North Wilkes vs East Surry
The Cards are rolling and have another chance to be bullies this week as they host old Northwest foe North Wilkes for the first time in 25 years. These two played each other from 85-96 in the old NW 2A and 2A/1A. Back at one time this was an extremely hard hitting and close series with the Vikings having some solid wins over East in their wilderness years under Hardy and Eanes; now not so much. East is lightyears ahead in terms of talent and program health and it’s also East’s homecoming. It won’t be a pretty night in Pilot for the Vikings. However even with the landslide coming here is still a lot to prove for these kids; if they can hang around and put some points up it will show their offense is stubborn and will be their strength. If not then it’s gonna be a long road for them. They got their win for the year so far; the battle for momentum starts in an awful place for the Vikes going forward.
Cards roll here. Won’t be surprised for 60+ points due to NW’s defense or lack of one.
Surry Central at West Wilkes
Both of these teams are off breaks especially the home team who had an extended one and both offer a lot to prove. West more so due to the fact this only their 2nd game; they were cheated out of a win vs Elkin and some momentum now they have to make it up in quite a hurry. Not a fair deal at all for these kids and I do feel sorry for them. Central meanwhile is trying to find their lost momentum and to put a full game together as they haven’t done that yet. The Alleghany win was nice but they had a lot of good breaks there; the EW game was halfway solid then they broke. The MA performance was rather crap.. They still have a lot to prove. Ultimately they are just more experienced and more older than the Blackhawks and in high school ball that is just enough sometimes. I do expect a barn burner here though; West has a lot to prove and won’t lie down. This is the first matchup in 21 years between these two.. West won in 2000 as it was a huge game for momentum's sake for them as it was the first of their MVAC title years. Central was our thorn for years before and West winning ended that before Central dropped to 1A. This series was always a hard hitting and back and forth one and I expect it to be the next few years. Holder in his early years had struggles vs the Blackhawks. It will be the same for Southern before it's all done.
Starmount at SW Randolph
The Rams got screwed out of a win they really needed last week and had to go look for anyone open as this was their bye week. They found a replacement in a once in a lifetime SW Randolph team who are off to their best start in ages if not ever as they are finally down to 2A and have a solid shot at a winning record. However when you look into their schedule SWR has played a bunch of cupcakes to put it mildly. Starmount will be more of a challenge for sure for them and honestly I don’t think they will be able to match. Starmount’s much different than Jordan Matthews or any of the other 2. They are in better shape and more of a challenge and I think with the motivation and having to wait will be a huge spiritual boost for the Rams. Enough to pull it out; however I see SWR getting that winning season.
Elkin vs North Stokes
This game is the hardest one to pick because largely I seen these two scrimmage back at South Stokes and it was a very inconclusive outcome. Both lacked defense and both put points on the board quite a bit. My biggest memory of it all was Scott Wood facepalming hard because his defense couldn’t stop North’s QB from running all over them; plus they kept getting personal fouls. It was hilarious. The Vikings honestly are debatably the better pure team here they have better chemistry and size plus the QB and RB are good for them. Elkin meanwhile has more speed especially at the QB spot but their depth is super low. This will come down to both who makes more mistakes and who has the better defense. Chances are good for either team. My soul really wants to pick North in the upset but my head doesn’t want to do it so a neither one here. If North Stokes wins it will be the first time they’ve beaten Elkin since my freshman year in 2007. As far as I know it’s only happened twice the other time was in 2000. Much like last week they have way more incentive to play; Elkin meanwhile has struggled with finding their heart and wanting to play. The NM game was hideous for them in that way. They have got to turn the corner in wanting to play or else it will be a truly rough year for them ahead.
Alleghany at South Stokes
Last week the Sauras played quite well despite being cannon fodder as their offense scored quite a bit but their defense let them down bigly much like in week 1. This week they open their conference slate with a very hard to figure Alleghany squad desperate for some momentum. Trojans had the game in the bag numerous times last week but they managed to choke it away late as North Wilkes’s offense wouldn’t be denied. Time will tell if that will be a trend for them or not but tonight will be huge for them for going forward’s sake. This one was awfully hard to pick as I feel Alleghany is better on the line and it’s a tie fundamentally but South’s offense is looking pretty potent now with the QB change and Carrick is as good of an athlete that is the NW so I expect him to give Alleghany fits all night. Honestly this one can go either way but I think South will be too much of a handful to handle on offense plus Dave knows how to get his kids up for the Trojans to match their physicality. However Alleghany could very well win this one as well. This game means a ton for both teams there won’t be any lost chances.
Watauga at Ashe County
Talk about a random matchup as these two are conference foes so it’s unusual to see them play twice but it will allow Ashe to get them a nice gate so there’s that. Watauga’s younger than they have been however they are still extremely well coached and have a lot of talent. Ashe meanwhile are still trying to find their footing and I think this week offers a much better chance of that than vs the black hole. Watauga at this point is just too good but by the end of the year this game could be a measuring stick to see how much they have grown when they play again.
McMichael at West Stokes
West’s been let out of Covid jail finally and has a lot to prove as they open the conference slate. Thankfully for them they face the weakest link in the chain as they host McMichael who’s still in another rebuild. They won their more than likely only game of the year last week as they won a slopfest over Carver at home. Carver honestly shoulda won but McMichael’s line mopped up and managed to keep the skill players under wraps enough to pull the win out. A lot in this game will depend on the health of the QB for West. He got badly banged up after half vs NS and sat the game out with what looked like a hurt shoulder. If he’s healed and back to health then West should be fine here but if not it may be closer than we think. West is a lot more predictable and easier to figure with him out. West badly needs the win here because it’s going to get more and more tough the next few weeks.
