Huskies Slaughter Jaguars, Claim Share of Conference Title

                The message was sent and it was sent early and often. The Hunter Huss Huskies in the driver’s seat for the Big South 3A/2A conference title had no intentions of sharing it. The Huskies did something earlier this year that they have not done in ten years and that is beat South Point. Another thing they haven’t done is beat Forestview at Huss. They decided that also was ten years too many as they blistered the visiting Jaguars 39-6 and it wasn’t even that close.

                The Huskies drove deep into Forestview territory on their first drive, but would stall. That would not be the case on their next drive as Jaquavious Butler put the Huskies on the board with a five-yard touchdown run.  The kick was blocked. But it was only the beginning. Freshman quarterback Zo Wallace extended the Huskies’ lead with a 70-yard touchdown pass to Antwanez Barnett. The run for the two-point conversion failed, however.

                The scoring slowed down for the Huskies until Forestview’s quarterback Mac England was sacked deep in Forestview territory by Devin Harrell. The sack caused a fumble that was recovered by Amari Torrence. Wallace and Barnett would connect for another touchdown pass. This time it was for 13 yards out. The extra point kick by Trevor Hargett was good. With the Jaguars’ offense stuck in neutral and having to punt on fourth down, the special teams went into their bag of tricks as kicker Holt Cloninger faked the punt and hit Tramone Duncan on a short pass route. Duncan took it 35 yards to the Huskies’ 30-yard line. But the Jaguars would fumble any chance to put points on the board.

                The Huskies would fumble it back right before half-time, but it wouldn’t matter. The Huskies got the ball back in the second half. They did not have a hard time moving the ball, but penalties would keep them from putting more points on the board. The third quarter would remain a scoreless stalemate.

                But in the fourth quarter, the onslaught continued. Backup quarterback Crawford Chandler got in on the fun and dashed out for a 54-yard touchdown run. Hargett’s kick was good and the score was 26-0. The Jaguars were able to get on the scoreboard with a 27-yard run by Jayveon Love. The kick was no good, however.

                Xavier Holmes scorched the worn-out Forestview defense with another long touchdown run. This time it was from 53 yards out. Chandler’s 57-yard touchdown run and Hargett’s extra point put the Huskies up 39-6. The Huskies’ offense put on a great show and the defense tormented the Jaguars’ offense all night. Devin Harrell led the Huskies defense with five sacks, including a forced fumble. Amari Torrence recovered two fumbles for the Huskies and Tony Davis intercepted a Mac England pass early in the game. Crawford Chandler led the Huskies offense with 134 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Jaquavious Butler amassed 112 yards rushing and a touchdown. Zo Wallace had 146 yards passing and two touchdowns.

                The Huskies win their first conference title since 1996. They can win it outright with a win at Ashbrook next week.

                “It feels good to get us back to the conference title and playing the way we are.” said Hunter Huss head coach Jamar McCoy “The help paved the way. We’ve got a great coaching staff and the kids are buying in to what got going and it’s an extremely fun time to be a Husky.”

                “The kids understood how good they could be.” McCoy said after overcoming an 0-3 start “We lost those games by a combined nine points and we just kept telling them ‘we are better than these one point losses, five point losses’ and it has gotten to the point where they’ve bought totally in and they understand the concepts.”

                “Devin Harrell is a monster out there. He’s a talent on defense and I’m happy I don’t have to play against him.” McCoy said on Harrell’s five sack performance “I’m super proud of him. This is something we will celebrate next week. He had a career type night with five sacks.”

                “We’re blessed here to be able to go two, sometimes three, deep at different positions.” McCoy said of his depth and his backups “We are stocked full with athletes. Xavier Holmes is listed as our third string back but he could be a starter anywhere else. He’s a humble kid and he’s super aggressive when he gets the ball. I’m super proud of him. Even our back quarterback, Crawford Chandler, came in and had two long touchdown runs. He’s a ball player.”

                “The deal is not done yet.” McCoy said on the conference title “Next week is even bigger than this week. Our next opponent is our best opponent. Right now, it’s a one game season. You get in the playoffs and you lose, you go home. You don’t come this far just to come this far. You come this far to win titles.”

