Pigskin Picks week 5

Things are starting to heat up on the gridiron, as teams are inching closer and closer to conference play. As that train gets rolling, we should see closer, more intense football.

Before we get to this week’s picks, I just want to brag on myself for a second — I called the Midway @ Lakewood game being a shootout. It started slow, but the second half was action-packed, and it has by far been the best game Sampson County has seen all year. While I didn’t correctly predict the winner, nor the score, I was right about how competitive it would be.

Next week’s games are the last before conference play, which means the teams have just two games to shore up their mistakes before they get into the gauntlets that lay before them. Look out for underdog shockers, low scoring affairs, and less blowouts in the forthcoming weeks.

Note: Clinton has a bye this week. I predicted a final score of 42-10 for their home game against Whiteville, with Whiteville winning. Clinton fell 42-7, giving me the closest I have been for a game so far. I am now 3-0 for the Dark Horses.

Hobbton @ North Johnston, Friday, 7 p.m.

I knew Hobbton at Spring Creek was going to be a blowout last Friday, but I surely didn’t expect them to almost hang 60 on the Gators. Nor did I think they would give up 28 to them, either. Joe Corbett had the first nine points of the game all to himself, off a field goal and a 29-yard rushing touchdown.

Things got dicey for the Wildcats in the second quarter, as they were up 19-8 at one point, but Spring Creek had a 60-yard touchdown pass to bring it to 19-16. The Gators’ first TD was from a 97-yard touchdown pass, meaning the Wildcats were letting receivers by them.

Corbett, Daniel Aguilar, and Reggie Thompson imposed their will on Spring Creek, though, and eventually pulled away. Jaiveon McMillan added a 65-yard pick-6 to help pile on.

The Wildcats travel to North Johnston this week to take on the Panthers in a battle of the large cats. The Panthers enter at 1-2 and the Wildcats are now 2-2, on a two-game win streak. North Johnston’s last contest was Sept. 6, where they almost surmounted their deficit against Midway, but ultimately fell, 29-22.

North Johnston has 394 passing yards and three touchdowns on the year, compared to their 569 yards and six rushing touchdowns. One thing to note is that they only have one player with over 100 yards rushing: their quarterback. They seem to be a pass-heavy offense that just punches the ball in on short-yardage situations for the touchdown.

Hobbton has no stats posted, but I can imagine they have quite a few passing yards and touchdowns, and less in the rushing department.

My prediction is a gunslinging shootout, with Hobbton edging out the Panthers, 35-31.

My prediction last week: 48-6 Hobbton. I am 2-1 so far for the Wildcats.

Goldsboro @ Midway, Friday, 7 p.m.

I could write an entire newpaper’s worth of a story on the game last Friday between the Raiders and the Leopards. That was good, old-fashioned football. Hard-nosed, gritty, and tough. What a game that was.

For Midway, it wasn’t just about one player, as many contributed. But a couple did stand out. Gehemiah Blue racked up 170 yards and three touchdowns on the ground on offense, and defensively he added 13 total tackles and a pass deflection. He also punched in two two-point conversions, giving him a total of 22 points.

Nathue Myles added 90 rushing yards on eight carries plus three tackles. Wyatt Scott led the team with 16 total tackles and two tackles for loss. Dakota Beddard was covered in syrup as he put up eight pancake blocks for the Raiders from Spivey’s Corner.

Look for similar numbers, if not even better ones, as Midway hosts 0-4 Goldsboro Friday. Most of their losses have ended in a blowout, losing 41-6, 51-0, and 55-12 against Farmville Central, Nash Central, and Southwest Onslow, respectively. Their lone tight game was a 16-8 loss to Southern Wayne in a Monday night game, postponed from Aug. 30’s rain showers.

Two of the Cougars’ losses came against big rushing attacks, with Farmville putting up 309 yards on their defense and Nash Central putting up 271. Midway can run the ball, and they can run it well, under the direction of Barrett Sloan. This could be a record-setting game for the offensive line and the rushing attack, if the Cougars’ previous games give any credence to their inability to stop the run.

Look for a high scoring affair in favor of Midway. I’m calling it a 45-6 blowout for the Raiders.

My prediction last week: 54-48 Lakewood. I am 1-2 for the Raiders.

Union @ Spring Creek, Friday, 7 p.m.

