East Surry at Starmount
East is in a spot they haven’t been in a while due to the lack of Gosnell and other players who aren’t there anymore. I seen some of their scrimmage vs East Wilkes and they looked very out of sorts. East Wilkes honestly performed very well and East Surry not so much. But that’s a scrimmage and that was that. There is still talent there but this going to be a year they haven’t had in a while. Lowman is going to have to do a coaching job for once.. He can’t win by coasting off the super talent anymore he actually is gonna have to do work. This will be a challenge that makes or breaks him as Pilot isn’t a fun place to be if you don’t win by 20 points every week. In their way to start is Starmount; a team they have bullied for 3 years and one that wants to stomp on their parade quite hard and often. This senior class for Starmount actually beat East on JV the last time these groups played so I’m sure that has been in their heads for years. If this game is played as hard as the JV one from last night I expect another doozy (that game went to 2 OT’s with a Starmount win.) I just find both teams hard to rate and I’ll use my neutrality card for this one. East has a lot of ?’s they have to answer and the Rams are so unknown it’s hard to pick them so I couldn’t risk it. Gonna be a nice crowd at Boonville tonight.
Surry Central at Alleghany
In a game they I once figured would be close, Central has their old school 90’s era opener back, and a chance to shine up on the mountain. Alleghany is trying it’s hardest to make the season worthwhile despite low #’s all around to the point they couldn't play Thursdays but they didn’t have a good draw with a very senior heavy Central team who is aiming for another solid year. Central will be focusing to put on a show tonight while Alleghany is trying to find it’s oats and momentum the program needs to make it. I just see Central as a far more complete team right now. Alleghany could make it close than what I expect; they tend to do that. The remaining seniors on their squad are very good after all. ? is can the younger kids catch up in time?
North Wilkes at Elkin
The Elks return home for the opener in an unknown spot as of late. They are no longer able to depend on that glory class that was predicted to win the state title (that didn’t age well at all,) and they have to refocus their offense after losing the Robinson kid to a move. He was going to be their star and the focus of their offense going forward but without him the offense becomes focused on the run especially the option play of their new QB from the JV’s. Their numbers are super low at 18, much like their 90’s/2000’s days so those kids have got to play smart and condition well. The defense isn’t great or comparable to the last few but it’s very well coached.. There is room for potential here however they got to roll with the punches to get to what’s real. Up first is Wood’s alma matter North Wilkes who are still trying to find their new ID under the new HC. Their QB is the heart of their offence but they badly need to grow for the future. They are one dimensional on O and their D is their weak spot like all of the NW teams the past 10 years. A win here would help them tremendously, but in order to get it they got to grow on both sides of the ball.
However I don’t see it minus a crazy performance for that QB. He struggled vs Avery county from the film I’ve seen. It’ll depend on the kids around him; and Elkin has beaten NW on JV the past 2 years which is a great sign for them. Enough to pick them.
West Stokes at South Stokes
The Stokes county title is on the line in Walnut Cove tonight. South is the defending champs after upsetting West and smashing North in 2019; however that team is mostly gone minus a few pieces. West meanwhile is trying to find any momentum they can to make it through their very tough new conference and they have very few winnable games on paper; this is def one. However I just can’t fully judge either team as I don’t know enough. West has some athletes but their depth is very low (23 kids in team picture,) and they had quite a few hurt kids at their scrimmage vs Alleghany. South meanwhile I didn’t see very much of at the scrimmage as we split the scrimmage between varsity and JV. They have 40 kids in their team picture which may come to help them tonight if they can play a lot of them. Coaching wise Diamont and Johnson are both very good so I couldn’t find an edge there either. So I’ll skip this one but I’m expecting a close one.. I’d be surprised if one runs away with it.
North Stokes at South Davidson
If this game gets played.. A big if mind you, it could be quite a coming out party for the Vikes and their new HC. South Davidson’s had really low numbers and had to pull out of the South Stokes scrimmage last week due to not having enough. The Vikes didn’t have much either but they played hard especially vs Elkin. If they can find a way to produce on offense without overdoing the QB they can put some points on the board this year. He is their star and he’s gonna have it rough quite a few weeks. Question is can he stay healthy all year and take the load on? The RB who has been good needs to step up as does the other seniors.
There’s no reason why they can’t win at least 3 if not 4 of the first 4 games.
