Comment
Print
It's time for the two cross-county rivals to meet on the gridiron this coming Friday.
This year, both have had their ups and downs. R-S Central could already have six wins, but a forfeit brings them to this point to try to capture win #6 and solidify a playoff spot. East Rutherford (2-7, 0-6) has lost seven games in a row since winning the first two of the season.
What it comes down too? 1) Line play: Central has the experience advantage, but East played Crest much better a week ago. 2) Turnovers have hurt Central. Penalties have been killer for East. 3) Defense: Central has allowed just seven points or less in five games this season. East has allowed 139 points in the last four games.
4) Run game: Central has Tyrese Tate and East has Demetrius Mauney. Both are talented backs, but they play both offense and defense.
The records don't honestly matter as we have seen in year's past as the intensity and rivalry still exist. R-S Central picked up a huge 42-7 win over East Burke last week and East Rutherford fell 35-13 to Crest.
There are two more big games as well come Friday (10-28-16) that have playoff ramifications.
Thomas Jefferson visits Pine Lake Prep. The good news is that Thomas Jefferson will make the playoffs, but two more wins could give them two home playoff games. One win in the next two should put the Gryphons at home for round one of the 1A playoffs.
Pine Lake was the odds-on favorite to win the Southern Piedmont 1A, but they have not been all over the place. Pine Lake lost to Bessemer City by 30, but beat Cherryville by 12. TJCA just scored a huge 42-8 win over Bessemer City, but lost by one to Cherryville earlier in the season. It should be an interesting game.
Chase will go to East Burke and could make the playoffs if they win out. They host East Rutherford the following week. Chase hasn't beaten East Rutherford since 2011 and only three times in the last ten years. The Trojans played well defensively last week, losing just 24-3 to Kings Mountain.
NASCAR: Yes, it's that time again...Martinsville! A year ago, we saw an historic event win Joey Logano being wiped out by Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon winning in his last harah at Martinsville Speedway.
Well, Jeff Gordon gets one more chance with Dale Earnhardt Jr. sidelined by a concussion in the #88. Earlier this year, it was Kyle Busch who picked up his first Martinsville Cup win in dominating fashion.
I expect Kyle Busch to be a factor along with Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. Jimmie Johnson may play snake in the grass. Martin Truex Jr has been stout all year and Denny Hamlin always runs well at Martinsville. If the temperatures are cool, expect that to help the Toyota crowd.
Advancing in the round of 8 to The Chase for the Championship are Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kurt and Kyle Busch.
Joey Logano is due to win here, but I am going to take Matt Kenseth with just a gut feeling. That...could get interesting.
