimsley High, he played a major role in leading the Whirlies to their first state championship in 61 years. When asked how he felt when he woke up this morning, and he had this to say
"ahhhh football is back of Fridays. you can finally get some sense of normalcy, school is starting back up. Finally seeing some people in the community coming back out to support us, means the world."