Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 9 Picks

 Game of the Week: Forestview (2-5)(1-2) @ Ashbrook (3-4)(1-3): You can almost call this a must-win game. Neither team has four wins yet and both have only one conference win. A loss tonight will not mathematically eliminate them from playoff contention, but will put their backs against the wall in the upcoming weeks. If Forestview loses this game, they will need to win out in order to make it in. If Ashbrook loses, they will need to win one of their next two games to have a chance to get in. Look for both teams to put everything on the line.

My pick: Ashbrook 24 – Forestview 17

Crest (6-2)(3-0) @ Hunter Huss (5-3)(1-2): After starting the season 5-0, the Huskies have fallen on hard times. They lost three straight and none of them were even close. Now they must face a Crest squad that is only getting better. The past three weeks, the Huskies have only scored 13 points while allowing 132. The Chargers have scored 47, 27, and 52 the past three weeks. Don’t look for the trend to change anytime soon.

My pick: Crest 42 – Hunter Huss 14

North Gaston (0-8)(0-4) @ Kings Mountain (4-4)(2-1): Kings Mountain comes into this game with a two-game winning streak. North Gaston comes in looking for a win. Though they are not in the playoff race, they could try and play a spoiler role. However, that will be an unlikely scenario with the way Kings Mountain’s defense has been playing and the fact that their offense is coming around. For the past two weeks their defense has held their opponents to only three points. Look for Kings Mountain to be above .500 for the first time since the opening week.

My pick: Kings Mountain 45 – North Gaston 7

West Lincoln (3-5)(2-2) @ North Lincoln (1-7)(1-3): The West Lincoln Rebels are looking to sneak back into the playoff hunt and make their second straight appearance after missing the three previous years. Standing in their way on this night is North Lincoln. The Knights have had very little to hang their hat on this year, but would love to spoil the Rebels’ bid for a playoff berth. The Rebels have lost games that many didn’t think they would lose. If they lose this game, they could be in real danger of missing the post-season since their schedule will not be any easier from here. They should be able to take care of their county rival in this game, though.

My pick: West Lincoln 23 – North Lincoln 10

Lincolnton (7-1)(4-0) @ Bessemer City (4-3)(4-0): Believe it or not, this is for the Southern Piedmont 2A/1A conference title. Those words seemed like nothing more than a fantasy when the Yellow Jackets started the season 0-4. Their last loss turned into a forfeit win the same day the Yellow Jackets picked up their first win on the field. The Yellow Jackets have upset on their minds, but Lincolnton has played very good football this year and that will be a tall mountain to climb for Bessemer City. Don’t look for this game to be close.

My pick: Lincolnton 49 – Bessemer City 14

Highland Tech (0-8)(0-4) @ Cherryville (3-5)(2-2): Cherryville is looking for their first home win since week 2 of the season when they beat Davidson Community Charter 28-14. Highland Tech is looking for their first win, period. With less than four wins under their belt, the Ironmen need one more win to at least have a chance to qualify for the playoffs. They are currently the #2 1A team in the conference and a win tonight would just about seal that deal for them.

My pick: Cherryville 31 – Highland Tech 18

Lake Norman Charter (4-3)(1-3) @ East Lincoln (4-4)(2-2): Lake Norman Charter got their first conference win of the season as they blew out North Lincoln 35-0 and with four wins, they have a shot at making the post-season. Don’t look for them to repeat the kind of success they had last week against East Lincoln, though.

My pick: East Lincoln 42 – Lake Norman Charter 14

Patton (0-8)(0-4) @ Burns (7-1)(3-0): This is a mismatch here. Burns is currently the #1 team overall in the South Mountain 3A/2A conference. Patton is the last place team in the conference and are currently on a 14-game losing streak dating back to October 1 of last year when they were beat by East Rutherford 21-14. They started the season 6-0. They have seen no such success this year and Burns is just as good if not better than they were last year.

