Moe Neal's 245-Yard Performance, Stingy Defense Lifts Forestview

                Things started fast for Forestview, but then it seemed to hit a wall in the second quarter on. The Jaguars took to the air to get on the board when Colton Guthrie connected with Jared Carter for a 44-yard touchdown strike. Moe Neal then went to work with a 54-yard touchdown run to put the Jaguars up 12-0. Both kicks failed. Neal scored on a 40-yard touchdown run on the Jaguars next drive. Dylan Disarro’s kick for the extra point made it 19-0. Neal rolled up 100 yards before the first quarter ended.

                The Jaguars offense went cold in the second quarter and midway through the third quarter. Lake Norman Charter had some opportunities but could not seem to capitalize until the third quarter. With Forestview set to punt, the ball sailed over the punter’s head and he was taken down at the Jaguar’s ten-yard line.

                On fourth-and-one from the Forestview one-yard line, the Knights were initially stopped, but the ball squirted out from quarterback Teddy Spooner’s hands but his offensive linemen, Hunter Rollins recovered it in the end zone for the Knights’ touchdown. After the Knights recovered the on-side kick, they were back in business. Lake Norman Charter appeared to cut Forestview’s lead by six when Spooner connected with David Gonzalez for a touchdown pass. But offensive pass interference nullified the score and that seemed to sink the Knights.

                Neal was not done with his heroics. Moe Neal scored two more times before this one was over. Moe Neal ran one in from the one-yard line. That was a few plays after he ripped off a 62-yard gainer. His final score was a 30-yard touchdown reception from Colton Guthrie. Both of Disarro’s extra points were good. The final score would be 33-7.

                Moe Neal finished with 245 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Trell McCaskill, Marquez Gray, Josh Worthy and Jalen Sanders each recorded an interception. Forestview also recovered a fumble and the Knights recovered one Jaguar fumble.
                “He had a great game. We needed it!” Forestview head coach Chris Medlin said about Moe Neal’s performance.

                “It was a little bit sloppy. That’s why we put it off Friday. We didn’t want this out here. But it turns out, it didn’t clear up over the weekend.” Medlin said of the sloppy field conditions.

                “We played hard, but you have to play four quarters to win a ball game and we probably only played two tonight.” said Lake Norman Charter head coach Mark Steele “Our defense tightened up in the second quarter and we stopped giving up big plays. Our d-line played really well and our linebackers played really well and that really helped us out.”

                “We don’t have much time to prepare. We have to get back to work tomorrow and figure out what we have to do better from tonight and also get better for Friday.” Steele said about the short preparation for East Gaston Friday. “We got to clean everything up.”
                Forestview (2-3)(1-0) snaps a three-game losing streak with the win. They will be home again Friday as they host Stuart Cramer (3-2)(0-1). Lake Norman Charter (2-2)(0-1) will be home against East Gaston (2-3)(0-1).

Green Wave Weathers Rain, Storm

While many teams were postponing games due to the rains, a few others decided to brave the elements and have their games on Friday. Two of those teams were the Ashbrook Green Wave and the Stuart Cramer Storm. It was a defensive struggle for most of the first half with Ashbrook leading 6-0 for most of the first half. That score was a one-yard touchdown run by Kristien Bell. That touchdown run was set up by a 44-yard punt return by Jeff Glenn.

With the offense struggling to sustain drives, the Green Wave defense came up with a big that set up their offense. A fumble recovery by the Green Wave’s Justin Alexander at the one-yard line put Ashbrook in business and they would capitalize. Bell scored another touchdown run from the one-yard line to extend Ashbrook’s lead to 12-0. Ashbrook’s two-point conversion try would fail again, however.

The Green Wave extended their lead 19-0 with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Jabreze Robbs to Jeff Glenn and Tyson Fortenberry’s kick for the extra point. That would be the score at half-time.

