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Slash's Week 3 Power Poll (Different due to Circumstances)

Slasher Killer

Well-Known Member
Sep 23, 2010
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This weeks poll is just limited to 5 teams mainly because the # of playing teams at the moment didn't offer many more teams than 5 to do a poll on. Quite a few of the teams included are on Quarantine or just not there yet.

So I improvised and split this into sections. 1. is the main poll, 2 is a look into the quarantine teams, and 3 . are the rest.


I will have this week's picks up starting in the afternoon with N Forsyth's game as they play today and I will go from there.
 
1.MA

East Surry had some fluke luck to their advantage and the big game went bye bye. MA in turn had to play the best team available which was a down and out Draughn team (they always are though to be fair,) and slaughtered them which everyone figured. Such a shame MA couldn’t find a good 3A or 4A team to play to show how good they truly are or not, but it is what it is. With the exception of East Wilkes MA will cruise through the rest of the year now unless they lay an egg. Up this week is an decent but not great Surry Central team who got walloped by EW last week.


2.East Wilkes +

The Ronda Cards have risen to the bell finally and look like one of the best teams in the area this year. They fought a very stubborn SC team off last week in the 2nd half showing their will and talent they would have folded in some years. This junior group is clicking at almost all levels right now but they have another hard test this week as they head to Pilot to play the other Cards. These two scrimmaged in August and I seen first hand the Ronda Cards looked good vs ES. Question is can they live up to that or will they choke at crunch time? EW gets this spot due to playing a harder team and not a pushover. SOS means a lot here.



3.East Surry -

I’m not gonna get into their situation but the Pilot Cards still have a lot of proving to do and this week is the best possible way of doing so. If they lose or have a rough performance then all bets are off; if they win then it will be a nice year for them because EW is a good squad. The Starmount game was a rather crap indicator of anything. Starmount wasn’t 100% and East cruised over that.




4.Forbush -

Trinity was who we thought they were; perhaps a little worse. I expected better out of that team as they looked like a million bucks 3 weeks ago but they got destroyed. Forbush barely broke a sweat from the way it looked. Up this week is their main rival Starmount in the UNIFI bowl. These two groups have had doozies in the past including a deep OT game on JV in 2018 so I expect a potentially fun game here; however can Starmount finally reach their potential or will they let it slip like they have done the past few years? Forbush has the momentum but they can’t afford to let the next two teams off the hook. If they win the next two then I see them having a serious shot at East in October, if not then who knows.



5. Starmount +


Up into the top 5 is surprisingly the Rams but honestly they deserve it after dominating a very decent CSD team. The scoring wasn’t sexy but Starmount’s rushing #’s were very much so; plus they honestly deserve this spot more than Walkertown does after they wet the bed last week. The Rams face their first of 4 mega tests this week as they play their buddies from up around the bend’ in the Unifi Bowl. This will be a chance to show what they got and if that game last week was a fluke or not.
 
Covid Squads:





First week of Q:


-North Surry

The Hounds found life and their mojo finally after a rough start in King. Despite the loss North played rather decent ball in this game; the defense limited West to one real drive in either half, the other 2 scores came early off short field after not being there mentally. That is to be expected when you only have one senior on the defense. Offensively we fumbled too dumbly in the first half but we came out of the half on fire and it was fun to watch. They coulda easily been down 28 but a different squad came out and it made for a fun second half. The Hounds lost their QB of the future for a month and a half at least due to a broke arm, and their senior LB to a concussion but managed to play 3 quarters of good ball. It shows a lot of growth in just 2 games for these kids; the season has went like I expected: nothing too crazy off my guesstimate minus the missed week. Offensively they are miles better than what they were in February at this point but still needs work, D wise is the same. They both faced buzz saws the opener then showed up in week 2. Lots of parallels.

This week would have been a nice proving game for the kids as they had a great chance to ditch the first two weeks and move on. It would have been the home opener too; bummer. I guess the Hounds will have to wait until the Wilkes Central game now unless they find someone between that date and when the quarantine ends.






