A sports analysis
North Duplin @ Hobbton, Friday, 7 p.m.
The Wildcats showcased their offense in Friday’s routing of Union, as they hung a “50-burger” on the visiting Spartans on their homecoming night. You always want to win on that night especially, and Hobbton took care of business in a large fashion.
They’ll need every bit of that high-powered offense, plus some, if they’re going to topple the conference leading Rebels, who are coming into this game undefeated, outscoring their opponents 311-76, on the backs of a 2,600-yard rushing attack. Their leading rusher has 1,202 yards and 21 touchdowns on the season, and he has the size to go beyond Carolina 1A ball — he’s 6’, 163 pounds. Oh, and they have a four-star defensive lineman who just committed to Texas A&M.
I don’t say all of this to sound like I’m a bandwagoner for the Rebels, nor do I say it to take anything anyway from Sampson County football — you won’t find anyone that brags more about football in this area than I do, I promise. I’m just laying all of these facts out about the Wildcats’ upcoming opponent.
I would love for the Wildcats to upset the undefeated season from the Rebels, but I’m afraid this might be too tall of an order for them. I’ll take the Rebels, by a score of 42-20, but I’ll pray that I’m incorrect in this pick.
My prediction for last week: 34-20, Hobbton. I am 5-3 for the Wildcats.
Fairmont @ Clinton, Friday, 7 p.m.
There’s no doubt that this season has not gone the way head coach Johnny Boykin had anticipated, and last Friday’s game was indicative of that, as they fell to a potential conference-winning St. Pauls team, 49-6. Excuses aside, the Dark Horses still went out there, played four full quarters, and fought until the very end, so they deserve the same amount of praise as anyone else in this county.
Good news for the Horses, Fairmont’s run game is severely lacking, according to available statistics. Only one of their backs has gotten over 100 yards total on the season and he only has one touchdown to his name. They have a pair of young quarterbacks piloting their offense for the most part, as their sophomore gunslinger has 759 passing yards and four touchdowns, while a freshman has 111 yards and two touchdowns. A junior has gotten into the mix behind center, but he has just 107 passing yards and no touchdowns. The Golden Tornadoes haven’t eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for passing so far this season.
I think Henry Bass, Jaylen Williams, and the rest of the Horses have a great game to wrap-up this season and move onto the next iteration of Clinton sports. I’ll take Clinton by a score of 34-12.
My prediction for last week: St. Pauls over Clinton, 42-30. I am 7-1 for the Dark Horses.
Midway @ St. Pauls, Friday, 7 p.m.
The Raiders have kind of flown under the radar this season, and I don’t know if that’s because good football is expected out of Spivey’s Corner — especially with a Sloan at the helm — or what it may be. Nonetheless, Midway has gone on a seven game winning streak since their week two loss to James Kenan, including their first-ever win over county rival Clinton.
Luckily for me, I have seen both of these teams in-person this season, so I am well-prepared to break down this game. Gehemiah Blue, Ke’Mari McNeil, and Nathue Myles are a three-headed monster for the Raiders, racking up 1,967 yards and 26 touchdowns between them on the ground. Tanner Williams has 586 passing yards and seven touchdowns through the air. Wyatt Scott and Thomas Perez lead the team defensively, with Scott having 79 tackles and three tackles-for-loss and Perez having 68 total tackles and a whopping 11 tackles-for-loss.
St. Pauls has an explosive offense, with a quarterback that has amassed 1,097 yards through the air and 13 touchdowns, plus a running attack that has gained 2,553 yards and 23 touchdowns. In the nine games they’ve played, the Bulldogs have had someone rush for over 100 yards 11 times — I’ll let you do the math on that one.
I’ll take Midway winning this one — and the conference — by a score of 40-35.
My prediction last week: 50-12, Midway. I am 6-2 for the Raiders.
HCA @ High Point Christian, Friday, 7 p.m. (playoffs round one)
The Crusaders didn’t have the best showing against the Crusaders last week. Of course, the second Crusaders being those of Trinity Christian. I had pegged that game as a much tighter affair, but things fell apart early for Harrells. Trinity is an absolute wagon of a football team nearly-perennially. In fact, HighSchoolOT.com has them ranked as the number five team in the 910 area code, and deservedly so.
Unfortunately for our Crusaders, it’s not going to get much easier this week in the opening round of the NCISAA 2A playoffs, as they take on High Point Christian Academy. These two teams were supposed to meet in the regular season, but the game was cancelled due to weather. The Cougars are 9-0 on the season and are outscoring opponents 421-116, meaning they can put up a lot of points while holding their opponents to very little. In fact, the highest score against them was 28 points in a 63-28 blowout of Ravenscroft, who Harrells lost to two weeks ago.
But, with the bad news comes the good news. The Crusaders have outscored their opponents 270-145 this season, and the “everybody eats” offense is still alive and well. If Harrells can come out with the same defense they’ve had all year, with key takeaways and defensive scores, they could find themselves advancing to the next round. Coley Sasser and his teammates will have to put on their best defense if they hope to stop the Cougars, and I think they could do it.
I do have to make this pick, and unfortunately I think HPCA’s offense is too much — but again, I hope I’m wrong. I’ll take the Cougars, 40-28, over the Crusaders.
My prediction last week: 38-34, Harrells over Trinity. I am 6-2 for the Crusaders.
Reach Brandt Young at (910) 247-9036, at byoung@clintonnc.com, or on the Sampson Independent Facebook page.