In the second half, Ashbrook wasted no time getting more points. Bell capped off Ashbrook’s first drive of the second half with a three-yard touchdown run. The extra point failed, however. But it would not matter. The Green Wave forced another Storm fumble deep in Cramer territory. Penalties backed Ashbrook up to the Storm 45, however. But on the ensuing play, Robbs would connect with Thomas Smith for a 45-yard touchdown pass. Taquan McConneaughey would put one more score up for Ashbrook with an 18-yard touchdown run. Tyson Fortenberry was 3-for-4 on his extra point kicks.

Stuart Cramer was not able to get anything going on offense as they were shut out 39-0. To make matters worse, Cramer lost two starters in the first half to injury. Quarterback Noah Oxendine and runningback/wide receiver Dezure Moulden both left with injuries.

"We didn’t start the way we wanted to." said Ashbrook head coach Greg Hill "We could never get into a rhythm offensively in the first half. But I think Stuart Cramer had something to do with it."

"Our defense played really well all night long and gave our offense chances to make big plays."

Ashbrook started the season 0-2 losing to defending 3A state champion, Crest, 44-28 and losing 48-14 to Davidson Day. Since then, Ashbrook has amassed three straight wins. Hill acknowledged that playing stiff competition early helped his Green Wave but also stated that selflessness has also been a key factor.

"They are starting to play for each other and not for themselves. They are playing in the system." Hill said

"We have to do better offensively. People got to do a better job and start stepping up and that starts with me." said Cramer head coach Ben McMillan.

When asked about the injured players, McMillan believes Noah Oxendine injured his back or ribs and that Dezure Moulden left with a shoulder injury.

Ashbrook (3-2)(1-0) will be at home next week against North Gaston. The Wildcats play at home against Hunter Huss Monday night. Stuart Cramer (3-2)(0-1) travels to Forestview, whom plays at home Monday against Lake Norman Charter.

Sans Key Players, Mallard Creek Wins 28-7

                You know you have a great team when you are missing five key starters, including your quarterback, runningback and a wide receiver, and you still come out with a 28-7 win. That was the case for the Mallard Creek Mavericks as they hosted McDonough, a team out of Maryland. The Eagles were 2-0 heading into this game.

                Things did not start off well for the Mavericks as McDonough would score out of the gate. Mylique McGriff got the Eagles on the board with a 37-yard touchdown run. Mike Shinsky’s extra point made it 7-0 Eagles. The Mavericks would tie it up with a 12-yard touchdown run by backup quarterback Larry Matkins and the extra point from Anthony Valderrama.

                The Eagles appeared to be ready to retake the lead later in the second quarter, but they were stopped on fourth down at the Mavericks 28-yard line. The score would remain a stalemate going into halftime. In the second half, the Mavericks appeared to take the lead with a 19-yard run from Matkins, but a holding penalty brought it back. However, the Mavericks would score when Matkins connected with Thaddeus Moss for a 13-yard touchdown pass. Valderrama’s kick was good. That would be the only score of the third quarter.

                Starting quarterback James Smith came in for one play in the fourth quarter when Larry Matkins appeared shook up after a hit he took from a McDonough defender. That play was a 66-yard pass to Ryan Jones that moved them from their own 26-yard line to the Eagles’ eight-yard line. Matkins returned after that play. Darnell Walker finished off the drive with a five-yard touchdown run.

                Ryan Jones put the nail in the coffin with an end-around run to the left side that resulted 60-yard touchdown run. Valderrama was 4-for-4 on extra points. McDonough just could not get anything going in the second half.

                “I thought we played well. We played physical. We knew what kind of team that was. That was a big-time physical team and we wanted to play physical to get ready for conference. It was a good win for the program tonight.” said Mallard Creek head coach Michael Palmieri.

                When talking about the injuries on the team and the impact it has, Palmieri said “It don’t matter! It’s next man up around here. We have confidence in our kids. We prepare for this. We know how long the season is.”

                When talking about the penalties “Yeah, we got to clean that up. Some penalties we make (being) aggressive. Others, we just don’t focus. We’ll get them right by playoff time, we better.”