-West Stokes



The Wildcats were given a much harder contest and were exposed by the Hounds after the Sauras laid down to them the first week. The QB got banged up with a hurt shoulder from the way it looked and the lack of depth bit them in the butt on offense as cramps hit, but their defense did what they needed to do for the win. Reminds me of these two teams 3 years back in middle school. Put these two teams later in the year and I would expect another bloodbath. It will be more dooszies at the start of the year for the next few years between these two teams .

As for West until the offense finds some more consistency they will have a harder time each week in that conference. They can't afford to sputter and live off mistakes. HP Andrews and up in that conference is too good. Their next one should be winnable however vs McMichael. Depth will be the huge key for them.. The longer they can stay healthy the better. Reidsville and Walkertown will have that edge by a mile. Everyone else should be in the same ballpark. If their JV’s have to fold due to low #’s then it will be a step backward; they don't need that.








Second Week of Q:



-North Wilkes

The Hays Vikes honestly surprised me on film.. They came out ready to play and took it to the Elks; they honestly looked better and should have won that game. They choked it when they didn’t need to do so. Elkin couldn’t stop NW’s RB who is a gamer, and their QB chunked it all over them. They just fumbled at awful points and their defense showed their usual lost nature and couldn’t keep up with Elkin when they needed to. I see this squad having a solid offense by the end of the year but that defense will make or break them. They need to be better coached on that end and not so inept at option plays and audibles.



-West Wilkes

The Blackhawks desperately need another game to show theirselves; however the first chance they get is vs a powerhouse Central Davidson team next week who are one of the hottest teams in the state right now after thumping Randleman. The main thing here is if the Blackhawks can stand their own or get run over by that wing.. It will show a lot for the end of the year. They wanted the challenge so we shall see. However things aren’t so dire in Miller’s Creek. They have the makeup date for the Ashe game scheduled and their JV squad looks quite competitive. There is potential there they just gotta get out of the valley.



-Ashe County


Ashe’s passing game looks as solid as ever but the run game and defense has a lot of adjusting and growth to go. They need all the momentum they can get the next 2 games before they hit the buzzsaw of that 3A conference. MA will be a game they have to find what they can in because they are jamming right now. But the other two Wilkes teams if they can play them will be winnable for the Huskies.



-Wilkes Central

Much like Ashe it’s hard to tell who was the better team of these two squads.. Ashe let them come back so that wasn’t a good sign. WC looked better than they did vs Elkin at that scrimmage. They will be a very athletic squad but their year will be determined on how that line does. They are much younger and have a lot of question marks.
 
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The Rest (No Order: )



-Surry Central

The Golden Eagles had a serious chance for an upset for a half as they won the first one on Friday but couldn’t seal the deal. Much like always they struggle to hold athletes down and Graham made them pay for that 95 yard run which turned momentum to the Cards harder than when Kansas got nuked by the ruskies in 1983 (props to anyone who gets that reference.) Things won’t get easier for the Golden Eagles as they play that powder keg known as the Granite Bears. It’s going to be a hard few weeks ahead for them. If they don’t mentally break then they will stay around; if they do it will be a rough season ahead.




-Elkin


The Buckin’ Elks have had some lucky breaks the past 2 weeks that their play didn’t really deserve in the opener. Their QB saved their fourtanes with that long run or else it woulda been a long opener for them. They are more behind the 8 ball in terms of play than expected and Wood/Pardue has a lot of work ahead of them to get these kids to where they want them to be. Without Robinson they lack a true x factor athlete to cover for them. However their replacement game isn’t no slouch in North Moore; a playoff team and probably another repeat appearance coming. Their run game is killer and Elkin struggles vs the run.. Go figure.





-Alleghany


The Trojans woke up and ended the misery index in Sparta after that rough spring as they knocked their rivals Grayson County off for a rather dramatic win. They played good enough to win in the opener so it was no shock. Their game this week has been delayed so unless they find a new one they will get a much needed rest week which is good for their kids to rest.





