As most in the West know, Conference play began this week for 4 of the 6 1A Conferences, and this is my take away from the first week ....
MVC 1A/2A
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The "Battle for the Bridge" rivalry might just give Starmount the boost that was sorely needed heading into MVC play as the Rams eased past Elkin 22-15....I guess we can go ahead, and say that Wilkes Central and East Wilkes are both going to be a factor once again in the MVC as Wilkes Central crushed West Wilkes 42-0 in the opener, while East traveled and beat(33-27) previously unbeaten 2A North Wilkes on friday....The Cardinals are riding a 4 game winning streak....Ashe County put up a lot of points in Sparta against Alleghany in their win, but will the Huskies be a factor in the MVC?
Perhaps the biggest surprise this past friday was Bessemer City beating(18-8) Mountain Island Charter on the road and holding the Raptors to a season low 8pts, which was very surprising given how the Yellowjackets have started the season, and the fact that the Raptors return some very talented youngsters in QB Graham and the RB Burris(sp?)....In other news, Thomas Jefferson beat Cherryville 38-20, while the Community School of Davidson handed Highland Tech their first loss of the season in a high scoring game(41-32) in Gastonia...Union Academy also picked up an important road win at Pine Lake Prep(23-20) in a hard fought game...
In the YVC, North Stanly annihilated(51-6) West Montgomery....Have the Warriors given up?....Don't ever remember West Montgomery losing this bad to a conference opponent, especially the last few years, and read where former Warrior RB David Rhone had a long TD against his former team which just rubs a little salt into the loss....Will be very interested to see how South Stanly who shutout(56-0) South Davidson, will match up with North Rowan this coming friday in Norwood?.....Last year's game was decided by a failed 2 pt conversion attempt by the Rebel Bulls in Spencer...
The premier game in the SMC this week was at Big Oak Stadium where Murphy was essentially Murphy, and pulled away from Robbinsville for a big 27-14 win to let everyone know that the chase for the 2018 SMC title will once again run through Murphy who will host both Cherokee and Swain County later this season.....Over in Rosman, two evenly matched teams traded blows early with the difference being two key turnovers by the Wildcats that led to Tiger TDs in the 46-27 Rosman win...The Conference shocker was over in Bryson City where Hayesville nearly stunned(21-20) Swain County....The Yellowjackets lost a couple key personnel early in the season on offense, but still played inspired football with the close loss which should bode well for the Yellowjackets moving forward.....
Other non-conference games of note in the West that caught my attention was the 2A battle between Hendersonville and Mountain Heritage over in Burnsville with the Cougars edging the Bearcats 22-21, which sets up the matchup in Spruce Pine in a couple weeks when the Cougars travel to face a rapidly improving Mitchell County team that shutout(45-0) R-S Central last friday night....
Also will be interesting to see how East Surry does moving forward if QB Stephen Gosnell will be lost for any length of time after losing at home to 4A Ragsdale(35-21)....The Cardinals travel to Bishop McGunniess in a couple weeks, and the Villians put 84 on the scoreboard friday night against Christ the king who did manage to at least score a TD in the game...
That's my take of the first week of conference play in the West, what is yours?
MVC 1A/2A
----------------
The "Battle for the Bridge" rivalry might just give Starmount the boost that was sorely needed heading into MVC play as the Rams eased past Elkin 22-15....I guess we can go ahead, and say that Wilkes Central and East Wilkes are both going to be a factor once again in the MVC as Wilkes Central crushed West Wilkes 42-0 in the opener, while East traveled and beat(33-27) previously unbeaten 2A North Wilkes on friday....The Cardinals are riding a 4 game winning streak....Ashe County put up a lot of points in Sparta against Alleghany in their win, but will the Huskies be a factor in the MVC?
Perhaps the biggest surprise this past friday was Bessemer City beating(18-8) Mountain Island Charter on the road and holding the Raptors to a season low 8pts, which was very surprising given how the Yellowjackets have started the season, and the fact that the Raptors return some very talented youngsters in QB Graham and the RB Burris(sp?)....In other news, Thomas Jefferson beat Cherryville 38-20, while the Community School of Davidson handed Highland Tech their first loss of the season in a high scoring game(41-32) in Gastonia...Union Academy also picked up an important road win at Pine Lake Prep(23-20) in a hard fought game...
In the YVC, North Stanly annihilated(51-6) West Montgomery....Have the Warriors given up?....Don't ever remember West Montgomery losing this bad to a conference opponent, especially the last few years, and read where former Warrior RB David Rhone had a long TD against his former team which just rubs a little salt into the loss....Will be very interested to see how South Stanly who shutout(56-0) South Davidson, will match up with North Rowan this coming friday in Norwood?.....Last year's game was decided by a failed 2 pt conversion attempt by the Rebel Bulls in Spencer...
The premier game in the SMC this week was at Big Oak Stadium where Murphy was essentially Murphy, and pulled away from Robbinsville for a big 27-14 win to let everyone know that the chase for the 2018 SMC title will once again run through Murphy who will host both Cherokee and Swain County later this season.....Over in Rosman, two evenly matched teams traded blows early with the difference being two key turnovers by the Wildcats that led to Tiger TDs in the 46-27 Rosman win...The Conference shocker was over in Bryson City where Hayesville nearly stunned(21-20) Swain County....The Yellowjackets lost a couple key personnel early in the season on offense, but still played inspired football with the close loss which should bode well for the Yellowjackets moving forward.....
Other non-conference games of note in the West that caught my attention was the 2A battle between Hendersonville and Mountain Heritage over in Burnsville with the Cougars edging the Bearcats 22-21, which sets up the matchup in Spruce Pine in a couple weeks when the Cougars travel to face a rapidly improving Mitchell County team that shutout(45-0) R-S Central last friday night....
Also will be interesting to see how East Surry does moving forward if QB Stephen Gosnell will be lost for any length of time after losing at home to 4A Ragsdale(35-21)....The Cardinals travel to Bishop McGunniess in a couple weeks, and the Villians put 84 on the scoreboard friday night against Christ the king who did manage to at least score a TD in the game...
That's my take of the first week of conference play in the West, what is yours?
