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Kevin Carver
After losing it’s first game of the season, East Rutherford (2-1) waxed West Henderson (63-35) and then avenged the earlier loss to Highland Tech (82-41) in blowout fashion.
With Raheem Hampton on court with Devonte Boykins and T.J. Watkins helping to carry the load, the Cavs certainly aren’t looking like an easy out. If the East defense takes over opponents like a season ago,
On the other hand, R-S Central is out to a 2-2 start. They got blitzed by Asheville last week before evening their record with a home win over Mitchell.
Sharod Hines beyond the arc ability, along with Devon Lynch’s and Juwan Brown’s inside presence give them a solid chance in this one. The mystery of whether or not the Hilloppers show up defensively is the biggest question.
I do think we will see a very competitive game and don’t be surprise if Central did pull off the upset.
Chase (2-0) will open up the South Mountain Athletic Conference season at Patton next week. The Trojans have taken down North Henderson in both of their early wins this season. While Carlos Watkins continues to post double-double numbers in both rebounding and scoring, it was 23-point effort for Keyshon Crawford that led the Trojans attack this time around in a 75-56 win.
Thomas Jefferson notched a huge season opening 62-48 win over Draughn last week, but fell to McDowell 60-41 in the latter half. All Travis Waldroup-Rodriguez is doing is putting up similar numbers from a year ago. Waldroup Rodriguez, a sophomore, is off to a great start by averaging 30.5 points, 10 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game so far.
On the girls side, R-S Central has jumped out to a 4-1 start. The only loss came against 4A powerhouse McDowell last week. The Lady Hilltopper continue to get it done defensively, allowing just 46.8 points per game so far.
So far, East Rutherford has done enough to win all three contests they have participated in. They cruised to a 60-45 win over West Henderson and then got an ugly win over Highland Tech as they move to 3-0.
Chase (0-2) continues to struggle offensively, but Kaitlyn Smart has been the highlight by averaging 13.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. The Lady Trojans, who face Mitchell twice this week will go to Patton next week (12/13/11) and then host R-S Central on that Friday.
Thomas Jefferson (0-2) lost both of their games last week, but facing Crossnore Academy and Draughn give them a chance to break into the win column this week.
And for those wondering about realignment next season, the first draft came out this past week. Chase, East Rutherford and R-S Central would stay in the same conference, but Central would drop down to 2A.
Thomas Jefferson would stay in 1A and be in a league with Gaston and Lincoln County schools. However, the initial draft usually has some big changes, so nothing is really set in stone just yet. It seems like the NCHSAA want to break up split conferences (1A/2A, 2A/3A, 3A/4A), but due to traveling it will be hard to not have a few split conferences in the final declaration.
In college football, apparently Clemson has Virginia Tech’s number dialed in pretty well this season. The Tigers clobbered the Hokies to win the ACC title in Charlotte this past weekend, 38-10. What it all means? Clemson will get a return trip to the Orange Bowl for the first time in 30 years.
The victory is somewhat a surprise since Clemson has taken a nosedive over the past month to resurge yet again. They will meet West Virginia on January 4th.
On the college basektball scene, the Big Ten whipped the ACC for the third year in a row during the Big Ten-ACC Challenge. Cheer up ACC fans, March is usually when we get the last laugh.
