Guilford County Commissioners Honor Grimsley Football Champions After Perfect Season

Guilford County commissioners paused budget and policy discussion at their March 5, 2026 meeting to publicly recognize Grimsley High School’s football program after an undefeated championship run, adopting a county resolution that explicitly celebrates the 2024 Grimsley team and calls the school a 4-A program. The county resolution praises Grimsley for having “successfully navigated the academic and athletic fields through hard work, perseverance and dedication to the goal of excellence” and names coaches, athletic boosters, parents and the wider support network.

Commissioner Pat Tillman spoke at the recognition, saying, “A small way to honor the parents, the coaches, the administrators, the boosters, certainly the student-athletes to honor them and claim them as our champions here at home.” Tillman added personal context: “Both my daughter is graduating from Grimsley, and my son is there now,” and “As I've learned, Whirlies nation is very strong, very passionate as well they should be.” Grimsley Athletic Director Ethan Albright told county leaders, “Undefeated seasons are hard to come by and it represents tons of hard work by our coaches and players or administrators. The community support that we have this season.” An Instagram post from the school noted, “Our athletes were honored at the Guilford County Commissioners meeting this evening.”

Separate municipal paperwork from the City of Greensboro contains more specific game and personnel details for a later season. A Greensboro City Council resolution titled “RESOLUTION HONORING GRIMSLEY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM AS THE 2025 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 7-A CHAMPIONS” records that the Grimsley Whirlies won the NCHSAA Class 7A title on Friday, December 12, 2025, defeating the Clayton Comets 24–14. The city resolution names Head Coach Darryl Brown, credits a combined 31–0 record across the 2024 and 2025 seasons, and identifies quarterback Faizon Brandon as game Most Valuable Player after recording 191 yards of total offense and scoring two touchdowns.

The public recognitions present differing explicit claims: the county resolution referenced at the March 5 meeting celebrates the 2024 Grimsley team as a 4-A undefeated champion and notes the program’s recent state titles “for the second time in three years,” while the Greensboro City Council resolution records a 2025 NCHSAA Class 7A championship with named coach and MVP. Complicating the recent history, the state association ruled that New Bern forfeited all wins from an earlier season due to ineligible student-athletes, and the NCHSAA said no official state champion would be named for that season, leaving local leaders to press for county- and city-level recognition.

Grimsley’s athletic pedigree stretches decades: school language in the county resolution calls Grimsley “the oldest institution of public secondary education in Guilford County,” and local Hall of Fame entries note multi-sport standouts such as Rod Elkins (Grimsley 1976–1979, All‑State honors and NC Athlete of the Year), Mike Elkins (Grimsley in the early 1980s, later Wake Forest’s all-time passing leader with 7,304 yards and 43 touchdowns) and David Blum (Grimsley soccer captain 1975 who played professionally for the Miami Americans in 1980 and Carolina Lightin’ in 1981).

County commissioners used the March 5 meeting to place the Whirlies’ recent success in a civic spotlight, while city documents lay out the game-by-game statistics and names tied to the December 12, 2025 title. The two public resolutions contain different years and classifications in their text; county, city and school records will be the place to reconcile those specifics as the community marks consecutive undefeated seasons.