                “We’re excited!” Palmieri said about conference play coming up “We got West Charlotte. We’re excited about starting conference. We are going for our seventh one in a row. That’s our goal, to win conference, make the playoffs and win a state championship.”

                “I don’t think the score indicates what kind of game it was. The game was closer than the score.” said McDonough head coach Dominic Damico “They made some big plays there at the end that wore us down. But I think it was a good game, well played for three quarters. They (Mallard Creek) have a good team, very athletic, very strong at the point of attack. We hung in there as long as we could.

“They have probably 10 or 11 kids that were offered scholarships. It’s not normal to have that many scholarships on it so we knew what we were getting into. We won’t play anybody in our league as good as Mallard Creek and we were competitive with them for three quarters so we know we got a good ball club. The football in our league is not as good as this except when we play a few teams but this will be the best team we have played all year.”

Mallard Creek opens up conference play at West Charlotte next week. McDonough will play Mount Saint Joseph in Baltimore.

Surratt Brothers, Mustangs Surge Past Forestview

                It did not take East Lincoln long to get back on track in Monday’s make-up game against Forestview. With the game tied at 14 at the 3:01, the Mustangs were set to receive the kickoff and they marched right down the field. Chazz Surratt capped off the drive with a 27-yard touchdown pass to his brother, Sage Surratt. Blake Strupp’s extra point made it 21-14 and that’s what the score would be at half-time.

                Forestview received the second half kickoff, but they were unable to score. Colton Guthrie was sacked by Chazz Surratt on third down and the Jaguars were forced to punt. The rout was on from there. Chazz Surratt scored two consecutive rushing touchdowns. One was from nine yards out and the other was from the one-yard line. Chazz would throw another touchdown pass to his brother, Sage, early in the fourth quarter. That one was from nine yards out. The score was 41-14.

                Forestview showed some fight and did not give up despite the score. Forestview was able score two fourth quarter touchdowns. Both of them were touchdown passes from Colton Guthrie to Moe Neal. One from 11 yards and the last one from 52. Dylan Disarro’s extra points made it 41-28. That would be all the Jaguars could not recover the on-side kick. The Mustangs just ran the clock out.

                Colton Guthrie led Forestview with 269 yards passing and three touchdowns. Moe Neal amassed 159 yards (113 receiving and 46 rushing) and three touchdowns. Saveon Falls was the second leading receiver for the Jaguars with 76 yards receiving.

                Chazz Surratt led the Mustangs with 260 yards rushing and 122 yards passing and four touchdowns. 96 of those passing yards were to Sage Surratt. Coleton Banks amassed 135 yards and a touchdown. The win also increases the Mustangs win streak to 20.
                The Jaguars also left the game banged up. Starters Tramone Duncan (LB), Marquezz Gray (DB) and Rhett Jenkins (OT/DE) all left the game with injuries.
                Both teams are off Friday. Next week, East Lincoln will begin conference play on the road against Bandys. Forestview will begin conference play against Lake Norman Charter.

Mother Nature Sacks Friday Night Football

                Just like last week, Mother Nature rained on the areas Friday Night Football parade. It happened again last night. Many games were already in progress when the storms came. Some teams have moved their games to Monday night. While others waited out the storms and finished their games later.

                Forestview’s home game against East Lincoln was three minutes away from half-time when officials stopped the game. The game was tied at 14 between the Mustangs and the Jaguars. East Lincoln went up 14-0 on a one-yard touchdown run by Coleton Banks and a 57-yard interception return for a touchdown by Trey Childers.

                The Jaguars tied it up in the second quarter with a Colton Guthrie screen pass to Moe Neal that turned into a 34-yard touchdown pass and a one-yard quarterback sneak by Guthrie. Both kickers, East Lincoln’s Blake Strupp and Forestview’s Dylan Disarro, were two-for-two on extra points. The game will resume Monday at 7:00.

