We’re halfway done the high school football regular season. A look back, and a look ahead
The High School Football season is moving right along, at what seems like a sprinters-pace. It’s hard to believe that Friday’s games will mark the beginning of October and that we’re already in the seventh week of the season. Where has the time gone, I keep asking myself?
For guys like me, those who religiously follow the sport and prepare all year for these magical 17-weeks, the football seasons always go by quickly and tend to run together, but this one is going by about as fast as Chase High School running back Marqies McCombs blows by would-be tacklers.
And for those of you who haven’t taken notice of Mr. McCombs, and are not aware of how quick he is, you should stop what you are doing and go take a look at his season performances now. They are quite astonishing, but of course, do it after reading this column.
But first things first, I must talk about my visit to the beautifully refurbished American Legion Memorial Stadium in uptown Charlotte for last Friday’s epic battle between Hough and Chambers.
All of the fans in attendance were either standing or sitting on the edges of their seats in the fourth quarter, as this super hyped-up game over-delivered with action and drama. Sometimes it’s hard for games with a lot of hype to live up to the billing, but this one certainly did, with Hough escaping with a slim 16-10 victory.
For those of you who are my age, you vividly remember how Memorial Stadium was once the crown-jewel of stadiums in our state, especially for big-time prep football clashes.
All the big games were played there back in the day, including major regular-season contests, playoff games, and even state championship games have taken place there, not to mention it was the home to the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas from 1937 to 2000.
To all those officials who were behind the efforts to refurbish this amazing facility, I personally stand up and thank you. You’ve revitalized a historical treasure and have hopefully added many more years to its lifespan.
Everything about the stadium was incredible. The parking issues of the past have been solved, the flow of fans into the complex was seamless, and oh the views, have I mentioned the views? The stadium quite possibly gives fans one of the best vantage points of the uptown Charlotte skyline than from any other location in the city. That remarkable view may have been worth more than the price of the ticket.
With this renovation complete, there is no reason now why our state officials shouldn’t consider moving state championship games to Charlotte, and by all means, I think we would all love to see the Shrine Bowl return home to the Queen City.
Game balls
OK, let’s give away some Guru’s Game Balls for this week.
I mentioned Marqies McCombs earlier. This young man is on a tear this season and last Friday he had his most dominant performance yet, gaining 362 yards and five touchdowns on 29 carries, helping lead Chase to a 47-14 victory over McDowell.
He’s already gained 1,313 yards and 21 touchdowns on this young season and looks to up those totals as Chase gears up for what could be a very deep playoff run in November.
The combined efforts of backfield mates Antwon Montgomery and Kanye Roberts helped propel Wallace-Rose Hill to an impressive 76-26 victory over South Lenoir. Together they combined for 416 yards on 20 carries and eight touchdowns.
Senior running back Tate Jones has gotten stronger by the week and put in a workhorse-like effort on Friday as his 180 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns helped lift Middle Creek to a 37-20 victory over Green Level.
Often the offensive superstars get the kudos, but for South Brunswick, Shelton Bocook’s 20 tackles helped lead a serious defensive effort by his team and resulted in the Cougars defeating New Hanover 6-3 in a defensive slugfest.
And sticking with the defense, the final game balls will also go to defensive players. Hough linebacker Mike Pepe was all over the field on Friday and he was always in the right spot to stop a big Chambers run.
On the opposing sideline, James Pierce clogged up the Hough offensive line and looked to be an unstoppable force for the Chambers defense. While he may not have made every tackle for the Cougars, he was one of the players that had to be accounted for on every single snap of that hard-fought game.
Sneak peek ahead
Looking ahead to Friday Night, we’ve got a good slate of games all across the state.
The game of the week in the Raleigh area will take place in Wake Forest as head coach Clarence Inscore takes his undefeated Millbrook Wildcats over to face the undefeated Heritage Huskies.
Heritage has flown a little under the radar to this point, but head coach Wallace Clark and his team will have an opportunity to shine under the bright lights this week. To come away victorious, they’ll have to put a stop to the seemingly unstoppable combination of Mason Fortune to Wesley Grimes, but the Huskies pack a potent punch as well with their own highly-touted duo of quarterback Lex Thomas to Chance Peterson.
Boiling Springs will be the place to be in the Southwestern Piedmont region on Friday as South Point travels to Crest in a pivotal Big South 3A conference battle. While both of these schools field very physical teams, to come away with a win, the Chargers will have to find a way to stop a Red Raiders offensive backfield that has combined for 1,449 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns on the season.
The final big game on my radar for this week will take place in Ramseur as a clash of undefeated rivals hit the field as the top-ranked 1A program Eastern Randolph hosts Southwestern Randolph.
For Southwestern head coach Seth Baxter, this will always be a big game as he faces the school that he was once the head coach at, but old feelings or sentiment won’t get in the way trying to win big, and he’s got a lot of offensive tools at his disposal, especially in quarterback Keaton Reed, who comes in with 1,100 total yards and nine touchdown passes, and if running backs Adam Cole or Easton Clapp can get into space, watch out!
However, it’s never easy going into Ramesur and coming away with a win, especially when going against Burton Cates, who is one of the winningest coaches in the state, and the stadium is named in his honor. Na’Hiem Lilly is a superstar athlete for the Wildcats and he can take the ball to the house from any spot on the field.
Well, that does it for another look into the world of big-time High School Football according to the guru. As always, go out and support these local athletes and schools. In no time many of these young players will be suiting up on Saturday’s so go out and see these rising stars before they become even bigger stars!