-North Stokes


Things went like I figured and the Vikes offense was exposed rather harshly by the Mustangs who always seem to have N Stokes’s number. The Vikings had a chance to even it out before half but turned it over and things went south after with both their main offensive players getting hurt and the wheels falling off. They have another long travel week as they go to Chatham Central who are much like what the Vikes will be next year in rebuilding mode as they have lost that QB who was legitly good. This one could go either way.. Vikings season depends a lot on this game as they face Patrick County next week and need that momentum. They won’t be winless but they need the momentum to make it fully.










-South Stokes


South finally woke up last week after a rather pathetic week one showing. Dave finally must have lit those kids’s fire as they just annihilated an out of place Bishop team. The Saura offense found true ballance as both sides were efficient and the defense just destroyed Bishop’s attempt at that close up hambone or whatever close up wing offense they run. Things will get much harder this week as they face McMichael. McMichael may be McMichael but this is one of their precious few chances at a W this year and South will have to face it head on. Much like the Danbury boys they need to win this game for the momentum going forward. Easier said than done but if they can do it they could be the X factor in the NW.












-North Forsyth


The Winston Vikes are struggling more than expected due to various reasons. Their star players from that 2019 freshman group checked out due to that coach going away; plus the allure of the big programs is a killer in that area. The schedule sure hasn’t helped either they had no easy games.. It will make them better off moving forward however as Coach Williams is turning that culture around for the better. However they must take their lumps and move forward.. The offense just isn’t doing it for them they have scored 8 points in 2 games and given up 10 times that. Their OG week 3 game has been replaced by one for tonight as they play a struggling and I’m sure pissed off Randleman team who has let two slip and they won’t let this game be another. NF also missed practice yesterday due to the Mount Tabor situation forcing the county shutoff. Might be another rough night for the Vikes.













-Walkertown


The Bully got bullied in the Wolfpack’s main opener as WT hosted Ledford last week (Looks like Lexington got Covid I guess, Ledford was open due to West Davidson having Covid.) Ledford just flat out outclassed the Pack as they couldn’t stop Ledford’s passing game especially in the 2nd half it looks like WT ran out of gas. The Pack was dominated on the line and it looked like they really missed the kid who transferred to East Forsyth quite badly. Needless to say the Pack needs a lot of work to be even in contention with Reidsville.. This week they have another rough go in Mount Plesant; one of the more consistent programs in the state








-Bishop


The Villains got thumped in their debut by a very motivated Sauras team. Bishop has switched to a close up wing offense much like Central Davidson and North Moore; but their version is more option friendly and they struggled with it. The line couldn’t block vs a young South Stokes line and just looked sloppy all night. Things won’t get any easier as they play a very athletic Graham team who is 1-0. Might be another long night for these kids.







-Carver


Carver continued to look solid last week as they beat Atkins for their first win of the year and first non conference win in a bit of time. It was far from a sexy win but it was a win they needed vs a very motivated rival in Atkins. Carver still has a long ways to go but this week could bring them a winning streak as they face a very beatable Highland Tech team. The Jackets will have to face both the long ride and theirselves in this game more so than the Rams. If they get a win here it could be the start of a nice streak as they could very well win the next 2-3 games further; but in order to do that you need to take care of business in the now.






-WS Prep


The Phoenix struggled much like I expected on offense; defense they rose to the occasion and only limited LNC to just 16 I was expecting 28. But that offense is where the youth is and where the challenges are ahead. If they had kept Davis in house there’s no telling how good it could have been so I know it’s eating them up. They need some time to grow but the next two weeks won’t offer it as they play Parkland and Walkertown back to back which is far from a desirable slate for them. You can tell this schedule was made with ex QB 1 in mind but not so much now.





-Atkins


Atkins gave a solid effort last week on defense they were honestly quite stubborn and made Carver earn those points and that win. Offensively they are still quite inane and useless as they couldn’t do much of anything consistently and that has been their struggle all year. In the spring they would be bi polar from offense to offense and not produce. They are struggling for water right now but they have no jacket in sight as they have 2 off weeks due to not finding teams to play but I’m sure that won’t last before the end of this slate. This program needs a win.. ? is can they find it?
 