                In other games, South Point’s home game against West Charlotte was called after the first quarter, tied 7-7. The game will be finished Monday at 6:00 pm. Hunter Huss’s home game with Hickory, Stuart Cramer’s home game with Bessemer City, West Lincoln’s game at Fred T. Foard and Kings Mountain’s conference opener with East Rutherford were also postponed.

The Huskies led 14-7 in the second quarter. The games will resume Monday at 7:00. Stuart Cramer was up 7-0. Kings Mountain and East Rutherford were tied at 7-7. West Lincoln was leading Foard 7-6.

                One area team called their game at half-time and it will stand as is. Highland Tech was down 24-0 to Lake Norman Charter and that will be the final.

                The games that did wait out the storm are North Gaston @ Cherryville, Jimmy Draughn @ Crest, R-S Central @ Shelby, Burns @ Chase, East Gaston @ Lincolnton and Statesville Christian @ Thomas Jefferson.

                North Gaston blew out Cherryville 46-6. Cherryville led 6-0 at the beginning of the game. Crest handled Draughn 54-7. Shelby handed R-S Central their first loss of the season and it was a bad one, 52-7. Burns beat Chase 20-7. East Gaston had a 26-7 first quarter lead over Lincolnton, but the Wolves ended up rallying with a 43-33 win. Thomas Jefferson was two points away from a shutout. They mangled Statesville Christian 46-2.

 

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 4 Picks

Game of the Week: East Gaston (1-1) @ Lincolnton (2-1): Coming off their 42-20 loss to South Point, the Lincolnton Wolves got back to their winning ways with a 37-13 win over North Gaston. East Gaston was off last week. East Gaston averages 38 points a game, but the Warriors gave up 61 points in their 61-42 loss to Kings Mountain two weeks ago. Lincolnton averages 40 points a game. This could be an offensive shootout between the two.
My pick: Lincolnton 42 - East Gaston 35

West Charlotte (1-2) @ South Point (1-2): The Red Raiders dropped their home opener against Shelby 35-28 after giving up 28 points in the second half. The Red Raiders held a 21-7 lead in the third quarter before the Golden Lions rallied and outscored South Point 28-7 down the stretch. South Point is back at home against the West Charlotte Lions. The Lions are coming off a 40-16 win over Harding. Their two losses are a 42-20 blowout against Southeast Guilford and a narrow loss to West Mecklenburg 22-20. Last season, the Red Raiders started off 0-3 at home. But this is not last season. The only comparison between West Charlotte and Shelby is their mascot.
My pick: South Point 35 - West Charlotte 21

East Lincoln (3-0) @ Forestview (1-2): East Lincoln is having another strong start. Forestview, on the other hand, is struggling this year. The Jaguars started off with a 28-14 win over Providence Day but it's been downhill from there. The Jaguars suffered a 23-20 loss to Clover and was dominated 35-10 by Kings Mountain. That does not bode well for a team hosting a defending state champion. The last time East Lincoln visited Forestview, they were the defending 2AA state champions then. The Jaguars snapped the Mustangs' 19-game win streak with a 44-27 win. Don't look for the same result in this game.
My pick: East Lincoln 42 - Forestview 21

Hickory (0-3) @ Hunter Huss (0-3): The Battle of the 0'fers. It's been a struggle for both the Hunter Huss Huskies and the Hickory Red Tornadoes. The Huskies were close to tasting victory a couple of weeks ago as they were up 26-23 on Burns. But the Bulldogs retook the lead with less than a minute left at 29-26. The Red Tornadoes weren't close in any of their losses. Hunter Huss may have the advantage given they played their game with Monroe Saturday while Hickory played their make-up game Tuesday.
My pick: Hunter Huss 27 - Hickory 13

North Gaston (1-2) @ Cherryville (0-3): It's been a rocky start for both teams. The Wildcats have only averaged 13 points a game. Cherryville has only scored 13 points so far this year. North Gaston gives up an average of 30 points a game. Cherryville gives up 39. The Wildcats should even their record after this game.
My pick: North Gaston 24 - Cherryville 7