                “They’re a good team. They played good. Give them a lot of credit.” Said Forestview head coach Chris Medlin of Hunter Huss “They’ve made a little run. They’ve won seven in a row. They got good speed, good size and they’re physical. It’s a good combination to have. They got a good defense. All you can do is come to work Monday. We got one more left and we’ll see what happens after that.”

                Hunter Huss travels to face traditional cross-town rival, Ashbrook, next week. Forestview will have their home finale against East Gaston.

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 11 Best To Last

1. Shelby (9-0)(6-0)
2. Lincolnton (9-0)(5-0)
3. Burns (8-1)(5-1)
4. Hunter Huss (6-3)(5-0)
5. South Point (5-4)(4-1)
6. East Lincoln (7-2)(3-2)
7. Forestview (6-3)(4-1)
8. Kings Mountain (7-3)(5-2)
9. Crest (7-2)(5-1)
10. Stuart Cramer (6-3)(3-2)
11. Mountain Island Charter (8-1)(4-1)
12. West Lincoln (5-4)(2-3)
13. Ashbrook (3-6)(2-3)
14. Thomas Jefferson (6-3)(2-2)
15. Bessemer City (6-3)(3-1)\
16. East Gaston (3-6)(2-3)
17. Cherryville (2-7)(2-1)
18. North Lincoln (1-8)(1-4)
19. North Gaston (1-8)(0-5)
20. Highland Tech (1-8)(0-4)

 

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 11 Picks

Forestview 21 @ Hunter Huss 28

Lake Norman Charter 7 @ Ashbrook 42

Stuart Cramer 42 @ East Gaston 14

North Gaston 7 @ South Point 48

Crest 21 @ Burns 17

Draughn 7 @ Shelby 45

West Caldwell 14 @ Lincolnton 41

West Lincoln 28 @ Bandys 13

Maiden 21 @ East Lincoln 35

Highland Tech 6 @ Bessemer City 48

Cherryville 28 @ Community School of Davidson 6

Thomas Jefferson 35 @ Pine Lake Prep 19

West Iredell 21 @ North Lincoln 28

Mountain Island Charter 41 @ Cannon School 14

　

Who Wants This Conference? If you have been following the Southern Piedmont 1A conference, you know just how crazy things got last week. One of the biggest shockers of last week was Thomas Jefferson's 42-8 win over Bessemer City. The Yellow Jackets have so far dominated that conference and the Gryphons have stumbled with losses to Cherryville and Mountain Island Charter. The Ironmen have a shot at winning a share of the conference title if they win out. They would split it with Mountain Island Charter whom they don't play this year. The Raptors are done in conference play and currently stand at 4-1. Right now, Thomas Jefferson, Community School of Davidson, Pine Lake Prep and Highland Tech are out of the running but as shown last week, they each can play spoiler.

Big South Conference Still Up For Grabs: Right now, the Hunter Huss Huskies still retain sole possession of first place in the conference. But behind them in the race is Forestview at 4-1. The Jaguars' only loss in conference play was to South Point. If Forestview knocks off Hunter Huss, that would force a three-way tie. In order to do that, the Jaguars will have to take care of the football and to take advantage of opportunities. They will have to also avoid kicking to kickoff/punt return specialists, Akeythio Carson and Tony Davis.

Critical Games In The District 7 2A: Some games to keep an eye on in the SD 2A are West Caldwell @ Lincolnton and Maiden @ East Lincoln. Both West Caldwell and Lincolnton are undefeated in conference play. The Warriors are coming off a 42-32 win against East Lincoln. The winner of this game locks up a share of the conference title given that everyone else has at least one loss. Maiden has one loss in conference play, but could get back in the race if Lincolnton knocks off West Caldwell and if the Blue Devils knock off East Lincoln. The Mustangs are out of the running with two losses in conference play, but are looking to spoil the night for Maiden.

Top 3A Spot On The Line In The South Mountain Athletic Conference: Burns and Crest currently have only one loss in conference play and they play each other this week. The Bulldogs are hoping to cement the top 3A spot in conference play, but the Chargers have been improving each week and their defense continues to keep other teams' offenses on lock down. A Chargers victory gives Crest the top 3A spot. That would also set up a big matchup against Shelby next week for the Chargers. Though nobody has been able to stay close to the Golden Lions this year. Should the Chargers win this week and lose to Shelby next week, that would set up a three-way tie for the top 3A spot between Crest, Burns and Kings Mountain.

