East Surry at North Wilkes
The Pilot Cards are jamming in the mix of the low teams of the Foothills. Last week they took a down Forbush team to the shed and shut them out for homecoming. This week they have the long dreadful drive to Hays to play an improved but still rough North Wilkes team. NW’s more physical than last year but they still lack a defense and offense is very one dimensional. East should win by whatever they like here.
Forbush at Surry Central
Needless to say last week wasn’t the week the Golden Eagles were hoping for at all as they were quite frankly unprepared for NS’s physicality and gameplan last week. Their defense couldn’t handle our offensive variety, and their offensive line was dominated by our size. Their offense had no balance as the run was taken away and their pass game didn’t work besides a few good plays. Even I was surprised as I expected it to be a close game like last year, but we were focused and ready and SC wasn’t. I don’t know if it was just the kids just not being able to match skill for skill, or it was just bad prep coaching ahead of time, but the Eagles left Toast with egg on their faces. This week however they have a solid chance at redemption as they face a bad Forbush team.
Forbush got throttled by East Surry last week like expected, they didn’t score again which has been their main weakness. They got lucky in their previous two wins especially vs Elkin, but not so much last week, and not so much here. Forbush’s defense is awful against the run and SC should be able to exploit that with the option. Should be a solid return to form night for the Golden Eagles on their senior night.
Elkin at Alleghany
I’ve never seen a team as snakebit as this Elkin team has been. It honestly makes no logical sense to me how wacky they are. Things just haven’t been right for them since the HC change, it started wild with the upset that never should have happened vs North Wilkes and it never has truly gotten better. Got 2 dubs from 2 bad Stokes teams, but besides that it’s been inept loss after inept loss. The past 2 have just been insane. Things won’t be getting easier for them as the Elks are now in the bully part of the schedule with MA and Starmount still to come. Up first is a jamming Alleghany squad who’s won 2 in a row and are trying to better their playoff chances. Alleghany is big and run a very physical offense and they’ve done a solid job with it. Elkin’s trying to do that but they just can’t do it.
Both teams have a lot to play for here, I just think Alleghany has the better horses.
East Wilkes at Starmount
Big battle here for a lot more than what people realize in Boonville. Starmount’s on the verge of having their first real 1A west playoff shot in a long time, but they gotta seal the deal which has been hard to do every year with the exception of that one year vs East Surry. Every year after 2014 with the exception of that year they’ve had a hard time finishing the regular season well and moving to the dance. This could be their chance at a true statement for program health, but they gotta knock off a very stubborn and hard willed East Wilkes team. East is still new to the spot they are in, for the first time in a while they are a significant 1A team in the area. However they still have growing pains as shown by the issues they had with Elkin last week. That was due to youthful mistakes being dealt with proper handling by the HC, however it made the game closer than what it should have been. This week they cannot afford a mistake or else this athletic Starmount team will go wild.
I think this will be a very good test for the Rams to see if they can overcome the hump of pressure or not. East has less to lose here but still can prove a lot even with a close loss. I just think Starmount’s athleticism will be the edge here.
South Stokes at North Stokes
Ahh the Cellar bowl. This is the last chance for either of these teams to win one. South’s had a really rough season, they were throttled by two good teams to start the year, then almost rebounded for an upset over McMichael but they let it slip. Since then they’ve been out physicaled by bigger and more experienced squads. North meanwhile started the year off hot but have let some chances slide away by having inept 2nd halves. They let a lead vs Patrick County slide away badly, they had a scoreless game with Elkin in the 3rd fall away in the 4th. It’s going to take a lot of courage and heart for one of these two teams to pull out the win here. I just think South’s the more athletic team and that might be enough. If North Stokes can establish their line control and keep the ball long enough South will be in a lot of trouble as they can’t handle that physicality yet. South’s RB meanwhile is the best player on the field and if he’s healthy N Stokes will have a long night. South has way more to play for here. A win will keep the program motivated and help the HC avoid the nuclear seat. North can afford a loss here and still make the playoffs.
This one can go either way, but I’m pulling for South here. I’d hate for them to go winless.
McMichael at West Stokes
Needless to say I was very surprised to see how close the Reidsville/WS game was last week, West finally got some breaks go their way this time after 2 games last year that dramatically broke open against them last year in ways they couldn’t handle it. This time they could and they had a solid 3 quarter performance before mistakes and Reidsville’s speed ate them up. But WS proved they are a team to deal with this year there. This week they get their last true easy breathing point of the season as they host a very bad McMichael team for senior night before their bye next week.
McMichael’s program is in a nuke situation similar to Carver’s as they had a lot of their kids quit midway through the year and they are struggling to finish the year out. They don’t have the talent to contend with anyone in the conference, it’s just a matter of finishing the year before I’m sure another HC change. West meanwhile can play this one any way they want do so and win.