Bessemer City (1-2)(1-0) @ Stuart Cramer (2-1): The Stuart Cramer Storm has officially doubled their win total from last year. They are coming off a 20-6 victory over West Iredell. Now, the Storm are trying to enter conference play with some momentum. The Yellow Jackets struggled against Chase last week as the Trojans left Bessemer City with a 21-8 victory. Look for Cramer to come out victorious in this one.
My pick: Stuart Cramer 34 - Bessemer City 12

Lake Norman Charter (1-1) @ Highland Tech (0-2): The Lake Norman Charter Knights took one on the chin last week in a 30-13 loss to Community School of Davidson. Highland Tech was off last week. But their misfortunes still continue on.
My pick: Lake Norman Charter 27 - Highland Tech 0
West Lincoln (2-1) @ Fred T. Foard (1-2): Both teams opened the 2015 up with big losses. West Lincoln, however, has won two straight after that. Foard had a 23 point lead over Bunker Hill last week before blowing it and losing 24-23. Neither team is expected to win many games in their respective conferences so both are going to need this game, but only one will walk away a winner.
My pick: West Lincoln 27 - Fred T. Foard 21

East Rutherford (2-1) @ Kings Mountain (3-0): Conference begins in the SMAC 3A/2A conference as East Rutherford and Kings Mountain square off. East Rutherford started the season off with a 57-25 win over East Henderson, but has since struggled offensively. Kings Mountain has not scored under 30 points yet this year. The Mountaineers should be heavy favorites in this game.
My pick: Kings Mountain 42 - East Rutherford 21

Shelby (3-0) @ R-S Central (3-0): It's been a great start to the season for both the R-S Central Hilltoppers and the Shelby Golden Lions. The Golden Lions aveage 44 points a game, but they are giving up 32 points as well. The Hilltoppers, on the other hand, average 24 points a game, but are giving up 15. R-S Central has not faced a team of Shelby's caliber yet this year.
My pick: Shelby 42 - R-S Central 27

Jimmy Draughn (2-1) @ Crest (2-0): The Draughn Wildcats are off to a better start than they were last year. They have beaten West Lincoln 23-7 and Patton 28-0, but lost to Freedom 61-0. Crest will be that kind of test for the Wildcats. The Chargers have scored 75 points combined in their two wins. The Chargers gave up 28 points to Ashbrook, but 20 of those points came in the fourth quarter when the game was already out of hand in their 44-28 victory. The Wildcats will have their hands full in this one.
My pick: Crest 52 - Draughn 14

Statesville Christian (0-3) @ Thomas Jefferson (3-0): This looks like another mismatch on paper. Thomas Jefferson is beating teams by an average deficit of 26 points and STatesville Christian is losing by a deficit of 28 points. This looks like an accident waiting to happen.
My pick: Thomas Jefferson 42 - Statesville Christian 6

Redhawks Swarm Huskies

The Monroe Redhawks closed out the Union Power Cooperative event blowing out Hunter Huss 45-0 and it wasn’t even that close. In fact, Monroe scored on six out of seven of their drives in the opening quarter. The Redhawks did just about everything they wanted by scoring at will and shutting down the Huskies offense.

Monroe’s Braxton Knotts did most of the scoring damage in the first half with two five-yard touchdown runs, a 23-yard touchdown run and a 50-yard punt return for a touchdown. The other score in the first half was a Zephaniah "Zeph" Wall 23-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Nixon.

Just before the half, kicker Brian Diaz got in on the fun with a 44-yard field goal. That made it 38-0 at half-time. Diaz was also six-for-six on his extra points. Monroe received the second half kickoff. Jadarious "JD" McManus took the kickoff and ran it 87 yards for the touchdown. The clock then starting running continuously and the subs started coming in.

Monroe did make one mistake in the first half when Knotts fumbled a kickoff near midfield, but it wouldn't matter as the Huskies were unable to capitalize. The Huskies made it as far as the Monroe 25-yard line at some point in the first half, but that spark was knocked out due to a fumble.

Knotts's four touchdowns won him the Player of the Game Award.