Forestview Forces Five Turnovers, Tops Ashbrook 27-13

                If you wondered how Forestview would respond after a devastating loss from last week, their 27-13 win over Ashbrook on Friday probably answered your question in a positive way. He Jaguars used their ground and pound running game, an opportunistic defense that had five takeaways and a blocked punt for a touchdown to down their cross-town rival.

                After a scoreless first quarter, the Jaguars finally broke through. Chapperal Smith got them on the board with a 25-yard run. Dylan Disarro’s extra point kick made it 7-0. Special teams got in on the action for the Jaguars when Tremayne Booker blocked a Green Wave punt and Tramone Duncan recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown. The Green Wave special teams would respond by blocking the PAT kick. The score would remain 13-0 going into half-time.

                Ashbrook got the ball to start the second half and they would score on their first drive. Under pressure from a Forestview blitz, Chabien Rodriguez hit British Brooks for a screen pass at the 23-yard line. Brooks was able to take it the distance for the Green Wave’s first touchdown of the night. The PAT was good.

                But the Jaguars would respond later in the third with a six-yard touchdown run by Jayveon Love and 28-yard touchdown run Chapperal Smith. Both PATs were good and Forestview took a 27-7 lead going into the final quarter. The Green Wave would get a drive going early in the fourth quarter. They made it all the way to the Forestview one-yard line, but a procedure penalty backed them up and Chabien Rodriguez was intercepted by Tramone Duncan on the next play.

Ashbrook was able to get another touchdown later in the fourth quarter when Rodriguez hit Cameron June for a 53-yard touchdown pass. The extra point kick bounced off the upright however. That would be all the highlights for Ashbrook as Forestview recovered the onside kick and ran the clock out.

Forestview’s defense forced three fumbles and two interceptions, one by Duncan and the other by Jared Carter. Forestview only lost one fumble and had no interceptions. The Jaguars also registered five sacks. Xavier Worthy led the Jaguars with three. Nate Whitaker and Jacob Ash each had one. For Ashbrook, Antwan McClee led the way with two sacks and Josh Long had one.

Rodriguez led Ashbrook with 155 yards passing, 65 yards rushing and two passing touchdowns. Chapperal Smith led Forestview with 82 yards and two touchdowns.

“I thought we played as a complete team in all three phases and did some great things and that’s what you have to do against a great team. I couldn’t be more proud.” said Forestview head coach Chris Medlin “(The blocked punt for touchdown) gave us some momentum. Our defense as a whole is playing great. We have a lot of senior leadership over there. Tramone (Duncan) is one of them. He’s doing well and had a big night for us in some key plays.”

Medlin said when asked about involving more players on offense “We threw one to the tight-end there. It was a big play that got us a first down early in the game. We got to add some stuff. We can’t just run the base plays. You got to add some wrinkles to it when teams are overloading you.”

“We got to win two more. It’s simple as that. If we do, there is nothing less we can have than a conference championship. That’s our goal. We got to take it one at a time.”

“When you have a special teams situation where they get points out of it, that’s hard to overcome.” said Ashbrook head coach Greg Hill “Turnovers, I don’t know how many we had but it’s hard to win a game when you have that many turnovers.”

“That drive (early in the second half) was our best drive of the night. We made some plays there and got in the end zone. We felt like we got it going again and then I think the thing that really hurt us after that is that we played half the field the majority of the third quarter and we weren’t able to flip the field at all and you can’t do that especially when you got a team that’s going to power the ball down at you.”

Hill said about the next two games against Lake Norman Charter and Hunter Huss “There’s no ifs, ands and buts about it. These next two weeks are going to define what happens to the rest of the season. Our kids got to come to work Monday and find a way to get ourselves back on track.”

Forestview (6-3)(4-1) travels to take on Hunter Huss (6-3)(5-0). Ashbrook (3-6)(2-3) will host Lake Norman Charter (4-5)(0-5).

