Reidsville (6-1) at West Rowan (5-2)Series: Falcons lead 2-0
2011: West held Reidsville to 50 rushing yards and won 26-10 on road.
History: West also beat Reidsville in 1966.
Last week: West fell 13-7 at East Rowan. Reidsville outscored rival Burlington Cummings 48-35.
Notable: West Rowan’s NPC winning streak died at 32 games at Statesville’s Greyhound Hollow on Sept. 14.
The Falcons’ celebrated 44-game county winning streak bit the dust in Granite Quarry a week ago.
West still owns an amazing streak, however. West lost at home to South Pointe, S.C., in 2011, but the Falcons have won 59 straight in Mount Ulla against North Carolina opponents. West’s last home loss to a N.C. team was to North Gaston in the 2007 playoffs.
West hasn’t lost two games in a row since 2002 when it fell to Northwest Cabarrus and Mooresville back-to-back.
Reidsville rushed for 300-plus yards last week. West allows 62 rushing yards per game. That battle will be interesting.
Reidsville’s lone loss was opening night to Western Alamance.
Both programs are statewide powers. West won 46 straight as it three-peated as 3A champ from 2008-10.
Reidsville racked up three-peats in the 2AA ranks in 2002-04 and 2007-09. Reidsville had a 55-game winning streak at one point.
Reidsville has scored in 212 straight games, the state’s longest streak of not being shut out.
Next week: West is home against North Iredell. Reidsville is at Siler City Jordan-Matthews.East Rowan (4-3, 3-0 NPC) at North Iredell (0-7, 0-2 NPC)Series: East leads 11-7
2011: East fell 17-9 to North Iredell in Granite Quarry
History: The schools met for the first time in 1967.
East has lost two straight to NI. The last win for the Mustangs was 21-9 in 2009 behind a huge game by QB Jamey Blalock.
Last week: As you’ve probably heard, East beat West Rowan 13-7. North Iredell lost 40-34 at South Rowan in two overtimes.
Notable: East coach Danny Misenheimer keeps reminding his team it hasn’t arrived yet. He’s right. The Mustangs have won three in a row, but they’ve still been outscored on the season by their opponents (158-151).
East’s losses are to very good teams – North Rowan (5-2), Hickory Ridge (6-1) and Concord (7-0).
North Iredell rushed for 269 yards vs. South Rowan last week, but the Mustangs are on a defensive roll. They’ve allowed 7,7 and 7 the past three weeks in the NPC.
Next week: East welcomes South Rowan.South Rowan (2-5, 2-1 NPC) at Carson (1-6, 0-2 NPC)Series: South leads 3-2
2011: Carson piled up eight sacks and won 42-27 at South.
History: South won the first three meetings from 2007-09. Carson has won the last two.
After trailing early, Carson scored 53 unanswered points in the 2010 contest.
Last week: South edged North Iredell 40-34 in two OTs. Carson was smacked 56-13 by Statesville.
Notable: It’s a matchup of the county’s two leakiest defenses, but both have offensive standouts. South tight end Josh Medlin (33 catches, 569 yards) and Carson wideout K.J. Pressley (40 catches, 827 yards) are the top two in the county receiving stats.
Aaron “A-Rod” Kennerly will quarterback South, with Nathan Lambert out for the season. Kennerly has thrown five TD passes.
Carson’s Austin McNeill leads the county with 1,213 passing yards and 13 TD passes.
Lambert was South’s leading rusher, so the Raiders will have to find ground yards from other sources.
Next week: South is at East Rowan. Carson is at West Iredell.Salisbury (4-2, 1-0 CCC) at Central Davidson (3-4, 0-1 CCC)Series: Salisbury leads 8-3
2011: Salisbury rushed for 424 yards and trampled the Spartans 63-22 at Ludwig Stadium.
History: Salisbury rallied to win 56-37 vs. Central two seasons ago. That comeback ignited their run to the 2AA championship.
