Last week’s picks resulted in a 1-1 record with Union pulling off a mild upset over Lakewood and Midway rolling over Hobbton. This week features four non-conference games with Union getting a bye after their big opening game win over Lakewood.
Hobbton will be playing host to Chatham Central on Friday night. The Wildcats look to get in the win column after losing their opener to Midway. The Wildcats showed improvement over last year in their opener and look to build on that growth on Friday night. The Bears will keep it close for a half and Hobbton will get the offense rolling and claw out their first win of the season.
Final: Hobbton 20, Chatham Central 6
The Leopards host East Columbus in their home opener. After losing a defensive battle to Union, Lakewood will be looking to get their first win of the season against the Gators. Lakewood will try to get their offense on track after being stopped by the Union defense on Monday. East Columbus could be just what the doctor ordered as they gave up a lot of points to last week’s opponent. The Leopard defense remains stout and the offense rolls getting a much-needed win.
Final: Lakewood 32, East Columbus 18
The Midway Raiders will play the Princeton Bulldogs in Spivey’s Corner on Friday. This could be an offensive shootout as Princeton scored 57 points in their last game. Midway’s defense will be tested by the high scoring Bulldog attack. The offense will have a large task in trying to outscore Princeton and unless the Raider defense can force some mistakes. It could be a tough outing for the Raiders.
Final: Princeton 35, Midway 20
In the Game of the Week, Clinton opens their season in Dark Horse Stadium against Southwest Onslow. Clinton finished last year with an 11-3 overall record, falling to Bunn in the Eastern Championship game and has high expectations for the season.
Southwest Onslow finished their 2015 campaign with a 3-8 overall record and a 0-5 record in the East Central Conference. Last week, Southwest Onslow struggled in their season opener, a 34-6 loss to Jacksonville.
Clinton’s offense will be lead once again this year by Ryheem Skinner and Kris Williams. Backfield mates Tyion Wright and Jalen Smith round out the Dark Horse backfield that should find lost of running room behind an experienced offensive line.
Southwest Onslow’s offense will be pressured by Clinton’s aggressive front seven on defense. Prentice Murphy and Michael Kramer lead a Dark Horse unit that has lots of question marks but is very athletic and should be able to create turnovers to give the ball back to their explosive offense.
If Southwest Onslow’s offense doesn’t take care of the ball and control the clock, it could be a very long night for the Stallions. Look for Clinton’s defense to create some turnovers and the offense to put points on the board, early and often.
Final: Clinton 41, Southwest Onslow 13