"We can't say that we are where we want to be but we are getting better." said Monroe head coach Johnny Sowell.

"The last time we were 3-0 and faced Weddington at 3-0, we left at 3-1 and I tell our kids about it." Sowell said about their matchup at Weddington "We got to have a good week of practice. Wednesday is a tune-up day and our coaches need to put them in the right position."

Given that this wasn't a county game or a conference game, Sowell decided his team should treat this as a statement game.

"We just got to learn and grow from this game." said Hunter Huss head coach Jamar McKoy "We are young and this is a great ball club we just played. We can't fumble the ball against a good ball club and we can't have penalties against a good ball club."

The Huskies had two fumbles on the night.

"We have to make adjustments on the offensive line and defensive line." McKoy said "Hickory is a physical ball club."

Asked if a short week for Hickory, who plays Newton-Conover Tuesday in a make-up game, will help his team, his reply was "Any given Friday night, any ball club can win."

Hunter Huss will host the Red Tornadoes next Friday.

Earlier: Weddington shuts down Charlotte Christian

This was a defensive battle throughout the game. The only touchdown scored was a Grayson Willingham 21-yard touchdown pass to Mark Tyulyu. From that point forward, the Knights held Weddington out of the end zone.

Kicker Keith Duncan would kick field goals of 32 and 24 in the first half. He would then hit a 45-yarder in the third quarter. He would win the MVP Award of the game.

Charlotte Christian was not able to get anything going offensively. Their running game was shut down for most of the game. They did get on the board with one minute left when John Turley threw a three-yard touchdown reception to Jonathan Durham. Turley was sacked on the two-point conversion attempt, however.

The final was 16-6, but it could have been worse had the Warriors not dropped a couple of big passes.

"Today, we made some mistakes." said Weddington head coach Tim Carson "Penalties hurt us. We don't have a 2nd-and-25 play. We run a ball control offense."

"Christian came out and did some different things in the second half and we had to adjust to them."

Overall, Tim Carson was pleased with his Warriors' performance against one of the top private schools in the area.

Weddington hosts Monroe next week for a big county showdown.

"We have to put four quarters together." said Charlotte Christian head coach Jason Estep "Our goal is to win a state championship regardless of who we play."

"We are playing against stiff competition, but we are not getting hurt. We are playing the top at each level (4A and 3A)."

The Knights lost to Charlotte Catholic 5-0 to open the season. They beat Myrtle Beach last week 24-3. They will host Hoggard next week.

South Mecklenburg shuts out Porter Ridge 34-0

South Mecklenburg had little trouble from the Porter Ridge Pirates. The Sabres opened up with a 28-0 half-time lead. Nigel Brown got the Sabres started with a fumble recovery in the end zone for a touchdown. Running back Travis Prince's touchdown pass from quarterback Antonio Wallace gave the Sabres a 14-0 lead. Deangelo Blair-Young got in on the fun with a 60-yard fumble return for a touchdown. He would add a 20-yard touchdown run to give the Sabres their 28-0 half-time lead.

The only score in the second half was a Wallace 17-yard touchdown pass to Moryah Johnson. The extra point was blocked, however. Johnathan Doerer was 4-for-5 on extra points.

"I thought they played really well." said South Mecklenburg head coach Rocky White "The heat and the amount of plays Porter Ridge was running, we had to suck it up."

The Sabres get ready to host Myers Park, a 38-8 winner over Providence.

"Myers Park played a great game last night." White said "It's a big game next week. They are a big rival."

Porter Ridge did have a bright spot in the loss. Running back Mason Mills amassed 130 yards on 26 carries. The Pirates travel to take on in-town rival, Sun Valley, next week. The Spartans lost 46-39 to Rocky River, Friday.

Kings Mountain Roughs Up Forestview

                The Storms came and delayed the game for about a half hour. Then kickoff happened. Then the storms came again. But not before Kings Mountain got on the board with a blocked punt by Chance Frederick that Bryan Sanders took 17 yards for a touchdown. Micah Randle’s kick gave the Mountaineers a 7-0 lead.