Picks will be up later in the day.. against all odds went 9-0 on the games played. Not counting Walkertown or MA's due to the fact they changed. I don't think I've ever had a undefeated week here doing this :eek: I'm sure something will bite me this week though.


Forgive the overposting.. not a dang thing on TV tonight! A month wait until AMC's horror month starts I'm bored.
 
The West Wilkes CD game is also lost due to covid. The first game back for WW will be Surry Central. Tough break for the boys in Millers Creek.
 
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Slash, pretty spot on opinion. Here is the thing with WW and all the Wilkes schools in general. They love to have success on Thursday nights. They have thought for years to keep their sophomores and Freshman that can play together and let them play on Thursdays. IMO this does no good other than make programs look like the young guys are pretty good, but in the meantime the surrounding teams pull the kids that can help and let them cut their teeth on Friday nights. I have never understood why so much stock is placed in how successful they are in JV ball.
 
Slash, pretty spot on opinion. Here is the thing with WW and all the Wilkes schools in general. They love to have success on Thursday nights. They have thought for years to keep their sophomores and Freshman that can play together and let them play on Thursdays. IMO this does no good other than make programs look like the young guys are pretty good, but in the meantime the surrounding teams pull the kids that can help and let them cut their teeth on Friday nights. I have never understood why so much stock is placed in how successful they are in JV ball.
Your not wrong here. There have been quite a few years where Wilkes has had undefeated and 1 loss JV teams but then the following year or 2 nothing is the same. Thats why I liked what West Wilkes did in the spring moving all of the Sophomores up to varsity. You look at East & West both this year only have 8 (WW) and 5 (EW) Sr on the varsity team.
 
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Slash, pretty spot on opinion. Here is the thing with WW and all the Wilkes schools in general. They love to have success on Thursday nights. They have thought for years to keep their sophomores and Freshman that can play together and let them play on Thursdays. IMO this does no good other than make programs look like the young guys are pretty good, but in the meantime the surrounding teams pull the kids that can help and let them cut their teeth on Friday nights. I have never understood why so much stock is placed in how successful they are in JV ball.

I've seen both sides of the coin in my years too. Honestly JV ball does a program a lot of good more than it does harm. NS's success in the mid to late 10's came from our dedication to it. I'll never forget we played ES in 2013 and got waxxed and I sat in the both with Coaches Lyons and Taylor and Lyons was like "We can't let these incoming kids come up here lost," so the coaches went to the middle schools and did camps and put a lot of time into the JV's for the next 5 years and it did us a lot of good. The spring was a weird outlier due to a small class in #'s but I always enjoy Thursdays. They mock me for it but I find it to be pure Football at it's best.. it's like that Forrest Gump cliche you just don't know what to expect and it's super fun. You can see what a class is good at and what they need to improve on early.

I can see where your coming from though.. I've seen several Forsyth schools have excellent JV squads but they get poached super fast for kids. That's one reason why I hate their open enrollment system. North Forsyth would be so much more competitive now if they hadn't lost all their kids off their 2019 freshman class. Same for Atkins they were excellent in 2016/17 and those kids were gone after a year. That's why a system like that should never be implemented there would be no little programs doing good and no parity.
 
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Your not wrong here. There have been quite a few years where Wilkes has had undefeated and 1 loss JV teams but then the following year or 2 nothing is the same. Thats why I liked what West Wilkes did in the spring moving all of the Sophomores up to varsity. You look at East & West both this year only have 8 (WW) and 5 (EW) Sr on the varsity team.

Same for us too at NS; we have 6 seniors. We started quite a few freshmen in the spring and they are performing consistently now. It was just that weird a season for us in the spring.

I'll give West and East credit in the past they were always patient with their mid 10's teams who were good; they just couldn't be now.
 
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slasher, looking for game to go to tonight, I was on that Covid games , so it was canceled. Any suggestions?
First choice would be West Forsyth at Weddington, but too far to drive.
 
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