news-record.com

GREENSBORO — Rodney Brewington doesn't need to say his Smith football team is tired. You can hear it in his voice — between sniffles.

"What's really going on is mental fatigue," he said. "This is my first full year here. I told them, for your last three or four years of playing football, your season has been done by now. Mentally, that's what's getting us right now."

It's a little easier for the Golden Eagles to stay motivated knowing they're playoff-eligible at 4-5. Unless Grimsley or Southeast Guilford wins out, Smith — which opened the season by snapping a 32-game losing streak — will go to the postseason for the first time since 2004.

"Right now as a team we're just learning the consistency thing of what it takes to win," Brewington said. "We've left some games on the table, but we're really pleased with this team."

That's meant moving quarterback Codie Davis to wide receiver and installing 6-foot-5 junior Jeff Sims, a newcomer Brewington said has "a monster arm" but who they've been trying to bring along slowly.

"We all saw the potential," Brewington said. "But any time you're breaking in a new quarterback, you ask yourself, do I do it against Dudley? Do I do it against Page? It's all about confidence."

Sims came to Brewington before the Page game two weeks ago and said he was ready. He played three quarters against the Pirates. Sims completed 11-of-21 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown in a 35-19 loss that dropped Smith to 1-3 in the conference.

With leading rusher Elijah Jordan back from an ankle sprain and Anthony Johnson and Eric Ebron gelling as receivers to complement Davis and Sims, the Golden Eagles still have room for growth.

Dudley linebacker Major Bryant seems to have noticed. He was at an N.C. State game recently with Ebron and Smith cornerback Demari Boswell -- all recruiting targets for the Wolfpack.

Bryant, a key part of the Panthers' two state championships, "basically let our guys know to be humble and just use what you've got every play," Brewington said. "That kind of woke our kids up. Somebody from a state championship team notices our talent."

BIG TEST FOR BISHOP: Bishop McGuinness head coach Charlie Jones can live with one team beating the Villains when they travel to defending 1-A state champion Mt. Airy tonight. He can't live with two.

"I think the hardest thing to do is make sure you give a genuine effort," Jones said. "They've created kind of a mental block for everybody."

Mt. Airy has lost one game the last three seasons: the 2007 state quarterfinal to Albemarle. The Granite Bears have won 24 straight since then, including 38-0 and 44-0 wins over McGuinness. The Villains were 5-2 en route to a school-record seven wins when Mt. Airy came to town last season. When Jones watches that film, he sees the same tentativeness as every other team.

"What happens to a lot of people, including us last year, is people tend to treat it as bye week," he said. "Go in there, take our 50-0 beating and go to the next week. Well, there's nothing to be gained by losing 50-0. If you go up there and lay down, they're going to roll over you. It becomes a mental block that starts outweighing the physical obstacles, which are significant too.

"I don't believe in too much psychological gobbledygook but at the same time, in their case I think it's an expectation. They're way ahead before you get off the bus."

Jones said he would be surprised if his team spooks itself out of contention tonight. The Villains have already matched last year's win total at 7-1. Their only defeat came 9-7 at an 8-0 East Surry team he calls "Mount Airy Lite."

Jones said this is the fastest team he's coached at McGuinness, highlighted by scoreboard-lighting running backs Jared Pluciniczak and Marty DeFrancesco. They outscored their first four opponents 187-0 — which might be just big enough of a head start.

"They don't start slow, ever," Jones said.

Contact Tom Keller at 373-7034 or tom.keller@news-record.com

Editor's note: An earlier version of the story incorrectly stated the last time Smith qualified for the state high school football playoffs.