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 10 Best to Last

1. Shelby (9-0)(6-0)

2. Lincolnton (8-0)(4-0)

3. East Lincoln (7-1)(3-1)

4. Burns (7-1)(4-1)

5. Hunter Huss (5-3)(4-0)

6. South Point (4-4)(3-1)

7. Forestview (5-3)(3-1)

8. Stuart Cramer (6-2)(3-1)

9. Kings Mountain (6-3)(4-2)

10. Crest (6-2)(4-1)

11. Bessemer City (6-2)(3-0)

12. Mountain Island Charter (7-1)(4-1)

13. West Lincoln (5-3)(2-2)

14. Ashbrook (3-5)(2-2)

15. Thomas Jefferson (5-3)(1-2)

16. Cherryville (2-6)(2-0)

17. East Gaston (2-6)(1-3)

18. North Lincoln (1-7)(1-3)

19. North Gaston (1-7)(0-4)

20. Highland Tech (1-7)(0-3)

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 10 Picks

Hunter Huss 21 @ Stuart Cramer 14

Ashbrook 21 @ Forestview 35

South Point 55 @ Lake Norman Charter 0

East Gaston 48 @ North Gaston 38

Lincolnton 48 @ Newton-Conover 21

Maiden 42 @ West Lincoln 20

East Lincoln 31 @ West Caldwell 28

Burns 42 @ Draughn 7

East Rutherford 14 @ Crest 35

Kings Mountain 42 @ Chase 13

Bessemer City 48 @ Thomas Jefferson 24

Pine Lake Prep 14 @ Cherryville 20

Community School of Davidson 38 @ Highland Tech 12

South Iredell 45 @ North Lincoln 7

Victory Christian 0 @ Mountain Island Charter 55

 

Big South 3A/2A Still Anybody’s To Claim: A key matchup in the Big South 3A/2A take place at Stuart Cramer where the Storm hosts the Huskies of Hunter Huss. The Huskies are in the driver’s seat with a 4-0 conference record. Cramer is just one of three teams behind the Huskies in conference play. Both teams are also in the 2A portion of the conference so the winner of this game edges closer to the top 2A seed for playoffs. Forestview is another team that is behind the Huskies in the conference. The Jaguars were hammered 45-3 at South Point last week. But with the Red Raiders already having a loss in conference play, all hope is not lost. The Jaguars will have to win out and that would include getting a win at Hunter Huss next week. But their focus is against Ashbrook. The Green Wave stands at a 2-2 record in conference play and are in danger of missing the playoffs. They are also dangerous enough to play spoiler for the teams left on their schedule. No doubt there will be some hard fought games in Gaston County this week.

Key Battle Takes Place In Lenoir: The West Caldwell Warriors and the East Lincoln Mustangs are facing off in a key Southern District 2A matchup tonight. The Warriors are 4-0 in conference play while the Mustangs are 3-1. East Lincoln lost to the other front-runner, Lincolnton, earlier this year. But there is some hope for them to potentially get a piece of the conference title. The Warriors have not lost at home this year, but the Mustangs will be the biggest test they faced there all year. Look for this to be a tight match-up.

South Point Continues Improvement, Rocks Forestview

A game that was billed by many to be a classic Big South shootout turned out to be anything but. South Point set the tone in the first quarter and the Red Raiders were unstoppable. South Point usually does their dirty work on the ground, but it was a big passing play by quarterback Scottie Lee that got the offense going. Lee connected with Ray Grier for a 66-yard touchdown pass. Thomas Lempereur’s extra point kick was good.

Forestview would contribute to their own demise on the ensuing kickoff. Jared Carter fumbled the ball near the Forestview 30-yard line. Two plays later, Jake Alexander ran it in from the five-yard line. Lempereur’s extra point kick gave South Point an early 14-0 lead. The second quarter wasn’t much kinder to Forestview. Lee called his own number and took it in for a 14-yard touchdown run. Lempereur would kick a 29-yard field goal to give South Point a 24-0 half-time lead.

The second half was more of the same. Ty Tinker gave South Point a 31-0 lead with a 30-yard touchdown run. The Jaguars were able to avoid the shutout with a 33-yard field goal by Holt Cloninger. But the night belonged to South Point. Jake Alexander put another touchdown on the board for the Red Raiders with a nine-yard touchdown run. Scottie Lee closed it out with a three-yard touchdown run. Kicker Lempereur was 6-for-6 on extra points.

"It got away from us. That happens sometimes." said Forestview head coach Chris Medlin "They're a good team. They played well. We didn't play well. They're close to being 7-1 instead of whatever they are (4-4)."