                The game resumed an hour later. Neither offense was able to get anything going. The Mountaineers were able to move the ball, but a lost fumble late in the first half prevented the Mountaineers from being able to capitalize.

                Forestview’s offense finally found a spark late in the second quarter. After being held without a first down for much of the second half, the Jaguars finally picked one up with a Moe Neal three-yard run for a first down. After being backed up by a penalty, Colton Guthrie was able to connect with Saveon Falls for a 36-yard reception at the Kings Mountain six-yard line. But the Jaguars would have to settle for a Dylan Disarro 20-yard field-goal. The halt-time score was 7-3 Mountaineers.

                But in the second half, things started going Kings Mountain’s way. The Mountaineers received the kickoff in the second half and Kavin Mosley took it 67 yards for a touchdown. Randle’s kick gave Kings Mountain a 14-3 lead. Kings Mountain would fumble again deep in Forestview territory. But the Jaguars would give the ball back on the next play.

                The Mountaineers took advantage with a one-yard touchdown run by Darian McClain. Then early in the fourth quarter, Darren Burns got in on the fun with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Madisyn Bolin. Backup running back Shaun Grier put another score on the board with a 15-yard touchdown run. Randle was 5-for-5 on extra points.

                The Jaguars did get another score late with a touchdown pass from Dakota Caughey to Jalen Sanders. Disarro’s kick made it 35-10. The Jaguars were also plagued with injuries today as starting offensive guard Zach Hagin, quarterback Colton Guthrie and backup quarterback Mac England all left the game with injuries.

                “We lost to a good team.” Forestview head coach Chris Medlin said “We had a lot of breakdowns.”

                “I thought Forestview was outstanding.” Kings Mountain head coach Greg Lloyd said “Both teams played hard. We turned the ball over too many times, but defense picked us up and our special teams.”

                This win also marks the first time Kings Mountain has beaten Forestview at Kings Mountain since 2004. The Mountaineers won 42-34.

                Forestview will be back at home to host the 2AA state champion, East Lincoln. East Lincoln beat North Lincoln 49-14 tonight. Kings Mountain will open conference play at home against East Rutherford, a 17-13 winner over T.C. Roberson.

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 3 Picks

Game of the Week: Shelby (2-0) @ South Point (1-1): The South Point Red Raiders meet another familiar powerhouse tonight at William Lineberger Stadium. This is the Red Raiders' home opener. Shelby comes in with a 2-0 record, coming off wins against powerful teams in Freedom (40-28) and A.C. Reynolds (56-39). Can Shelby have that same success against South Point. The Red Raiders have taken the last two games from the Golden Lions.

South Point started last season 1-3 and their only win was 44-39 shootout at Shelby. The year before, South Point found themselves down 24-14 before rallying late in the second half for a 35-24 victory. South Point is coming off a 42-20 victory at Lincolnton. After being down 20-14 in the first half, the Red Raiders held the Wolves scoreless in the second half.

The Red Raiders will need a performance like that second half to tame the Golden Lions.
My pick: South Point 38 - Shelby 35

Forestview (1-1) @ Kings Mountain (2-0): Kings Mountain has started the year off on fire. The Mountaineers have dominated their first two opponents. Forestview is coming off a disappointing 23-20 loss at Clover. The Jaguars will need to up their game as they travel to John Gamble Stadium to face the Mountaineers. In their two victories, the Mountaineers averaged 51 points. Forestview, on the other hand, averaged 24 in their two games. Kings Mountain dealt Forestview their first loss last year 35-21. Can Forestview return the favor to the Mountaineers or could this be a tough night for the Jaguars?