My pick: Burns 52 – Patton 14

R-S Central (1-6)(1-3) @ Shelby (4-4)(2-1): The Hilltoppers got their first win of the season last week as they topped winless Patton 27-0. Now they travel to face a Shelby team that is riding momentum. After starting the season 1-4, the Golden Lions righted their ship just in time and are now on a three-game winning streak. A win against R-S Central would put the Golden Lions above .500 for the first time this season.

My pick: Shelby 34 – R-S Central 14

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 8 Round-up

Kings Mountain 17 – Ashbrook 3: Kings Mountain continues their resurgence and their defense continues to give opposing offenses headaches. This is the second week in a row that the Mountaineers have only allowed 3 points. They were down 3-0 at half-time, but allowed no more after that and scored 17 unanswered points to take down Ashbrook and hand them their fourth loss in five games. The Green Wave has been outscored 73-10 these past two weeks.

South Point 49 – Forestview 7: Same team, same results. The Red Raiders may have took a little time getting things going, but once they did it was all she wrote. Facilitated by five Forestview turnovers, South Point cruised to an easy 49-7 victory. The Jaguars have lost three of their last four games. The Jaguars now need at least two more wins to qualify for the post-season.

Crest 52 – North Gaston 21: Crest is keeping pace with South Point in the Big South 3A race. The Chargers got back into action in conference play with another blowout win. North Gaston continues to show signs of improvement but is likely to leave the 2011 season empty-handed in the win column.

Freedom 45 – Hunter Huss 7: Things continue to go South for Hunter Huss. For the third week in a row, the Huskies are held to single-digits in scoring. They were held to three points the previous two weeks, but did manage seven last week. It gets harder before it gets easier for Huss as they host Crest this Friday.

East Gaston 28 – Garinger 14: East Gaston picked up their first MEGA-7 conference win of the year as they upended winless Garinger. The Warriors now need just one more victory to have an outside chance of making the playoffs. Winning two more games would be better. But one of those games is against conference front-runner, Charlotte Catholic.

Shelby 37 – Chase 23: No matter how good Chase is or had bad Shelby may be the Golden Lions continue to have the Trojans’ number. Also, Shelby continues to improve and make a strong push for a playoff bid. Not only that, they could also clinch the conference’s top 2A seed heading into the playoffs. Wins these next two weeks over R-S Central and East Rutherford will do just that. But there is a reason they say “One game at a time.”

Burns 45 – East Rutherford 13: Burns continues their solid run through the South Mountain 3A/2A conference and are on their way to possibly winning their second straight conference title. Since the conference was created, the Bulldogs have been 14-1 in conference play with their only loss being a 28-25 setback to Shelby in 2009. The Cavaliers drop their second straight game and will be hard-pressed to get back on track as they face Freedom.

Lincolnton 42 – Cherryville 14: Lincolnton rolls to another easy victory and the Wolves keep showing why they are ranked #1 in the state’s 2A poll. Lincolnton jumped out to an early 35-7 first quarter lead and was up 42-7 at half-time. The Wolves look poised to make another deep run in the playoffs. The Ironmen dropped three straight home games but have a chance to redeem themselves as they host Highland Tech.

Lake Norman Charter 35 – North Lincoln 0: Lake Norman Charter picks up their first conference win of the year. The Knights mathematically qualify for the playoffs with just four wins, but would up their odds with just one more victory. The North Lincoln Knights are pretty much out of the playoff picture.

East Lincoln 28 – West Lincoln 14: East Lincoln rebounded after their 55-35 loss to county rival, Lincolnton, and beat another county rival. The Rebels have lost four out of five of their last games. The Rebels still have a shot to put in a late bid for a playoff berth.

Bessemer City 37 – Highland Tech 26: The Yellow Jackets have struggled mightily at the beginning of the season, but have been picking up some wins lately. Granted one of them was a forfeit win. The Yellow Jackets have a chance to clinch the conference’s top 1A spot heading into the playoffs. They have already beaten 1A teams, Cherryville, Highland Tech and Lake Norman Charter. With Bessemer City currently at 4-0 in the conference, they just need one more victory to secure that.

