Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 2 Results and Standings

South Point 35 – Lincolnton 21

Ashbrook 17 – Shelby 7

East Gaston 27 – North Gaston 15

Clover, SC 35 – Forestview 16

Hunter Huss 48 – Bessemer City 8

Cherryville 28 – C.S. of Davidson 14

Burns 28 – Kings Mountain 0

Crest 34 – Q Foundation 0

East Lincoln 39 – Hopewell 24

West Lincoln 51 – Highland Tech 0

Maiden 53 – North Lincoln 6

Big South Standings

South Point 2-0
Hunter Huss 2-0
Ashbrook 1-0
Crest 1-1
Kings Mountain 1-1
Forestview 0-2
North Gaston 0-2

Southern Piedmont Standings

West Lincoln 1-1 (1-0)
East Lincoln 2-0
Lake Norman Charter 2-0
Lincolnton 1-1
Cherryville 1-1
Bessemer City 0-1
North Lincoln 0-2
Highland Tech 0-2 (0-1)

South Mountain Conference

Burns 2-0
Freedom 2-0
Chase 2-0
East Rutherford 1-1
R-S Central 0-1
Shelby 0-2
Patton 0-2

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 2 Picks

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 2 Picks

Game of the Week: South Point (1-0) @ Lincolnton (1-0): The Red Raiders of South Point showed why they were picked to finish first in the conference. They routed Clover and former head coach John Devine 63-0. The Red Raiders jumped out to a 42-0 lead and never looked back. Was that just a one game wonder or could the same thing be in store for Lincolnton? The Wolves are coming offa win that’s not quite as dominant as they trounced Maiden 35-10 after only leading 14-10 at half-time. Nonetheless, who could forget last season’s 43-42 Lincolnton overtime win at Lineberger Stadium? The Red Raiders will be looking for some payback after that heart-wrenching loss.

My pick: South Point 42 – Lincolnton 28

North Gaston (0-1) @ East Gaston (0-1): The Wildcats are hoping to put last week’s 63-14 thumping by Asheville behind them and make a new beginning as they travel to take on East Gaston. The Warriors lost a heart-breaker to Hunter Huss 39-32. The Wildcats may be a notch better than last year, but they still have an uphill battle in getting in the win column.

My pick: East Gaston 55 – North Gaston 14

Forestview (0-1) @ Clover, SC (0-1): The Blue Eagles may still be in shock over their season-opening 63-0 loss to South Point. One thing head coach John Devine has proven to be good at is having his teams rebound from losses. However, this appears to be a much different Clover team than in years past. Forestview lost their season opener to Nation Ford and is also looking to rebound. It’s usually a different game when teams from the Tar-Heel State travel to the Palmetto State and Forestview is winless when crossing the border. Could they make school history and break that trend?

My pick: Forestview 27 – Clover 20  

Ashbrook (0-0) @ Shelby (0-1): The Green Wave gets a late start on the season since they didn’t play last week. Shelby started their post-Chris Norman era with a 43-24 loss at Kannapolis A.L. Brown. Giving up 40+ points a game is not very characteristic of a traditional powerhouse like Shelby. On top of that, Shelby has switched their offense from the Double-Wing to a Spread-type offense. Can they adapt in time enough to withstand a very physical Ashbrook squad?

My pick: Ashbrook 21 – Shelby 17

Hunter Huss (1-0) @ Bessemer City (0-0): Bessemer City is another team getting a late start. The Yellow Jackets were set to play R-S Central until scheduling conflicts put the brakes on that. The Jackets, due to small numbers this year, will not field a JV squad at the moment and have many freshmen and sophomores on varsity. Hunter Huss is coming off a 39-32 win over East Gaston in a back-and-forth shootout. Don’t look for Huss to be challenged much in this game.

My pick: Hunter Huss 48 – Bessemer City 13

Lake Norman Community (0-1) @ Cherryville (0-1): The Ironmen play a very unfamiliar foe in the Lake Norman Community School. The only thing we know about them is that they lost 40-14 at Lake Norman Charter.  Expect similar results this week. Cherryville opened the 2011 season with their third straight loss to Bunker Hill 28-20.