With these two teams sporting a combined 0-6 record, you might think this is going to be an ugly game. But I’m here to tell you that it’s going to be much better than anticipated.

Both of these teams have seen lopsided scores in favor of their opponents, yes, but that doesn’t mean they don’t fight tooth-and-nail in those contests. Injuries have plagued Union early, impeding their progress at times. Spring Creek seems to have gotten better offensively. Both teams are improving.

Every kid that goes out and plays — regardless of the sport, level, or relative success — deserves to have fair and honest coverage. And that’s what I’m doing here. Many people would write this game off, but instead, I’m going to instead build hype around it.

The Spartans have seen progress since week one. They’ve put points on the board on both offense and special teams. A defensive touchdown this week, and they’ve completed the scoring trifecta. Coach Oates has them geared up and ready to make a big impact, and that could easily be this game.

I don’t think it will come easy, and I don’t think it will be pretty, but I do see it happening: Union winning their first game of the season. I believe that they’ll fight a tough battle and emerge victorious, which could snowball into more wins for the Spartans.

This will probably be a low-scoring affair, but because of defenses matched well against their opponents’ offense; not because of lackluster offensive production. I’ll take Union, 12-6.

My prediction for last week: 22-17 Union. I am 2-1 so far for the Spartans.

Lakewood @ Red Springs, Friday, 7 p.m.

Coming off their first loss of the season, Lakewood is no doubt fixing things at practice this week. Penalties stopped their momentum at times, and frankly, Midway’s clock management was a big factor in the win. At one point, the Leopards were faced with third-and-long, but that’s not descriptive enough. It should be third-and-a-country-mile. I didn’t get an accurate assessment on it because of where I was on the sidelines, but it looked to be about 45 yards for them to get a first down.

This absolutely obliterated the momentum they had after their first two scores, which saw them winning 14-0. Tides quickly moved into the Raiders’ favor, but the Leopards were not down for the count. They battled through it, giving so many lead changes late into the game that I thought the scoreboard was going to break.

I fully believe that John Holt rights this ship and corrects its course. He has a lot of talent on his squad that can make big plays. Calvin Lacewell, Jr. put another 100 yards on the ground rushing and added three touchdowns. Reed Ammons had a combined 140 through the air and on the ground, serving as quarterback while Rylan Godbold is sidelined.

The Red Devils come into this at 0-4, with many blowouts not in their favor. They’re a bigger school than Lakewood — 2A — but that won’t make a difference. The Leopards will be on a war path, looking to get right after the heartbreaking loss at home to the Raiders. Look for them to do what they want, when they want, against Red Springs.

Give me the Leopards by a score of 41-10.

My prediction for last week: 54-48 Lakewood. I am 2-1 so far for the Leopards.

North Raleigh Christian Academy @ Harrells Christian, Friday, 7 p.m.

The Crusaders might be flying under the radar for a lot of people. After a week one loss, 28-6, against Covenant Day, they are now outscoring opponents 86-19, using an offensive scheme that isn’t necessarily known for racking up a lot of points quickly.

The wing-t that Harrells runs is designed to give a lot of people the ball in the rushing game, using misdirections and a bit of trickery to get the job done. 11 different people have carried the ball in a game for Harrells this year, with nobody gaining more than 230 yards total so far. This means they “spread the love” for their collective 851 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.

They take on the Knights from North Raleigh in a rivalry showdown, which is why this game is this week’s iteration of Game of the Week. Throw in the old adages like “these two teams don’t like each other” or “you can throw out the record books when these teams play” to your mix when discussing football this week, because this is a big one.

North Raleigh holds the current streak of two wins over the Crusaders, but I believe that’s in jeopardy this week. Another cliche thrown in, just because I haven’t hit my weekly quota, is that this will be an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. North Raleigh throws a lot, Harrells does not.

The Knights can also run it when they need to, putting up 458 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns. They have 758 yards and 9 touchdowns through the air, meaning the Crusaders better work on every pass defense drill they can this week, while also keeping their linebackers and linemen doing what they’ve done so far this season.

I’ll take the Crusaders, though — they’re a well-oiled machine, and should you find yourself in their path, good luck. This will be a relatively low-scoring affair, though, as they’ll win 28-22.

My prediction for last week: 35-17 Harrells. I am 3-0 so far for the Crusaders.