"Big, physical football game. Our bunch has had some adversity this year. We've gone through some hard times." said South Point head coach Mickey Lineberger "We had to almost totally rebuild our offense. We had one starter coming back. You can't rush that. You have to get reps at fullback and reps at quarterback. They have to learn to play together and we're steadily getting better. We're geting some people healthy. We're getting some people back. I'm real pleased at how we responded and how we competed."

"They have a great football team. We just came out here and imposed our will. We made a lot of good things happen. We had a great game plan. Our coaches just do a great job offensively and defensively. Our kids executed the game plan to perfection. We're playing like we got a chip on our shoulder right now because we got something to prove. We gave one away against Hunter Huss right here on this same field."

South Point (4-4)(3-1) will travel to take on Lake Norman Charter. Forestview (5-3)(3-1) will host Ashbrook.

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 9 Picks

South Point 21 – Forestview 17

Ashbrook 42 – East Gaston 13

Stuart Cramer 35 – North Gaston 10

Hunter Huss 42 – Lake Norman Charter 7

Shelby 24 – Burns 14

East Lincoln 35 – Newton-Conover 21

Lincolnton 52 – Bunker Hill 7

West Caldwell 28 – West Lincoln 14

Statesville 34 – North Lincoln 7

Crest 28 – East Burke 6

Kings Mountain 35 – R-S Central 13

Cherryville 48 – Highland Tech 6

Bessemer City 42 – Pine Lake Prep 14

Thomas Jefferson 35 – Community School of Davidson 14

Mountain Island Charter 58 – Carolina Gladiators 12

 

Game of the Week: South Point’s hopes for another conference championship took a dent a couple of weeks ago as they fell 21-16 to Hunter Huss. But a win over Forestview will keep them in the running if the Huskies happen to lose one down the line. The Jaguars are looking for their second conference championship in three years. A win for Forestview could set them up for a big game against Hunter Huss in a couple of weeks if both teams stay unbeaten in conference play. This is one for many local fans to watch.

Love, Smith, Defense Carry Jaguars In Win Over North Gaston

It was probably a much slower start than the Jaguars wanted but they did just enough to cruise past North Gaston on a homecoming night that was postponed due to Hurricane Matthew. Forestview led 16-6 at half-time, but found just enough offense for a 30-6 win.

Chapperal Smith got Forestview on the board with a one-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter. The kick was blocked however. Smith would score again on a four-yard run to extend the Jaguars’ lead. Dylan Disarro’s extra point kick was good this time. The Jaguars were in position to extend their lead late in the first half, but a fumble by Smith prior to the goal line proved disastrous. Isaiah McNeil scooped up the loose ball and took it 99 yards for a Wildcat touchdown. The two point conversion try was stopped, though. That would be all the scoring the Wildcats would get as the Jaguars' defense kept the Wildcats' offense out of the end zone.

The Jaguars were able to mount a drive to get some more points on the board at half-time. Kicker Holt Cloninger hit a 40-yard field goal just before half-time to put Forestview up 16-6. The Jaguars got the ball to start the second half, but would stall on the drive.

Jayveon Love would get Forestview their first touchdown of the second half on the next drive with a one-yard run. The Wildcats drove the ball deep into Forestview territory, but would stall at the Jaguar 20 after being stopped on 4th and 1. The Jaguars put the game away midway through the fourth quarter with a seven-yard touchdown run by Nathan Whitaker. Disarro’s kick for the extra point made the final 30-6. Disarro was 3-for-4 on extra point kicks.

Forestview will travel to take on South Point (3-4)(2-1). North Gaston will be home against Stuart Cramer (5-2)(2-1).

Early Special Teams Gaffe Sets Up South Point As The Red Raiders Hammer Ashbrook

                After losing a close one to Hunter Huss last week in a game that the Red Raiders were plagued by turnovers, South Point stormed back with a vengeance. South Point blew out Ashbrook tonight 45-12 sending the Red Raiders to 2-1 in conference play and 3-4 overall.

                Both offenses were stopped on the first series. But it was a mistake by Ashbrook’s special teams unit that set the tone for this game. Jacquez Armstrong muffed a punt deep in Ashbrook territory. Matthew Robinson of South Point recovered the fumble. Jake Alexander took it in from six yards out to put South Point on the board. Thomas Lempereur’s kick made it 7-0.

