Due to Hurricane Dorian, this week’s Gridiron Preview features games being played on Saturday, Monday, and possibly even Tuesday (more on that below). Our Nissan of Clinton Game of the Week will still feature Harrells and SouthLake Christian Academy, but due to that game being played today, the full rundown will be found in Tuesday’s edition. Other games being played early next week are Lakewood hosting Lejuene, Hobbton hosting East Columbus and Union hosting Pender.
Harrells vs SouthLake Christian Academy
After Hurricane Dorian left the area, Harrells Christian Academy and SouthLake Christian Academy decided to wait until today to play their football game as nicer – and drier – weather had settled in. The Crusaders enter this contest victors of two games, both of which ended in some pretty big blowouts. Now their attention is focused on the Eagles, who enter Saturday afternoon’s contest at 2-1. They kicked the season off with a Week 1 loss to Metrolina Christian Academy, 41-0, but then secured a pair of blowout wins of their own: 55-16 over Lake Norman Charter and 41-14 over North Raleigh Christian Academy. For SouthLake, quarterback Matthew Lutzel has completed 27-of-51 pass attempts for 437 yards through three games. In the rushing department, the Eagles have collective rushed the ball 92 times for 451 yards. Their leading rushers are Bryce Duequesne with 196 yards on 26 carries and Beau Bullerdick with 130 yards on 25 carries. A general peak at their stat sheet shows that SouthLake will likely mix their attack up between rushing and passing as they average 150 yard per game through the air and 150.3 yards on the ground. Honestly, it seems as though the Crusaders enter this game holding the advantage. They have a stout offense that is loaded with weapons, including senior standout Jack Laslo as well as newcomer Isaac Underwood, who had a breakout game last week at Rocky Mount Prep. Their defense has also been pretty impressive on the season, cashing in two solid performances thus far. I personally look for Harrells’ defense to show out again today which will complement their offense to another breakout game and improve the Crusaders to 3-0. Game time today at Harrells is 4 p.m.
Lakewood vs Lejeune
This game is slated for Monday night at 6 p.m. at Lakewood High School following the postponement due to Hurricane Dorian. Both teams enter the contest at 1-1 and will each seek to go above .500 on the season. For Lejeune, they’ve already had a breakthrough this season after winning their opener against Jones Senior. With that victory, the Devil Pups wiped out a 33-game losing streak dating back to Nov. 6, 2015 and boy, did they do it a tremendous fashion. Lejeune absolutely blasted Jones Senior in a 62-0 beatdown but they couldn’t carry that momentum into Week 2 when they lost to Spring Creek, 21-10. Now, hungry to get back into the win column, the Devil Pups come into Salemburg looking to knock off the Leopards of Lakewood High School, who are struggling themselves on the young season. Facing off against a pair of private schools has been a bigger challenge than expected for the Leopards, who just did sneak past KIPP Pride 21-20 in Week 2. For the Leopards, Tillyon Williams absolutely carried his team in that victory, compiling 204 yards of rushing and two touchdowns on 24 carries. On the stat sheet, it seems as though Lejeune will be a pass-heavy team. In two games, they’ve completed 17-of-30 passes for 385 yards and five touchdowns. They’ve only ran the ball 16 times for 132 yards. So, a couple of questions for Lakewood entering this game will be: 1. Can they defend the pass? And 2. Can Williams continue to find success running the ball?
As of press time, Lakewood head coach Barrett Sloan said this game is still scheduled to proceed as planned on Monday, Sept. 9 – that is as long as school is back in session for both teams.
Hobbton vs East Columbus
The Wildcats are off to a nice 2-0 record after a pair of close back-to-back wins in shootout fashion. One thing we can say for certain about Hobbton: they don’t quit. Next up for the Wildcats are the Gators of East Columbus, who enter this game at 1-1, sporting a 20-6 loss against North Lenoir and a 34-0 victory against Northwest Halifax. Looking at their stat sheet on the season, it seems as though the Gators will look for a consistent running attack to try and wear the Wildcats down. Through two games, they’ve only attempted five passes and completed none of them. On the ground, they’ve rushed the ball 86 times for 482 yards and six touchdowns. They feature one 200+ yard rusher in Jamar Williams and one 100+ yard rusher in Curtis Watson. It’s quite probable that Hobbton will see a lot of those two guys in this contest. For the Wildcats, they have some weapons of their own. Grayson Rogers has been sensational so far this season, both through the air and on the ground. He’s completed 38-of-51 passes and has tallied one touchdown. On the ground, he’s carried the ball 55 times for 432 yards and six touchdowns. No doubt, he’s Hobbton’s leader but he does have help around him. Running back Dacorris Morrison has 61 carries for 362 yards and two touchdowns. The duo is also complemented by a host of receivers that help make the Wildcats a double-headed monster capable of striking both through the air and on the ground. Initially looking at this game, I’d say Hobbton holds the advantage here. The question is, can their defense step up and hold a team to fewer than 40 points? Still, I like Hobbton in this one.
As of press time, this game was tentatively scheduled for Monday, Sept. 9 or Tuesday, Sept. 10. Hobbton assistant athletic director Jason Fussell said this game was also dependent on schools being back in session.
Union vs Pender
The Union Spartans are coming off their first win of the season and sit at 1-1 entering this week’s game against Pender. Honestly, I’m happy for the Spartans that they hauled in that win last week at Trask and actually place them as the favorite to win this week against the Patriots. Pender enters this game at 0-2 and hungry for their first win of the season, the question is, can they find it at Union? Team stats for the Patriots were unavailable and were incomplete for the Spartans, but evidence points that this game should be a good one. Pender enters the game with losses to James Kenan and Topsail. For Union, they have one loss to Midway and the victory over Trask. Can the Spartans go above .500 on the season? Or, will Pender grab their first victory of the season? Game time is set for Monday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m.
As of press time, this game was still noted as being a go, however, it too is subject to schools being back in session.
Midway and Clinton rescheduled
The Raiders and and the Dark Horses have both rescheduled their games that were supposed to be played in Week 3 to their bye weeks, which is Friday, Oct. 4. Midway will host Harnett Central that week while Clinton will hit the road to Northside-Jacksonville.
