FULL STATEMENT: Davidson Day head coach responds to reports of passing record not counted

Davidson Day Head Coach Chad Grier answered some questions for wsoctv.com on the team's 104-80 win over Harrells Christian.  He also commented on the fact that his son and starting QB, Will Grier's national passing record in the game may never be counted in the record books.

What do you tell your team after a game like this?

"I told them I was proud of them – Harrells was a very good team with an incredible back and they never quit. But neither did we. I told them to rest well and I'll see you for weights and film in the morning; let's go win a championship."

Did you ever think you would have to put up 100 points to secure a win?

"It never crossed my mind, but neither did the possibility of giving up 80."

What does your son say about breaking the national passing record with 837 yards?

"We haven't even talked about it. The only stat either of us really care about is W's."

Your team scored more points than Charlotte Bobcats have in 4 out of 5 games this season. How does that feel?

"I really hope the Bobcats get better! Larry Jordan is a great friend of mine and I am a huge fan of his brother, the owner."

What's the first thing you focus on for Friday's game?

"Same 3 keys: win the turnover margin, win the kicking game and no stupid penalties. And find my long johns because it's probably going to be cold up there."

"The only record that really counts is the win and I am very sure that has been recognized and that we will play for the State Championship on Friday."

"The game, the stats from the game, the players and coaches who participated in the game, all of that speaks for itself.  Someone obviously keeps up with these kinds of things otherwise there wouldn't be a newsworthy event associated with it.  So whether the official keeper of records in NC "counts" the records established in our game last Friday or not, as a fan of high school football and a native North Carolinian, I am proud that one of our own established a national record that most would expect to come from a kid in California or Texas."

"It does strike me funny that the record would not be "counted" because we aren't a public school, and the argument – as I understand it – is that there could be a competitive imbalance because we aren't a public school. Our tiny private school adheres to the same eligibility requirements as the NCHSAA and no one on our team (certainly none of the 19 freshmen and sophomores on our 34 man roster) has played, or will ever play, more than 4 years of varsity football.  Our program has played 2 years of varsity football and has only lost 3 games … all to private schools. We are 3-0 vs 3A public schools and have scored 39. 49 and 53 in those wins with a 27 point margin of victory. There are many public schools In NC that would be tough for us to match up with, but there are many public schools that would have a really hard time matching up with us as well. "

"In my opinion, most problems in youth and high school sports stem from adults whose focus is on themselves and their own egos and agendas as opposed to keeping the focus on the kids. It seems as if some people would rather hate on and even attack young athletes and their coaches when someone else has success that they feel should be reserved for their own kids, schools or egos. Usually this comes from adults who feel threatened and their insecurities are often exposed through (anonymous) posts to news articles and message boards."

WSOC