                The Red Raiders extended their lead with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Scottie Lee to Nathan Silver. Lempereur’s kick made it 14-0. The Green Wave offense would come to life in the second quarter. British Brooks scored on a one-yard touchdown run to cut the Red Raiders lead to 14-6. The extra point kick failed, however.

                South Point just kept pouring it on in the first half. Ty Tinker’s 49-yard touchdown run and Lee’s seven-yard touchdown pass to Nick Muse gave the Red Raiders a dominant 28-6 lead at half-time.

                Things started off good for the Green Wave in the second half. They stopped South Point on their first drive. After that, Brooks gave Ashbrook another touchdown with a 57-yard run. The two-point conversion would fail, though. That would be all the fun Ashbrook would have.

                Tinker would score two more touchdowns for South Point, one from one-yard out and the last one from 12-yards out. Lempereur also kicked a 28-yard field goal. He was 6-for-6 on extra point kicks.

                “We needed a big win and we got a big win.” said South Point head coach Mickey Lineberger “I was proud of the way our young men competed. I am proud of the way when we had a lot of people injured and hurt, we handled adversity tonight. We felt like we gave one away last week against Huss. We did a good job of making something good happen.”

                “I think everybody played in all three phases of the game (kicking game, defense and offense). I think that’s what set us up.” Lineberger said when asked about the fumble that set up South Point’s first score “It’s great to get a break in special teams like that in that kind of thing. I thought the effort was there tonight.”

                “We beat ourselves last week. We had too many turnovers and that was the difference this week. The way we competed was better. We had a little chip on our shoulders.” Lineberger said.

                “You can’t make the mistakes we made and have a chance to win against a team like that.” said Ashbrook head coach Greg Hill “We make too many mistakes and we can’t stop the bleeding once it starts. We cannot regroup at all. We got to get better. Our kids have to understand how to win.”

                “It was a tale of two different teams.” Hill said about their win last week at North Gaston and his team’s loss this week “Last week, we were able to get stops, defense was rested and our offense was able to stay on the field. This week, it’s just the opposite. We couldn’t make first downs when we needed to make them and defensively, we didn’t get off the field when we needed to get off the field. We had some drops and some special teams blunders. It’s very frustrating. I really thought we would give them a run for their money.”

                Ty Tinker led South Point with 150 yards rushing and three touchdowns. British Brooks led Ashbrook with 96 yards and two touchdowns. South Point (3-4)(2-1) will host Forestview (4-2)(2-0) next Friday. Ashbrook (2-5)(1-2) will travel to East Gaston (2-4)(1-1).

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Best to Last Week 8

 