My pick: Cherryville 45 – Lake Norman Community 14

East Lincoln (1-0) @ Hopewell (1-0): This could be a shootout. Both teams opened up the season with big wins. The Titans downed Providence 41-13 in their 2011 debut. The Mustangs got a huge monkey off their backs with a 55-13 beating of Newton-Conover. The Red Devils took 7 out of 8 from the Mustangs prior to last Friday’s game.  Look for this to be a very competitive ball game.

My pick: Hopewell 34 – East Lincoln 27

West Lincoln (0-1) @ Highland Tech (0-1): Believe it or not, this is a conference game. The Highland Tech Rams have joined the Southern Piedmont 2A/1A conference after being a private school for the last six years. The Rams probably got a dose of what it will be like playing with the bigger boys again given they lost 30-12 to Victory Christian Academy. The Rebels should be able to rebound from last week’s 35-20 loss at Chase.

My pick: West Lincoln 35 – Highland Tech 7

Maiden (0-1) @ North Lincoln (0-1): Maiden gets to face another Lincoln County school. The Blue Devils stumbled against Lincolnton 35-10 last week. North Lincoln and new head coach Zach Bevilacqua started the new era with a 25-6 loss at Fred T. Foard. Both are hungry for their first win of the season. On paper, Maiden should be the one that comes out on top, but that’s why the game isn’t played on paper.

My pick: Maiden 28 – North Lincoln 17

Burns (1-0) @ Kings Mountain (1-0): This time last year, Burns was coming off a season-opening 42-19 drubbing by Crest. They rebounded by pounding Kings Mountain 41-13. This time they are coming off a big 33-12 win over Crest. Could the Kings Mountain game prove to be a trap game for the Bulldogs? The Mountaineers are young on offense and could have a hard time with the Bulldogs’ stingy defense.

My pick: Burns 31 – Kings Mountain 13

Q Foundation (0-1) @ Crest (0-1): The Chargers have not started the year 0-1 since 2003 when they lost three straight. That was the year they won their first of two back-to-back champions (in 2003 and 2004). Don’t expect the Chargers to lose two straight this time around as they host Q Foundation out of Charlotte.

My pick: Crest 41 – Q Foundation 12

Did You know? As was stated earlier Forestview is winless when going south of the border. They are currently 0-7 against four different teams (Clover - 0-3, Nation Ford - 0-2, Fort Mill 0-1, and Byrnes 0-1). A win at Clover tonight would be considered a historic feat for the Jaguars.

Did you also know? Many streaks ended last Friday. The most notable streak was West Rowan's 47-game winning streak as they fell to Mooresville. Butler's 31-game streak came to an abrupt halt against Mallard Creek, Clover was riding a 15-game winning streak over Gaston County teams prior to their 63-0 loss at South Point. One team that was happy to see their streak end was Central Cabarrus. After 34 straight on-the-field losses, they get over the hump with a 31-22 win over South Rowan. If you count their forfeit win over Mallard Creek in 2008 then that streak is only 26.

Jaguars’ Rally Falls Short Against Falcons

                The Falcons of Nation Ford came to town looking for their first win at Forestview. The Jaguars were looking to defend their home turf. The Jaguars got off to a slow start and that proved costly. The Jags drew first blood with a 26-yard Cody Bridges field-goal. But quickly saw momentum swing in favor of the Falcons not too long after that.

                The Falcons answered back quickly with a 61-yard touchdown run by Daniel Jackson. The Falcons led 7-3 at that point. Cameron Wells would find Dijuan Ussery on their next drive with a 54-yard touchdown pass to extend that Falcons’ lead to 13-3. The kick would be blocked, however. The Jaguars would drive down the field in the second quarter, but had to settle for another Bridges field-goal. This time, it was from 30 yards.

                Wells and Ussery were not done with their first-half firepower because those two connected on a 29-yard touchdown pass before the half expired. The kick was no good. Things got worse before they got better for Forestview in the second half. After stopping Nation Ford on fourth down at the one-inch line, the Jaguars found themselves trying to get out of a tight spot. They could not move the ball and had to punt. Ussery made them pay with a 40-yard punt return for a touchdown and it appeared the rout was on.