The Cards are rolling and have another chance to be bullies this week as they host old Northwest foe North Wilkes for the first time in 25 years. These two played each other from 85-96 in the old NW 2A and 2A/1A. Back at one time this was an extremely hard hitting and close series with the Vikings having some solid wins over East in their wilderness years under Hardy and Eanes; now not so much. East is lightyears ahead in terms of talent and program health and it’s also East’s homecoming. It won’t be a pretty night in Pilot for the Vikings. However even with the landslide coming here is still a lot to prove for these kids; if they can hang around and put some points up it will show their offense is stubborn and will be their strength. If not then it’s gonna be a long road for them. They got their win for the year so far; the battle for momentum starts in an awful place for the Vikes going forward.
Cards roll here. Won’t be surprised for 60+ points due to NW’s defense or lack of one.
Surry Central at West Wilkes
Both of these teams are off breaks especially the home team who had an extended one and both offer a lot to prove. West more so due to the fact this only their 2nd game; they were cheated out of a win vs Elkin and some momentum now they have to make it up in quite a hurry. Not a fair deal at all for these kids and I do feel sorry for them. Central meanwhile is trying to find their lost momentum and to put a full game together as they haven’t done that yet. The Alleghany win was nice but they had a lot of good breaks there; the EW game was halfway solid then they broke. The MA performance was rather crap.. They still have a lot to prove. Ultimately they are just more experienced and more older than the Blackhawks and in high school ball that is just enough sometimes. I do expect a barn burner here though; West has a lot to prove and won’t lie down. This is the first matchup in 21 years between these two.. West won in 2000 as it was a huge game for momentum's sake for them as it was the first of their MVAC title years. Central was our thorn for years before and West winning ended that before Central dropped to 1A. This series was always a hard hitting and back and forth one and I expect it to be the next few years. Holder in his early years had struggles vs the Blackhawks. It will be the same for Southern before it's all done.
Starmount at SW Randolph
The Rams got screwed out of a win they really needed last week and had to go look for anyone open as this was their bye week. They found a replacement in a once in a lifetime SW Randolph team who are off to their best start in ages if not ever as they are finally down to 2A and have a solid shot at a winning record. However when you look into their schedule SWR has played a bunch of cupcakes to put it mildly. Starmount will be more of a challenge for sure for them and honestly I don’t think they will be able to match. Starmount’s much different than Jordan Matthews or any of the other 2. They are in better shape and more of a challenge and I think with the motivation and having to wait will be a huge spiritual boost for the Rams. Enough to pull it out; however I see SWR getting that winning season.
Elkin vs North Stokes
This game is the hardest one to pick because largely I seen these two scrimmage back at South Stokes and it was a very inconclusive outcome. Both lacked defense and both put points on the board quite a bit. My biggest memory of it all was Scott Wood facepalming hard because his defense couldn’t stop North’s QB from running all over them; plus they kept getting personal fouls. It was hilarious. The Vikings honestly are debatably the better pure team here they have better chemistry and size plus the QB and RB are good for them. Elkin meanwhile has more speed especially at the QB spot but their depth is super low. This will come down to both who makes more mistakes and who has the better defense. Chances are good for either team. My soul really wants to pick North in the upset but my head doesn’t want to do it so a neither one here. If North Stokes wins it will be the first time they’ve beaten Elkin since my freshman year in 2007. As far as I know it’s only happened twice the other time was in 2000. Much like last week they have way more incentive to play; Elkin meanwhile has struggled with finding their heart and wanting to play. The NM game was hideous for them in that way. They have got to turn the corner in wanting to play or else it will be a truly rough year for them ahead.
Alleghany at South Stokes
Last week the Sauras played quite well despite being cannon fodder as their offense scored quite a bit but their defense let them down bigly much like in week 1. This week they open their conference slate with a very hard to figure Alleghany squad desperate for some momentum. Trojans had the game in the bag numerous times last week but they managed to choke it away late as North Wilkes’s offense wouldn’t be denied. Time will tell if that will be a trend for them or not but tonight will be huge for them for going forward’s sake. This one was awfully hard to pick as I feel Alleghany is better on the line and it’s a tie fundamentally but South’s offense is looking pretty potent now with the QB change and Carrick is as good of an athlete that is the NW so I expect him to give Alleghany fits all night. Honestly this one can go either way but I think South will be too much of a handful to handle on offense plus Dave knows how to get his kids up for the Trojans to match their physicality. However Alleghany could very well win this one as well. This game means a ton for both teams there won’t be any lost chances.
Watauga at Ashe County
Talk about a random matchup as these two are conference foes so it’s unusual to see them play twice but it will allow Ashe to get them a nice gate so there’s that. Watauga’s younger than they have been however they are still extremely well coached and have a lot of talent. Ashe meanwhile are still trying to find their footing and I think this week offers a much better chance of that than vs the black hole. Watauga at this point is just too good but by the end of the year this game could be a measuring stick to see how much they have grown when they play again.
McMichael at West Stokes
West’s been let out of Covid jail finally and has a lot to prove as they open the conference slate. Thankfully for them they face the weakest link in the chain as they host McMichael who’s still in another rebuild. They won their more than likely only game of the year last week as they won a slopfest over Carver at home. Carver honestly shoulda won but McMichael’s line mopped up and managed to keep the skill players under wraps enough to pull the win out. A lot in this game will depend on the health of the QB for West. He got badly banged up after half vs NS and sat the game out with what looked like a hurt shoulder. If he’s healed and back to health then West should be fine here but if not it may be closer than we think. West is a lot more predictable and easier to figure with him out. West badly needs the win here because it’s going to get more and more tough the next few weeks.
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