Big South 3A

South Point (8-0)(4-0)
Crest (6-2)(3-0)
Kings Mountain (4-4)(2-1)
Hunter Huss (5-3)(1-2)
Forestview (2-5)(1-2)
Ashbrook (4-4)(1-3)
North Gaston (0-8)(0-4)

SP2A/1A

Lincolnton (7-1)(4-0)
Bessemer City (4-3)(4-0)
East Lincoln (5-3)(2-2)
Cherryville (3-5)(2-2)
West Lincoln (3-5)(2-2)
Lake Norman Charter (4-3)(1-3)
North Lincoln (1-7)(1-3)
Highland Tech (0-8)(0-4)

SM3A/2A

Burns (7-1)(3-0)
Freedom (7-1)(2-1)
Shelby (4-4)(2-1)
East Rutherford (5-3)(2-1)
Chase (6-2)(2-2)
R-S Central (1-6)(1-3)
Patton (0-8)(0-4)

MEGA-7

Charlotte Catholic (7-0)(3-0)
Olympic (7-1)(3-0)
Berry Academy (6-1)(3-0)
Harding (3-5)(1-2)
East Gaston (3-5)(1-3)
West Mecklenburg (3-5)(1-3)
Garinger (0-8)(0-4)

Turnovers, stingy Raider defense plague Jaguars

                     Coming into this game, the Forestview Jaguars knew they had to slow down South Point’s potent triple-option attack. However, it was the Red Raiders’ defense that proved to be more deadly. The Red Raiders force five Jaguar turnovers throughout the game. The Red Raiders stalled on their first drive, but made something happen with their second drive. Devon Robbins got South Point on the board with a 68-yard dash for a touchdown. Dayton Rogers extra point made it 7-0.

                  The Jaguars would try to answer, but could not get anything going. The Jaguars’ 1000-yard rusher Octavious Wallace was bottled up and would eventually have to leave the game with an ankle injury. A Wallace fumble and a Logan Bradley tipped interception would facilitate two more South Point scores. The Red Raiders would kick a field-goal to go up 10-0, but a roughing the kicker call gave South Point a chance to put four more points on the board. And they did with a 10-yard run by Tyler Bray.

                  Troy Leeper got in on the action late in the second quarter with a 39-yard touchdown run. Rogers was 3-3 on extra points in the first half. South Point got the ball first in the second half and drove deep into Forestview territory, but fumbled inside the red-zone. However, Forestview would give the game right back as Logan Bradley threw an interception to Josh Allman that was returned 15 yards for a touchdown.

                  It only got worse from there. Leeper punched another touchdown in from the one-yard line to make it 35-0 and Devon Robbins 39-yard dash for another touchdown gave South Point a dominant 42-0 lead. Back-up wingback Dan Johnson finished off the scoring for South Point with a 45-yard touchdown run and Dayton Rogers remained perfect on the night with his extra points. He was 7-7.

                  The Jaguars did have a bright spot and were not shut out. With just less than a minute left, Bradley hit Mykelti Armstrong for a 24-yard touchdown pass. That would be it, though.

                  Leeper ended the night with 110 yards and two touchdowns. Devon Robbins amassed 105 yards and two touchdowns.

                                  Forestview will travel to take on Ashbrook next Friday. South Point is idle, but will resume the following Friday at North Gaston.

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland County Week 8 Picks

 Game of the Week: Kings Mountain (3-4)(1-1) @ Ashbrook (3-3)(1-2): Ashbrook is looking to get back on track after being bounced by South Point 56-7 last week. Kings Mountain looks like they have turned their season around just in time. After two straight losses to South Point and Shelby, the Mountaineers decided that was enough. They turned around and throttled Hunter Huss 31-3. Ashbrook lost three of their last four after starting the season 2-0 and hopes to stop the bleeding against a resurging Kings Mountain team. Kings Mountain has taken the last two games from Ashbrook.