                Somebody forgot to tell that to Forestview runningback Octavious Wallace, however. Wallace busted loose for a 66-yard touchdown run on the first play on the ensuing drive. The Jaguars defense started putting the clamps on the Falcons. A mishandled punt gave the Jaguars excellent field position inside the Falcons’ 20-yard line. The Jaguars cut Nation Ford’s lead to 27-20 with a Logan Bradley 4-yard pass to Dominique Adams and Bridges’s extra point.

                Wallace continued to carry Forestview on his shoulders in the fourth quarter. He scored with a 63-yard touchdown run. Cody Bridges tied the game up with the extra point. After stopping the Falcons on the next drive, Forestview appeared to be in control. However, Nation Ford’s defense stopped Forestview at the 50 and the Falcons blocked a punt.

                Wells and Ussery connected with a back-breaking 38-yard touchdown pass to take the lead 34-27. The Jaguars drove down the field, but were not able to punch another score in.

                Forestview travels to take on Clover next week. The Blue Eagles are coming off a major 63-0 loss at South Point.

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 1 Picks

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 1 Picks

Game of the Week: Crest @ Burns: Look for this game to be a major sellout. Crest brings a 12-4 team from last year to Lawndale to take on Burns, who went 11-2 last year. The Chargers were just one point away from winning the 3AA State Title last year. Burns went down much sooner than people thought they would. They lost 38-35 to Asheville in the second round of the 3A state playoffs. All that is history as these two take the field. The Bulldogs are hoping this match-up is better than last year’s 42-19 thumping by the Chargers. Burns defense looked strong in the Cleveland County Jamboree against East Lincoln, but how will they fare against a high-powered Crest offense? Look to see University of Florida signee Rhaheem Ledbetter and D1 prospect Jonathan Bullard play on both sides of the ball.

My pick: Crest 21 – Burns 14

Clover, SC @ South Point: This has been an interesting off-season for the Red Raiders. South Point and head coach John Devine part ways as he takes the head coaching position at Clover. Mickey Lineberger takes over the reins at South Point and hopes to take the first game in the series against his former boss. While Devine left Lineberger with a stable of talent to work with, Devine himself will be left having to start from scratch especially on offense since they only have three starters back from last year’s squad. After three failed attempts to dispatch the Blue Eagles, this looks like the Red Raiders’ best chance at doing it. The Red Raiders return quarterback Patrick Horne, fullback Troy Leeper, wingback/fullback and Tyler Bray along with many others.

My pick: South Point 27 – Clover 14

Shelby @ Kannapolis-A.L. Brown: Both teams are traditional powerhouses. Both have made consistent runs in the playoffs. However, both teams break in new coaches. Both head coaches (Ron Massey of A.L. Brown and Chris Norman of Shelby) retired. Shelby promotes assistant Lance Ware to take the head coaching job at Shelby. Brown made a bigger splash when they brought in Mike Newsome, the former head coach of Butler. Newsome led Butler to two 4AA State Titles. Newsome looks to continue the trend at A.L. Brown. Ware looks to keep the winning tradition going on at Shelby. This match-up will be the first step in achieving that goal. Shelby will switch from the Double-Wing offense to a Spread attack. It could take a little time for the Golden Lions to adjust, but once they do they will be dangerous.

My pick: A.L. Brown 28 – Shelby 14

Nation Ford, SC @ Forestview: This looks like it’s forming into another over-the-border rivalry. This is the fifth year that the Falcons and Jaguars faced off with each other. The series is even with these two with both going 2-0 in their own stadium. The Falcons rallied to beat Forestview 28-16 last year after trailing 16-7 at the start of the third quarter. The Jaguars are hoping to avenge that loss and could have the tools to do it with runningback Octavius Wallace back and Florida International signee Jamie Collmar to open up lanes for him.

My Pick: Forestview 27- Nation Ford 20

East Gaston @ Hunter Huss: The Warriors and the Huskies open up with each other for the third year in a row. The Warriors will bring a much improved team from last year’s 5-7 team. The Huskies are looking to get back in the playoffs after missing it last year with a 3-8 record including five straight losses to close out the season. Runningback Kerrion Moore returns for the Huskies after off-season surgery. Like last year’s 10-7 East Gaston victory, look for this one to go down to the wire.

