Gridiron Preview: Week 2

Aug. 25—Just like that, Week 1 of high school football is in the books and attention quickly changes focus to this week's action. There's a couple of games that will be interesting this week, but perhaps the one on everyone's radar is going to be Clinton at Wallace-Rose Hill, which marks this week's Game of the Week. But, before we address that game, there's a few others to discuss first. So, let's dive right in and take a look at the upcoming games.

Midway vs South Brunswick

The Raiders have to be feeling some disappointment after dropping last week's rivalry game against Hobbton. With exception of a play or two here and there, Midway's air game was completely put to bed and most of the offense generated was done so on the ground. This was by far one of the Raiders' worst offensive outputs in quite some time. There were some bright spots for Midway that they likely took away and will look to exploit this week, but the competition isn't getting any easier with South Brunswick set to come to Spivey's Corner. The Cougars completely dismantled the Raiders 33-0 last year and have already secured a 30-10 victory over Richlands to kick off this season. With only nine seniors graduated from last year, the bulk of that South Brunswick team will be suiting up against Midway again on Friday. Unless they can regroup and drastically improve from last week, the ingredients are there for the Raiders to begin this season at 0-2.

Game time Friday is 7 p.m.

Hobbton vs Trask

On the flip side of that coin, Hobbton's offense performed markedly better and the stat sheet backs that up. Wildcats' junior quarterback Cole Weeks went 14-for-20 against the Raiders, piling up 116 yards and a touchdown. He also carried the ball for 33 yards. Receiving the passes from Weeks were sophomore Ashawd Wynn, who collected six passes for 72 yards and Noah Adams who had one completion of 19 years and a touchdown. Bobby Dial, Reece Bradshaw, and Reggie Thompson were also credited with receptions in that game. In the ground game, Dial chipped in 107 yards and several touchdowns. Honestly, if not for some second half blunders (including a weird safety that the Wildcats opted to take late in the game), the margin of victory could have been higher. With all that said, however, that game is behind them. Hobbton faces a new opponent this week and the Wildcats would really love to see their record built to 2-0. Heide Trask from just down the road in Pender County is set to visit Newton Grove on Friday. The Titans enter this game at 0-1, having lost 20-8 at the hands of Topsail in Week 1. Stats are lacking for Trask, but, honestly, time has not been kind to the Titans. They haven't won a game since the 2019 season when they beat Lejeune 16-3. Since then, Trask is 0-18. In that span is a 90-62 loss to Hobbton last season. Now, it's unlikely we'll see a score of that magnitude this time around, but a similar result is likely to be expected.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Union vs Pender

The Spartans return to the gridiron in Week 1 wasn't a kind one. West Columbus showed little mercy to the school that took a year off as they "welcomed" them back with a 55-0 defeat. This week is a new week, however, and the Spartans have a new foe in front of them in the form of the Pender Patriots, who are coming off of a big win themselves against Lejeune, 63-6. In Week 1, Pender utilized two different quarterbacks to complete 3-of-4 passes for 85 yards and touchdown. On the ground, six different players carried the rock for the Patriots, but it was senior running back Kelvin Robinson standing out with six carries for 80 yards and a touchdown. A'tavion Pickett had three carries for 42 yards and two touchdowns, and Jassiah Hill had two carries for 41 yards and a touchdown. Demari Morgan, though only accumulating 10 rushing yards, also had two touchdowns. This Patriots team should come into Friday's game with some confidence. After all, they finished 10-4 overall last season and have already tallied one big win this season. Truth be told, they should be widely favored Friday night, meaning Union will most likely be the underdog this week. Can the Spartans regroup and shock the world?

Game time, according to MaxPreps, is 7:30 p.m.

Harrells vs High Point Christian

The Harrells Crusaders got the 2022 season started off on the right foot after picking up a 55-38 win at Parrott Academy last week. Now looking to make it 2-0, the Crusaders are set to host High Point Christian Academy on Friday, who also enters at 1-0 following a 38-20 win against North Wake. In Week 1's win, Ethan Spell showed off some impressive skill through the air, going 9-of-15 passing with 177 total yards and four touchdowns. Just as impressive was his scrambling ability as he tallied 137 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 10 carries. Sophomore Eli Hardison complimented the Crusaders ground game as he hit 113 yards rushing and a touchdown on nine carries. It's safe to say that Harrells has answered some questions about who was going to replace all of the talent that graduated from last year's State Runner-up team — but, let's not put the cart before the horse. This week should be a big test for the Crusaders with HPCA also putting up some nice numbers last week. While their passing game wasn't as notable, the Cougars ground game tallied 269 yards with Ethan Devore tallying 127 of those and Garrett Weldner notching 99. This one should be a fun one down at Harrells!

Game time is set for 7 p.m.

Lakewood at Jones

With senior quarterback Kollin Hunter back under center, the Leopards enjoyed a winning start to the 2022 season last week and they will look to build on that this week when they hit the road to Jones County. Historically, football just isn't the Trojans forte. They haven't had a winning season since 2011 and have already sustained a 48-6 loss to South Lenoir last week. For Lakewood, it was their ground game that dominated Spring Creek in Week 1. Two guys eclipsed the century mark — Tony Free with 133 and Bobby Henry with 100 — and a third came close: Chris Carr at 80. All three each recorded two touchdowns and a host of other ball-carriers helped the Leopards tally 358 yards rushing. Hunter completed 2-of-4 passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns. It seems like Lakewood has some key players out on the field that could help this be a pretty good year for the Leopards, and honestly, they deserve it. Should be another big win for Lakewood on Friday night.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Clinton at Wallace-Rose Hill (Game of the Week)

And, without any further delay, we get to this week's Game of the Week — and boy, is it going to be a doozy. Two of eastern North Carolina's most storied programs and old rivals are set to go head-to-head once again. There's going to be a lot of talk ahead of this game, I'm sure, but only one team can come out victorious on Friday night. For Wallace-Rose Hill, they completely shellacked East Bladen in Week 1, running away with a 61-7 victory. For Clinton, they shook off some early rust and ran away from Goldsboro, 48-6. Stats for both teams from last week aren't available, but with each putting up impressive numbers against historically solid opponents, there's very little doubt that this game is going to be a barnburner. Should be a great test for both teams!

Game time is 7 p.m.

To add fuel to the fire, rain chances for Friday have been creeping up this week. We'll pay close attention to see if any scheduling changes are made prior to kick off!