My pick: Kings Mountain 21 – Ashbrook 20

South Point (7-0)(3-0) @ Forestview (2-4)(1-1): The Red Raiders continue their tear through the Big South 3A. The Jaguars are coming off their second win of the year with a convincing 48-14 win at North Gaston. But after having their most lopsided win of the year, they have their most fierce challenge of the year as South Point and the high-powered red-bone offense and stifling defense pay a visit to Forestview. Only two teams have been competitive with South Point this year. Both teams are ranked real high in the state polls, though. Can the Jaguars find a formula to slow down South Point or will this be over before they even crown their Homecoming queen?

My pick: South Point 56 – Forestview 14

North Gaston (0-7)(0-3) @ Crest (5-2)(2-0): The Chargers continue to improve as the year progresses. They handed A.C. Reynolds their third straight loss en route to a 27-14 victory and won four straight since starting the season 1-2. Crest resumes conference play as they host North Gaston. With just three games left and no wins, the Wildcats are mathematically eliminated from post-season contention, but can still play for pride. However, they will have a very slim to none shot at taking down Crest.

My pick: Crest 34 – North Gaston 7

Hunter Huss (5-2)(1-2) @ Freedom (6-1)(2-1): Hunter Huss is spiraling down. After a promising 5-0 start, they lost two straight games and by big margins. The Huskies have only scored 6 points these past two weeks and have allowed 73 points. Now they have to travel to face a red-hot Freedom team. The Patriots’ only loss of the year came against Burns by a score of 28-27.

My pick: Freedom 28 – Hunter Huss 7

Garinger (0-7)(0-3) @ East Gaston (2-5)(0-3): Both teams are desperately seeking their first conference win this season. Garinger is seeking their first win of the season, period. Garinger is mathematically eliminated from the playoffs being winless and having only three games left. East Gaston is in danger of falling out of playoff contention. A loss against the Wildcats could be the dagger. Do look for east Gaston to get the victory though.

My pick: East Gaston 24 – Garinger 7

Lincolnton (6-1)(2-0) @ Cherryville (3-4)(2-1): Lincolnton got past what should have been their toughest challenge of the year as they defeated East Lincoln 55-35. Could the Wolves be in for a let-down as they travel to face a struggling Cherryville team? The Ironmen have dropped two straight home games and hope to avoid dropping a third. To do that, they must stop Lincolnton’s high-powered offense and get their own offense going.

My pick: Lincolnton 41 – Cherryville 14

North Lincoln (1-6)(1-2) @ Lake Norman Charter (3-3)(0-3): The North Lincoln Knights picked up their first win of the season against Highland Tech last week. They will travel to Huntersville to take on Lake Norman Charter Knights. Of all the wins Lake Norman Charter picked up, none were conference wins. Can North Lincoln get their second straight victory or will Lake Norman Charter be poised to get their first conference victory? Which Knights team will prevail?

My pick: Lake Norman Charter 20 – North Lincoln 14

Bessemer City (3-3)(3-0) @ Highland Tech (0-7)(0-3): Bessemer City is in an unusual situation. Last week, they picked up two wins. One was their 21-18 victory over Lake Norman Charter and the other was hours earlier when East Lincoln had to forfeit their 56-13 win over the Yellow Jackets. Bessemer City has a chance to remain undefeated (though not on the field) in conference play headed into Highland Tech. The Rams still have not won a game this year so far.

My pick: Bessemer City 35 – Highland Tech 7

West Lincoln (3-4)(2-1) @ East Lincoln (3-4)(1-2): West Lincoln dropped their first conference game of the year against Cherryville. East Lincoln was basically dealt two losses in one day. They were defeated 55-35 by Lincolnton and also found out they had to forfeit their 56-13 win over Bessemer City hours earlier. All that is behind them and they must focus on county rival, West Lincoln. The Mustangs should be able to get back on track since the Rebels have been struggling lately.