My pick: East Gaston 28 – Hunter Huss 20

North Gaston @ Asheville: North Gaston’s new coach Mike Patton could not face a much tougher task to start off the season as his Wildcats get ready for a long road trip to Asheville. The last time these two met, the Wildcats beat the Cougars 35-34 on their way to the 2007 3A State Title game. The Wildcats fell short in that game and it was downhill from there as they amassed only one win in three seasons. Optimism has picked up at North Gaston this off-season and they should make strides this year. But, this will likely be the Cougars’ night.

My pick: Asheville 41 – North Gaston 7

Cherryville @ Bunker Hill: The Bears and the Ironmen open up with each other for 16^th straight year. The Bears won the last two match-ups between these two and the Ironmen are hoping to stop that trend from going on another year. Cherryville only returns nine starters from last year’s 7-5 squad so they will face an uphill battle to start the season.

My pick: Bunker Hill 38 – Cherryville 20

Lincolnton @ Maiden: The Wolves are coming off a spectacular season. After finishing the regular season 11-0, the Wolves looked primed to represent the 2AA West in the state title game. But they fell short against a tough Carver team 41-27 in the Western finals. With 15 starters back from that squad, the Wolves could have another shot. Plus, they add East Lincoln transfer Patrick Rendleman. Rendleman will be the Wolves quarterback. Maiden finished 8-4 last year, including a 52-21 blowout by Polk County in the first round of the playoffs. However with 14 starters back from the 2010 squad, the Blue Devils should make strides and possibly compete for the CVAC title. The Wolves might be a little too much for the Blue Devils in this one, though.

My pick: Lincolnton 35 – Maiden 21

North Lincoln @ Fred T. Foard: These two teams square off with each other for the first time. Both teams are trying to forget last year. North Lincoln finished 2-9 while Fred T. Foard was winless at 0-11. Both teams have new head coaches this year and are looking to start a new beginning. A win tonight for either of these two teams would be the first step in that direction.

My pick: North Lincoln 20 – Fred T. Foard 17

Newton-Conover @ East Lincoln: This is the eighth time in six years that these two have gone against each other. The Red Devils have taken seven of those eight games from the Mustangs. The only exception was a 23-17 overtime East Lincoln win in the 2007 playoffs. Both teams are young this year. The Mustangs only return nine starters from last year’s team while Newton-Conover only returns four. Can the Mustangs take advantage of the Red Devils’ youth or does Newton-Conover simply have East Lincoln’s number?

My pick: East Lincoln 24 – Newton-Conover 20 

Kings Mountain @ East Rutherford: After rebounding from a 4-7 season to make the playoffs last year, Kings Mountain may find themselves in another uphill battle this year. They return only five starters from last year. However, their defense has looked good in their scrimmage against Mooresville and could give the Cavaliers’ offense trouble.

My pick: Kings Mountain 21 – East Rutherford 14

West Lincoln @ Chase: The Rebels have had their best season in school history last year as they went 8-4. Can they possibly do that again? It will be an uphill climb with some of the talent they lost from last year. This game against Chase could set the tone on how the season may go for West Lincoln.

My pick: West Lincoln 24 – Chase 20

 

Highland Technology @ Victory Christian Academy: The Rams will play in a real conference this year. It may be a rocky first year back with the big boys. Last year the Rams came real close to taking down the Kings, but fell short in two overtimes.

 My pick: Victory Christian 28 – Highland Tech. 21

Did you know?  Crest was just 9 points away from an undefeated season last year. Their losses included a 20-17 loss to Ashbrook, a 34-31 loss to A.C. Reynolds, a 29-27 loss to South Point and a 21-20 loss to Northern Guilford in the state title game.

Introduction to the Gridiron Mill

Hello folks and welcome to the Gridiron Mill. My name is Jeff and I will be covering sports in this blog, mostly football. I will be covering high school, NFL and college football. I hope that you enjoy your visit and that you will come back again soon.