1.       Shelby (7-0)(4-0)

2.       Lincolnton (6-0)(2-0)

3.       Burns (7-0)(4-0)

4.       East Lincoln (5-1)(1-1)

5.       Crest (5-1)(3-0)

6.       Forestview (4-2)(2-0)

7.       Stuart Cramer (4-2)(1-1)

8.       Hunter Huss (3-3)(2-0)

9.       Kings Mountain (4-3)(2-2)

10.   South Point (2-4)(1-1)

11.   Bessemer City (4-2)(1-0)

12.   Mountain Island Charter (5-1)(4-1)

13.   Ashbrook (2-4)(1-1)

14.   Thomas Jefferson (4-2)(0-1)

15.   West Lincoln (4-2)(1-1)

16.   North Lincoln (1-5)(1-1)

17.   East Gaston (2-4)(1-1)

18.   North Gaston (1-5)(0-2)

19.   Cherryville (0-6)(0-0)

20.   Highland Tech (1-5)(0-1)

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 8 Picks

South Point 20 – Ashbrook 7

Forestview 48 – North Gaston 14

Hunter Huss 47 – East Gaston 14

Stuart Cramer 34 – Lake Norman Charter 7

Lincolnton 41 – Bandys 6

Newton-Conover 34 – West Lincoln 13

East Lincoln 48 – Bunker Hill 7

Shelby 48 – East Rutherford 14

Crest 28 – Kings Mountain 10

Bessemer City 48 – Community School of Davidson 13

Thomas Jefferson 34 – Cherryville 12

Pine Lake Prep 38 – Highland Tech 7

Mountain Island Charter 51 – Sandhills Titans 13

Area Conferences In Tight Races

Big South Conference Up For Grabs

When many people talk Big South 3A/2A football, you typically talk about the South Point Red Raiders and how they have dominated the conference. The Red Raiders have only lost two conference games since 2007. Both of those were to Forestview (2009, 2014). They have won 8 of the last 9. But with South Point’s 21-16 loss to Hunter Huss, the conference is up for grabs.
Forestview and Stuart Cramer are also in the picture. Cramer opened up conference play with a 21-14 win over Ashbrook, but stumbled against Forestview 13-6 in a defensive battle. The Jaguars and the Huskies are 2-0 in conference play. South Point, Cramer, Ashbrook and East Gaston are 1-1. Ashbrook finally broke through last Friday with a 53-25 win at North Gaston. But can they keep that momentum up against a dangerous South Point squad? With East Gaston giving up over 40 points a game, it is unlikely they will contend for the title unless they can make some big adjustments on defense.

Southern District 2A Is Also In The Air

With Lincolnton’s 42-35 over defending conference champ, East Lincoln, the Wolves are likely in the driver’s seat for the conference title. However, Maiden and West Caldwell are also undefeated in league play and could challenge for the title later on. The Warriors travel to take on the Blue Devils this week in a key matchup.
The Mustangs are not out of the running yet. If one of these teams knocks off the Wolves and East Lincoln does not lose again the rest of the way, there could be a logjam at the top. With two losses in the conference already, Newton-Conover is likely out of the running but they are dangerous enough to play spoiler down the stretch.
As with the Big South, the Southern District conference is one to keep an eye on.

Shelby Still Favored In South Mountain, But Burns and Crest Keep Pace

One thing that has remained constant this year is the dominance of the Shelby Golden Lions.  Shelby (7-0)(4-0) scores just over an average of 42 points a game while surrendering less than 9 points. Burns is also 7-0 overall and 4-0 in conference play. Could the Bulldogs give Shelby a run for their money later on in the year?
Crest (5-1)(3-0) socred the most they have scored all year in a 35-0 win over Chase. The Chargers have not been as dominant as in years past, but they usually play their best toward the end of the season. Will that be enough to topple this year's Shelby squad?

Jaguars Weather Storm In Defensive Battle

Coming into this game, many people expected a tight defensive battle. They got it, too. Stuart Cramer took a 6-0 half-time lead with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Jaylen Rocquemore to Isaiah Foust. They scored that touchdown with just over half a minute left in the first half.

Forestview would keep trying to pound the ball with their Power-I set. Eventually, they would break through. Jayveon Love would get the Jaguars on the board with a nine-yard touchdown run. The game would stay tied at 6-6. The Storm threatened to strike again early in the fourth quarter. But Rocquemore was intercepted by Aveon Reid near the end-zone. That would be their first of three fourth quarter turnovers.

Chapperal Smith gave Forestview the lead with less than three minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Dylan Disarro’s extra point kick would make it 13-6. Desperate to keep the game alive the Storm drove down the field, but the Jaguars’ Jared Carter ended Cramer’s drive with an interception. But the Storm caught a break when Adam Hannibal recovered a Nate Whitaker fumble. But Cramer was not able to capitalize. Rocquemore was intercepted a third time, this time by Rhett Jenkins.

Jayveon Love led Forestview with 106 rushing yards and a touchdown. Chapperal Smith amassed 86 yards and a touchdown. Jaylen Rocquemore led Stuart Cramer with 172 passing yards and a touchdown, but had three interceptions.

The Storm will host Lake Norman Charter. The Jaguars will be home for the first time in over a month as they host North Gaston.

"I think it's one of those games you can't say anything negative on either side." said Forestview head coach Chris Medlin "Right now, the strength of our team is our defense playing well. I think we can run the ball at times on people and we're going to try and keep working that out. We're going to add some passes in there as well. It's just a great game all the way around. A lof of credit to (Cramer) for fighting. We just kept plugging and plugging and finally found a way. That's what I'm proud of."

"Our defense has played exceptionally well. Our guys improved tremendously." said Cramer head coach Ben McMillan "(Offensively) Our five guys up front did a good job. We got some people we can spread the ball around to. The penalties hurt us and the interceptions hurt us. I feel like we can be one of the top teams in the conference. We just got to stay together and keep working hard. Future is still bright for us."