My pick: East Lincoln 42 – West Lincoln 14

Shelby (3-4)(1-1) @ Chase (6-1)(2-1): The Golden Lions just a few weeks ago looked like their season was headed down the drain, but after two straight wins there seems to be more excitement surrounding Shelby. Their two-game winning streak will be put to the test as they travel to face 6-1 Chase. The Trojans lost for the first time this year last week as they were defeated by Burns 28-14. History is on Shelby’s side as Chase has never beaten Shelby. Could this be the year that the Trojans end that streak?

My pick: Shelby 17 – Chase 14

East Rutherford (5-2)(2-0) @ Burns (6-1)(2-0): The Bulldogs are looking to stay hot and are looking for their second straight conference title in the South Mountain 3A/2A conference. After snapping Chase’s six-game winning streak, they face another Rutherford County team looking to make a run at the conference title. The Cavaliers, though, are coming off a 35-14 loss to Providence Day. This game won’t be a walk in the park either.

My pick: Burns 34 – East Rutherford 14

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 7 Recap and Standings

 South Point 56 – Ashbrook 7: The Red Raiders continue to roll through conference play. This time they completely dispatch Ashbrook 56-7. The Red Raiders led 35-7 at the half. Troy Leeper was held to a season low 50 yards, but did manage two touchdowns. Patrick Horne, Devon Robbins and Tyler Bray did most of the dirty work. Ashbrook’s only score of the game came when Trey Brice hit B.J. Vanderpuye for a five-yard touchdown pass.

Forestview 48 – North Gaston 14: The Jaguars defense allowed a season low 14 points in the game, but the Wildcats still managed over 300 yards of offense. Octavious Wallace and Dominique Adams each accounted for three scores. Corey Staley scored two touchdowns for North Gaston. The Wildcats came close to punching another score in but fumbled at the one-yard line.

Kings Mountain 31 – Hunter Huss 3: Was the South Point loss the beginning of the end for Hunter Huss? Because Hunter Huss has been held to six total points these past couple of weeks and have been outscored 73-6. It does not get any easier for the Huskies as they face Freedom and Crest these next two weeks. Could they rebound in either of those two games?

Crest 27 – A.C. Reynolds 14: Crest extends their winning streak to four wins. Crest is looking to keep pace with South Point in the Big South 3A Conference race. The Chargers resume conference play as they host North Gaston this Friday.

Lincolnton 55 – East Lincoln 35: If you love offense, you would love this game. Lincolnton and East Lincoln were in an offensive shootout, but in the end the Wolves would have too much firepower. With the win, the Wolves should run away with the SP2A/1A Conference Title. They get a little more separation thanks to East Lincoln having to forfeit their win over Bessemer City.

Harding 27 – East Gaston 20: East Gaston has dropped three straight games and have not won a conference game as of yet this year. Friday is their best shot to get their first conference win of the season as they host Garinger. The Warriors are in danger of falling out of the playoff hunt.

Cherryville 13 – West Lincoln 7: West Lincoln drops their first conference game of the year. Cherryville, coming off their 20-14 loss to Bessemer City was desperate for another win and they did just enough to get it. Now, they must turn their attention to front-runner, Lincolnton.

Bessemer City 21 – Lake Norman Charter 18: Bessemer City squeaked out another win. One should note that this was their second win in just one day due to East Lincoln forfeiting their win over the Yellow Jackets earlier that day. Now, they hope to extend their winning streak to four as they take on Highland Tech.

Burns 28 – Chase 14: Chase had their six game winning streak snapped last Friday as they fell to Burns. However, Chase showed that just because they haven’t played top-tier teams yet that does not mean they are not for real. Now, Burns is set to play another tough Rutherford County team as they host East Rutherford.

Shelby 49 – Patton 6: Shelby redeemed their season two weeks ago as they defeated Kings Mountain 24-21. They built on that momentum and blew out Patton 49-6. Their winning streak will be put to the test as they travel to Chase. History is on Shelby’s side as they have never lost to the Trojans.