West Wilkes at East Wilkes
This has the chance of being the most underrated-idly tough game on the slate this week. In the spring East let a win slip due to their youth and big heads and West made the most of it with that ballsy comeback. East has been grudging and prepping for this game all summer while West has been living off it and prepping for another win. Something has to give here and I expect it to be an absolute war from kickoff to the final knee. East has an excellent junior class and got a transfer from Central while West has momentum and has better #’s for the first time in a while. I have a hard time picking a winner here granted I could see East pulling it off here due to revenge factor but I can also see West ground controlling to a win too. So I’m gonna go neutral here.
Ashe Co at Wilkes Central
Glad to see this series still going it’s always been a fun one between these two teams. Back in the day they played for MVAC gold now it’s more for momentum but a fun matchup here. Both teams are rebuilding from the ground up; Ashe more especially. They have to rebuild both sides especially that defense. Central meanwhile is more baren on the line and at RB. On paper you’d think that would give them an edge but they are now completely different due to the loss of Morrison who was the soul of that O for quite a bit. It’s an equal loss to Ashe’s new offense as they have a new QB. This one’s honestly a toss up and hard to pick but I go with the Huskies here due to coaching; Hampton’s a much better coach than Turner is and his staff is better.
North Forsyth at Forbush
For some odd reason there was quite a bit of something between these two last year because NF desperately wanted to play them off the bat for some odd reason. NF had a chance to win this one last year but their anemic O couldn’t hang against that D line of the Bush. NF’s D stayed in as long as they could but tiring out and dumb moves cost them dearly. This year it’s gonna be similar in those ways plus different. NF’s #’s still aren’t super great from what I hear while the Bush has the most momentum it’s had in 16/17 years. It’s a battle of contrasts in East Bend.
I do think this game has quite a solid chance to be quite closer than the previous one. NF has some killer speed in the skill spots which will give a lot of team fits this year. The Bush doesn’t quite have the speed it had last year with those 4 year seniors but they do have quite a solid run offense and that RB is really good. If the bush can figure it’s passing game out fully they will be okay but they don’t have much room to mess around this non conference slate is their most challenging since the mid 00’s. NF is a great speed test, next week they face a Trinity squad who is quite big on the line and can run (their line size was impressive when I seen them last Friday.) They will give Bush a total test. Then comes Starmount and Thomasvile. They will be tested one way or another come Foothills time. Question is can they rise to the challenge and the hype or will they find a way to bust.
East is in a spot they haven’t been in a while due to the lack of Gosnell and other players who aren’t there anymore. I seen some of their scrimmage vs East Wilkes and they looked very out of sorts. East Wilkes honestly performed very well and East Surry not so much. But that’s a scrimmage and that was that. There is still talent there but this going to be a year they haven’t had in a while. Lowman is going to have to do a coaching job for once.. He can’t win by coasting off the super talent anymore he actually is gonna have to do work. This will be a challenge that makes or breaks him as Pilot isn’t a fun place to be if you don’t win by 20 points every week. In their way to start is Starmount; a team they have bullied for 3 years and one that wants to stomp on their parade quite hard and often. This senior class for Starmount actually beat East on JV the last time these groups played so I’m sure that has been in their heads for years. If this game is played as hard as the JV one from last night I expect another doozy (that game went to 2 OT’s with a Starmount win.) I just find both teams hard to rate and I’ll use my neutrality card for this one. East has a lot of ?’s they have to answer and the Rams are so unknown it’s hard to pick them so I couldn’t risk it. Gonna be a nice crowd at Boonville tonight.
Surry Central at Alleghany
In a game they I once figured would be close, Central has their old school 90’s era opener back, and a chance to shine up on the mountain. Alleghany is trying it’s hardest to make the season worthwhile despite low #’s all around to the point they couldn't play Thursdays but they didn’t have a good draw with a very senior heavy Central team who is aiming for another solid year. Central will be focusing to put on a show tonight while Alleghany is trying to find it’s oats and momentum the program needs to make it. I just see Central as a far more complete team right now. Alleghany could make it close than what I expect; they tend to do that. The remaining seniors on their squad are very good after all. ? is can the younger kids catch up in time?
North Wilkes at Elkin
The Elks return home for the opener in an unknown spot as of late. They are no longer able to depend on that glory class that was predicted to win the state title (that didn’t age well at all,) and they have to refocus their offense after losing the Robinson kid to a move. He was going to be their star and the focus of their offense going forward but without him the offense becomes focused on the run especially the option play of their new QB from the JV’s. Their numbers are super low at 18, much like their 90’s/2000’s days so those kids have got to play smart and condition well. The defense isn’t great or comparable to the last few but it’s very well coached.. There is room for potential here however they got to roll with the punches to get to what’s real. Up first is Wood’s alma matter North Wilkes who are still trying to find their new ID under the new HC. Their QB is the heart of their offence but they badly need to grow for the future. They are one dimensional on O and their D is their weak spot like all of the NW teams the past 10 years. A win here would help them tremendously, but in order to get it they got to grow on both sides of the ball.
