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Rain cancelled this past Friday's ball games, so there will be no updates in this column. However, here is a little preview to the three games this coming week.
East Rutherford at Burns
Undoubtedly, this is the game of the week. There is a rivalry here, but the Cavaliers must go to Bulldog territory. Running back A.J. Camp and quarterback Cameron Barbee lead the Burns offense, while Nate Black lead their defense. Like East Rutherford, Burns also has a problem with using players on both sides of the ball.
East's Kameron Garrison and safety Jarvis Hutchins have been superb all season long. The run game and the defense will be the biggest two areas to watch. Both teams have showed well at times in those aspects. Mistakes will also be the third and final thing to watch.
Chase at Crest
It's going to be a tough task, but the Trojans make the short trip to Chargers stadium this coming Friday. The defense has been the Trojans strength. Crest hasn't scored anything less than 31 all season in a game. The Chargers can throw it by way of Willie Green or run it with Tre Harbison. Crest is allowing less than 20 points per game and the Trojans offense has struggled at times this season.
Thomas Jefferson at Carolina Crusaders
The Gryphons will head to Rock Hill, SC on Saturday to play the Carolina Crusaders (6-1). The Crusaders are fairly balanced offensively, but average two turnovers a game. Dalton Moon has thrown for 660 yards so far this season, but they haven't faced the competition that the Gryphons have so far this season.
Thomas Jefferson just needs to establish the run and keep playing disciplined.
R-S Central has a bye this week, but will go to Chase on October 9.
On the soccer field, two teams continue to show well. Thomas Jefferson and the Chase boys soccer are still undefeated at this moment.
The Gryphons (7-0-1) have their biggest challenge of the season when they visit undefeated and conference foe Community School of Davidson (9-30) this week. Hayden Alexander and TJ Wallace lead the TJCA offensive attack, while Will Kirkpatrick and Matthew Switzer are doing well defending goal.
Chase (9-0-1, 7-0) has went through the first half of SMAC play undefeated as well. The Trojans can score or play defense. Either way, they have seemed to get better and more confident every game. They recently beat Shelby 5-2 and have allowed just four goals all season long.
Nube Jimenez, Preston Walker, Jose Vasquez and Losana Fofana are the catalysts so far in the Trojans success. Bryan Perez has held up well as the keeper.
I hope Rutherford County will go out and support both programs, especially if both teams get to host playoff games down the road.
At the time of this column, seven NFL teams were still undefeated and the Carolina Panthers are one of them. Despite a very gutsy performance from Saints back quarterback Luke McCown, the Panthers defense did enough to hold on late. The Cam Newton to Greg Olsen connection is back and that is a plus, but the Saints are not one of the better defensive teams in the league.
Still, the Panthers (3-0) showed another week of poise. This time, rallying from a 10-0 early deficit. However, things are about to get difficult as they go to Tampa Bay (1-2) and try to stop two top notch receivers in a winnable game, get a bye and then travel to Seattle. While Carolina is winning games by under eight points per contest....at least their winning.
NASCAR
So, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth have solidified their spot into the next round of NASCAR's playoff system, Kevin Harvick ran into more trouble. Harvick led with under three laps remaining before running out of gas. The defending Cup champ has one more shot to make it into the next round as they venture to Dover this coming weekend.
Jeff Gordon also became NASCAR's new Iron Man, surpassing the 788 consecutive start mark by Ricky Rudd. Gordon is still in chase contention and has eighth races left to go until he will close out his career.
Finally, Tony Stewart looks to retire from the Cup Series at the end of next season as reported late Sunday night. Stewart has dealt with three tough years recently and hasn't won since June of 2013. He has 48 career Cup wins and three series championships.
