A week of experiencing local football gave everyone a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the teams in their area.
I debated multiple times about doing some pigskin picks for last week, but wanted to see all the teams play their first games before forming a real opinion. There have been too many changes and roster changes since last season to analyze based solely on scrimmages, practice, and festivities. I had some good predictions in my head, but I got a few wrong. This was further proof that the preseason stuff, while a good benchmark, doesn't tell the whole story about a team.
And Week 1 won't tell the whole story. A lot of things change from week to week, so teams can and will look very different this week than they did last week, and they certainly will look different in Week 11.
Lastly, I want to point out that this is not me being biased or prejudiced towards any particular team. This is just me, an outsider with no ties to any particular school in the county, giving a true and honest analysis of each team's matchup this week. This is not written to criticize any particular school or fetishize another. Feel free to use this as forum material, but please understand that my opinions are only those of someone with a bird's-eye view of county sports as a whole.
Lakewood @ KIPP Pride, Thursday, 7 p.m.
A rare Thursday night game will take place this week as the Leopards make a trip to Gaston to take on the KIPP Pride.
Lakewood is off to a strong start last week, thumping Spring Creek 60-6. Though they have weaknesses in the passing game, their stout 4-3 defense is a strength against the run. 22 total assisted tackles, three interceptions and a forced fumble and recovery show the Leopards were in full puck-hunt mode on defense on Friday. Dontavious Smith returned one interception for a 55-yard touchdown and added another for a 25-yard return. He also scored a touchdown on a 45-yard punt return.
Offensively, Lakewood was in top form. Calvin Racewell Jr. recaptured the form he had as a freshman last season, rushing for 113 yards and two scores. Chris Carr, Rylan Godbold and Reid Ammons also had rushing touchdowns. Godbold also showed his prowess in the passing game, showing that Lakewood can put passes in the air when they want to.
KIPP Pride lost to Washington County 22-8 in Week 1. Statistics were not available for this game.
My prediction is that Lakewood could have another big win in a non-conference game, as I expect the Leopards to hold the opponent to 50+ points and allow little to no points.
Trask @ Hobton, Friday, 7 p.m.
Hobbton suffered some bad luck in their season opener last week, losing 34-0 at Midway. But it wasn't a total loss for the Wildcats. There were some bright moments against the Raiders. Their defense stumbled Midway early with two fumbles by the home team, an early penalty on Midway's first possession and a stop on third down. Add in a blocked field goal, an interception and several big stops and defense was the meat of the game for Hobbton, but it ultimately fell short.
The offense also had some bright moments, including a much-needed fourth-down conversion, but field position seemed like a hole they couldn't dig themselves out of.
Trask had a big 46-0 win at home against Rocky Mount Prep, but I can't find any statistics from that game.
My prediction is that Hobton will get back on track and beat Trask 35-31 in front of their home crowd.
Clinton @ Wallace Rose Hill, Friday, 7 p.m.
The Dark Horses didn't get off to the start they hoped for under head coach Johnny Boykin, but all is not lost yet. They opened the season at Northside Jacksonville, but lost 43-0, managing just five yards of total offense.
But as mentioned earlier, Week 1 is not the only game of the season and a dark horse could easily bounce back from their opener and bounce back quickly.
For Clinton, the bright side of this game may have been their defense. Wallace Rose Hill attempted eight passes against Havelock on Friday in a 51-14 loss. Three of those attempts were intercepted and only two connected with WRH receivers for a total of 44 yards and no touchdowns.
Coach Boykin said in a previous interview that he has “experience” on defense, so hopefully he can take advantage of the Bulldogs' forced and unforced errors this Friday night. If they can combine that with offensive success, the Dark Horses could pull off a win.
This game may be a back-and-forth affair, but my prediction is that Clinton will still be unable to get their act together and will lose to Wallace-Rose Hill, 42-28.
James Kennan @ Midway, Friday, 7 p.m.
Both teams dominated their opponents last week and will no doubt be looking to do the same this week in what is expected to be a high-scoring match.
Midway opened the season in style with a 34-0 win at home against Hobton, and James Kennan took the road to Swansboro and won 48-6. This could very well be a showdown between an unstoppable force and an immovable object, but it remains to be seen which team is which.
James Kenan only threw three passes for five yards in the opener but had 256 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. Midway's Tanner Williams threw 23 passes and completed 15 for 169 yards and three touchdowns. James Kenan recorded 76 total tackles and 15 tackles for loss. Midway recorded 72 tackles and eight tackles for loss. It's set to be a battle of two giants on Friday at Tommy Sloan Field.
Coach Barrett Sloan said the Raiders will “mix up different packages” on defense this season, so it will be interesting to see if the Raiders box out against James Kenan's run-heavy team. The Tigers often ran their defense out of dime packages, which matched up well against pass-heavy opponents and ultimately forced interceptions.
In my first shootout of the week, I predict Barrett Sloan's Raiders will win at home for the second week in a row, beating James Kenan 54-51.
Bear Grass Charters @ Union, Friday, 7 p.m.
A number of injuries on Friday night led to Union ultimately losing its first game against American Leadership Academy Johnston, 59-0.
The injury status is unclear at this time, but he will certainly be sidelined for Friday's game. As I've been saying throughout this analysis, all is not lost for the Spartans. Union head coach Mark Oates has a lot of experience in high school football. If there's anyone in the county who can turn this team around, it's him.
This will be the opening game for the Beargrass, who did not play on Friday. The Beargrass had a record that many schools would envy last year, going 8-3 and making the playoffs and going 6-0 in conference play. The Beargrass had a pair of running backs who combined for 1,961 yards and 33 touchdowns on 210 carries last season.
But the good news for Union is that those two players have graduated and the young players who replaced them are only a fraction of what they were. The Bears are not a pass-heavy team, so Union's 4-4 defense should be able to handle the run well.
If the Spartans can bounce back quickly and get the team together, they could give Bear Creek a run for their money.
However, I think Bear Creek is favored this week, and it will be a much closer game than expected, with Bear Creek winning 28-17.
Harrells Christian Academy @ Wayne Christian, Friday, 7 p.m.
The Crusaders face Wayne Christian on Friday, so a week off could be crucial for them.
The Harrells lost 28-6 to Covenant Day in their season opener, a week before the public school season opener. This was likely due in large part to the difference in opponents. Covenant Day put the ball in the air more than many other schools at this level of high school football, and HCA may not have been prepared for that. In fact, HCA had more all-purpose yards than their opponents.
Their stack box defense also had some shining moments, combining sacks and other tackles behind the line of scrimmage to hold Covenant Day's quarterbacks to -42 rushing yards and less overall net yards. They also had success in the rushing game, recording 151 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
The Crusaders will need all the help they can get going against an Eagles team that went 11-2 last season and ultimately lost in the Division 1A eight-man football state championship game, but two things are noteworthy: first, the Crusaders' only regular season loss was to Harrells, and second, last season's performance is gone.
Even better news for the Crusaders is that the top two running backs rushing for over 2,100 yards last season were seniors that season. Four of the top five receivers rushing for over 1,100 yards were also seniors. A strong rushing attack, coupled with the Crusaders' dominant defense, could lead the Crusaders to a victory in their second meeting this season.
I think the Harrells will dominate the Eagles, but I don't expect it to be a high scoring game. I predict HCA will win 21-17.
Brandt Young can be contacted at (910) 247-9036, (email protected) or on the Sampson Independent’s Facebook page.