However I don’t see it minus a crazy performance for that QB. He struggled vs Avery county from the film I’ve seen. It’ll depend on the kids around him; and Elkin has beaten NW on JV the past 2 years which is a great sign for them. Enough to pick them.
West Stokes at South Stokes
The Stokes county title is on the line in Walnut Cove tonight. South is the defending champs after upsetting West and smashing North in 2019; however that team is mostly gone minus a few pieces. West meanwhile is trying to find any momentum they can to make it through their very tough new conference and they have very few winnable games on paper; this is def one. However I just can’t fully judge either team as I don’t know enough. West has some athletes but their depth is very low (23 kids in team picture,) and they had quite a few hurt kids at their scrimmage vs Alleghany. South meanwhile I didn’t see very much of at the scrimmage as we split the scrimmage between varsity and JV. They have 40 kids in their team picture which may come to help them tonight if they can play a lot of them. Coaching wise Diamont and Johnson are both very good so I couldn’t find an edge there either. So I’ll skip this one but I’m expecting a close one.. I’d be surprised if one runs away with it.
North Stokes at South Davidson
If this game gets played.. A big if mind you, it could be quite a coming out party for the Vikes and their new HC. South Davidson’s had really low numbers and had to pull out of the South Stokes scrimmage last week due to not having enough. The Vikes didn’t have much either but they played hard especially vs Elkin. If they can find a way to produce on offense without overdoing the QB they can put some points on the board this year. He is their star and he’s gonna have it rough quite a few weeks. Question is can he stay healthy all year and take the load on? The RB who has been good needs to step up as does the other seniors.
There’s no reason why they can’t win at least 3 if not 4 of the first 4 games.
West Wilkes at East Wilkes
This has the chance of being the most underrated-idly tough game on the slate this week. In the spring East let a win slip due to their youth and big heads and West made the most of it with that ballsy comeback. East has been grudging and prepping for this game all summer while West has been living off it and prepping for another win. Something has to give here and I expect it to be an absolute war from kickoff to the final knee. East has an excellent junior class and got a transfer from Central while West has momentum and has better #’s for the first time in a while. I have a hard time picking a winner here granted I could see East pulling it off here due to revenge factor but I can also see West ground controlling to a win too. So I’m gonna go neutral here.
Ashe Co at Wilkes Central
Glad to see this series still going it’s always been a fun one between these two teams. Back in the day they played for MVAC gold now it’s more for momentum but a fun matchup here. Both teams are rebuilding from the ground up; Ashe more especially. They have to rebuild both sides especially that defense. Central meanwhile is more baren on the line and at RB. On paper you’d think that would give them an edge but they are now completely different due to the loss of Morrison who was the soul of that O for quite a bit. It’s an equal loss to Ashe’s new offense as they have a new QB. This one’s honestly a toss up and hard to pick but I go with the Huskies here due to coaching; Hampton’s a much better coach than Turner is and his staff is better.
North Forsyth at Forbush
For some odd reason there was quite a bit of something between these two last year because NF desperately wanted to play them off the bat for some odd reason. NF had a chance to win this one last year but their anemic O couldn’t hang against that D line of the Bush. NF’s D stayed in as long as they could but tiring out and dumb moves cost them dearly. This year it’s gonna be similar in those ways plus different. NF’s #’s still aren’t super great from what I hear while the Bush has the most momentum it’s had in 16/17 years. It’s a battle of contrasts in East Bend.
I do think this game has quite a solid chance to be quite closer than the previous one. NF has some killer speed in the skill spots which will give a lot of team fits this year. The Bush doesn’t quite have the speed it had last year with those 4 year seniors but they do have quite a solid run offense and that RB is really good. If the bush can figure it’s passing game out fully they will be okay but they don’t have much room to mess around this non conference slate is their most challenging since the mid 00’s. NF is a great speed test, next week they face a Trinity squad who is quite big on the line and can run (their line size was impressive when I seen them last Friday.) They will give Bush a total test. Then comes Starmount and Thomasvile. They will be tested one way or another come Foothills time. Question is can they rise to the challenge and the hype or will they find a way to bust.