Last game: Salisbury won 39-7 vs. West Davidson. Central couldn’t play until Monday and lost 42-21 to Thomasville.
Notable: Central picked up a forfeit victory against the Hornets in 2008 after the Hornets won 60-0 on the field. Officially, that was Central’s last win in the series. Central hasn’t won on the field against Salisbury since a two-OT game in 2002. Other than the forfeit, SHS coach Joe Pinyan has never lost to Central.
Central’s Saig Skeen carried 32 times for 187 yards against Salisbury last season. Justin Ruffin had 127 yards for the Hornets.
Next week: Salisbury is home against Lexington. Central is at East Davidson.Albemarle (6-1, 3-0 VYC) at North Rowan (5-2, 3-0 YVC)Series: The schools have split a dozen meetings.
2011: The Bulldogs held North to 8 rushing yards and crushed the Cavaliers 51-0 in Albemarle.
History: North smothered Albemarle in the 1985 playoffs, and North is honoring its 1985 club tonight.
North and Albemarle also met in one of the biggest games in county history in 1994. That was the first year of official 11-game seasons, and the Bulldogs and Cavaliers were both 10-0 when they squared off in Week 11. It was the first ever matchup in N.C. of 10-0 teams in a regular season game and lived up to the hype. Albemarle won 28-21 in overtime.
Albemarle has shut down North in each of the past three seasons. North’s last win over the Bulldogs was early in 2006 when North was still 2A.
Last week: Albemarle romped 76-0 vs. South Davidson. NR’s 39-0 win at North Moore was more lopsided than it sounds. It was stopped by weather right after NR ran back the second-half kickoff for a TD.
Notable: North has won three straight since losing to 3A West Rowan. Albemarle has won three straight since it lost to 3A Mount Pleasant.
It’s extremely likely that the winner will also win the YVC. Albemarle has taken care of West Montgomery, while North easily handled South Stanly.
Next week: Albemarle is home against East Montgomery. North is at Chatham Central.Mount Pleasant (3-4, 0-3 SPC) at A.L. Brown (6-1, 3-0 SPC)Series: The Wonders have won all five meetings. Despite being in same county, the schools have little history. They didn’t meet for the first time until 2005.
2011: The Wonders didn’t play well but won 33-17 on the road.
History: The Wonders have had some tussles with the well-coached Tigers. Brown struggled to a 21-13 victory in 2010.
Last week: Brown escaped Cox Mill with a 38-34 victory. Mount Pleasant fell to Hickory Ridge 38-16.
Notable: The Wonders are trying to keep pace in the SPC with Concord and Hickory Ridge until they can get stars Kalif Phillips and Keeon Johnson back on the field.
The Wonders have won 17 straight SPC games since a loss to Concord in 2009.
Mount’s signature win this season was against 1A power Albemarle.
Brown and Mount will go their separate ways next fall – maybe for a long time. Mount will be 2A, while the Wonders will be 4A.
Next week: MP is home against Concord. Wonders have their first SPC showdown at Hickory Ridge.West Forsyth (3-3, 0-1 CPC) at Davie (6-1, 1-0 CPC)Series: The Titans lead 17-13.
2011: Davie pulled out a 23-17 victory in Clemmons.
History: Davie has won the last three. West Forsyth’s most recent victory was in 2008.
Last week: Davie opened CPC action with a smashing 46-6 win at R.J. Reynolds. West Forsyth fell 24-19 to Reagan.
Notable: There are so many unbeatens in 4A that it’s been hard for Davie to get ranked, but the War Eagles have reeled off five straight strong wins since losing to West Rowan by a TD.
Davie freshman Cade Carney has 1,149 rushing yards and averages 7.5 yards per carry. He should have quite a duel with WF’s 213-pound bruiser Kealand Dirks.
Next week: Davie is home against Mount Tabor. West Forsyth takes on North Davidson.