North Lincoln 23 – Highland Tech 6: One of these teams were going to get their first win of the season. It turned out to be the North Lincoln Knights. The Knights hope to add at least one more before the season is through, but the easiest game they got coming up is Lake Norman Charter and even that looks doubtful.

Big South 3A

South Point (7-0)(3-0)
Crest (5-2)(2-0)
Kings Moutain (3-4)(1-1)
Forestview (2-4)(1-1)
Hunter Huss (5-2)(1-2)
Ashbrook (3-3)(1-2)
North Gaston (0-7)(0-3)

Southern Piedmont 2A/1A

Lincolnton (6-1)(3-0)
Bessemer City (3-3)(3-0)*
Cherryville (3-4)(2-1)
West Lincoln (3-4)(2-1)
East Lincoln (3-4)(1-2)^
North Lincoln (1-6)(1-2)
Lake Norman Charter (3-3)(0-3)
Highland Tech (0-7)(0-3)

MEGA-7 4A/3A

Berry Academy (6-1)(3-0)
Charlotte Catholic (6-0)(2-0)
Olympic (6-1)(2-0)
Harding (3-4)(1-1)
West Mecklenburg (3-4)(1-2)
East Gaston (2-5)(0-3)
Garinger (0-7)(0-3)

South Mountain 3A/2A

Burns (6-1)(2-0)
East Rutherford (5-2)(2-0)
Freedom (6-1)(2-1)
Chase (6-1)(2-1)
Shelby (3-4)(1-1)
R-S Central (0-6)(0-3)
Patton (0-7)(0-3)

* = forfeit win
^ = forfeit loss

Jaguars Get First Conference Win of the Year

                Forestview found themselves in a tight game in the first half, but pulled away in the second half with a 48-14 trouncing of North Gaston. The Jaguars ruined North Gaston’s Homecoming and improves to 2-4 and 1-1 in Big South Conference play.

                Forestview’s Octavius Wallace had another big night scoring on touchdown runs of 57, 31 and 11 respectively. Fellow runningback Dominique Adams also had three scores. One was from 30 yards, and from one-yard. Adams also had a long receiving touchdown pass from quarterback Logan Bradley.

                Corey Staley accounted for North Gaston’s two scores. Staley scored first, giving North Gaston a 7-0 lead with a 31-yard run. Staley scored from 66-yards out midway through the second quarter to cut Forestview’s lead to 21-14.

                However, that would be as close as North Gaston got. The Wildcats would sniff the end-zone late in the third quarter, but fumbled at the one-yard line. The Jaguars wouldn’t capitalize on the turnover but they would pull away later. 

Adams’s one-yard run into the end-zone extended Forestview’s lead to 35-14. The Jaguar would put the game away with Freshman Montavis Rogers one-yard plunge for a touchdown. Wallace closed out the night with an 11-yard scamper into the end-zone.

                “We needed a win. We needed to get back some confidence.” Forestview head coach Chris Medlin said “They executed and I thought we did well allowing only 14 points.”

                Forestview will be back home as they host conference favorite, South Point.

                “We’re going to enjoy this one tonight. We’ll worry about them tomorrow and the kids will worry about them Monday.”

                “Our kids work hard and we have the support of the community.” North Gaston head coach Mike Patton said “We need to eliminate ourselves as an opponent. We turned the ball over too many times. If we can stop doing that, we can play with anybody.”

                It does not help the young Wildcat squad that they play in such a rigorous conference. “It’s one of the toughest, if not the toughest, conferences in the state.”

                South Point won the state title in 2003 and 2009. Crest won it in 2003 and 2004 and was runner-up just last year. Kings Mountain made a deep run in 2008. Ashbrook won their state title in 2002.

                North Gaston will face two of the conference toughest teams in the following weeks. They travel to Crest next before traveling to Kings Mountain. North Gaston will end their regular season play a week early as they host South Point.