Note: In this series, the road team has won 9 out of the last 11 games.
My pick: Kings Mountain 42 - Forestview 35

Lincolnton (1-1) @ North Gaston (1-1): Lincolnton fell hard to South Point last week 42-20 after holding a brief 20-14 lead in the first half. North Gaston's last minute field-goal last week helped the Wildcats edge East Rutherford 15-13. North Gaston will have to muster up some offense in this game, however. The Wildcats have scored 11 and 15 in their two games. The Wolves have scored 62 and 20.
My pick: Lincolnton 34 - North Gaston 20

Q Foundation (0-2) @ Ashbrook (0-2): After playing stiff competition in Davidson Day and Crest, the Green Wave will take on a lesser opponent in the Q Foundation. The Q Foundation is yet to beat a team from the area and it's unlikely that they will change that tonight. Look for Ashbrook to get their first win of the season tonight.
My pick: Ashbrook 42 - Q Foundation 8

Hunter Huss (0-2) @ Monroe (2-0) (Sat.): Hunter Huss will have a unique priveledge in participating in one of the Union Power Cooperative Gridiron Clash at Monroe this Saturday. The Huskies will no doubt face another test as they go against the Monroe Red Hawks. The Huskies showed improvement from week one to week 2 narrowly losing to Burns on a last minute touchdown 29-26. The week before, they took a pounding by defending 2AA State Champ, East Lincoln. Will the Huskies be able to shock the Red Hawks or are the Huskies looking at the possibility of starting 0-3?
My pick: Monroe 35 - Hunter Huss 21

North Lincoln (0-2) @ East Lincoln (2-0): Last year, both of these teams were 2-0. This year, that is not the case. The Knights have struggled this year opening the season with a 62-8 thumping at the hands of Lincolnton and losing to West Lincoln 13-6. East Lincoln has not only been winning, but winning handily. East Lincoln escaped last year's matchup with North Lincoln 28-27. The score this year will not be anywhere near as close.
My pick: East Lincoln 54 - North Lincoln 14

West Iredell (0-2) @ Stuart Cramer (1-1): Stuart Cramer opened the season with a 42-0 blowout win over Cherryville, but stumbled against R-S Central last week 28-21. The Storm are in position to surpass their win total from last year. The West Iredell Warriors have struggled so far this year, losing to St. Stephens (32-7) and Wilkes Central (35-20). This looks like a winnable game for the Storm.
My pick: Stuart Cramer 35 - West Iredell 21

Cherryville (0-2) @ West Lincoln (1-1): This was not how Cherryville expected to start the season. The Ironmen have been outscored 83-6 in their first two games. West Lincoln has scored only 20 points in their two games combined. After starting the season off with a 23-7 loss to Jimmy Draughn, the Rebels were able to rebound with a 13-6 win over county rival, North Lincoln. The game favors the Rebels.
My pick: West Lincoln 21 - Cherryville 6

Chase (1-1) @ Bessemer City (1-1)(1-0): Both teams suffered season-opening losses and both teams rebounded last week. Chase is coming off a 47-6 victory over Cherryville and Bessemer City played their first conference game against Mountain Island Charter and came out with a 28-7 win. The Trojans and the Yellow Jackets are hoping to keep the momentum going. This should be a hard-fought game between the two.
My pick: Chase 28 - Bessemer City 20

Mountain Island Charter (0-2)(0-1) @ Thomas Jefferson Academy (2-0): Mountain Island Charter came up two points short in their season opener against Central Academy (20-18), but fell even harder in their conference loss to Bessemer City 28-7. The Gryphons will be another test for the Raptors. The Gryphons wins include a 27-6 victory over Peculiar Generation and a 49-18 thumping over Hickory Grove Christian.
My pick: Thomas Jefferson 35 - Mountain Island Charter 14

Burns (2-0) @ Central Cabarrus (1-1)(0-1): Burns is off to a better start than last year and should make some noise in the South Mountain Athletic 3A/2A Conference. Burns's victories include last week's 29-26 come-from-behind victory over Hunter Huss and a 28-0 shutout of Q Foundation in the opening week.  First, they have to focus on the Central Cabarrus Vikings. The Vikings are hoping to rebound from last week's 35-7 conference loss to Jay M. Robinson.
My pick: Burns 34 - Central Cabarrus 24