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Watkins paced the Cavs with 12 carries for 125 yards and three touchdowns as they held off R-S Central 36-22 in the bitter battle of county rivals.
Central was down 22-7 at the half, but roared back to tied it at 22-all by the beginning of the fourth quarter.
I really thought that last Friday would be a good game between East and Central, despite Central’s 1-3 start coming in, the Hilltoppers have played much better in the last three weeks and given as much effort as possible. Both teams are down to around 30 players, so the two schools have been playing some kids both ways. Thus both teams tend to run out of gas at the end of their contests.
However, East Rutherford has gotten a big enough lead or held on late to move their record to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play. The Cavs host Patton (0-5, 0-1) this Friday night.
Patton hasn’t scored more than 14 points in each of the past four games. Look for Panther quarterback, Chance Carswell to find favorite target Tyler Rector as many times as possible.
If East Rutherford can utilize the weapons they have and stay focused on Friday, they should be okay.
While East Rutherford established the first step in trying to win a second straight county title, it’s Chase who continues to mow down opponents.
The Trojans allowed Patton an early score, but put up 31 straight points from there and cruised to a 38-12 victory last Friday.
Chase had four touchdown runs. Tyreece Gossett picked up two more touchdowns on a 5-and 26-yard scamper and tossed a 15-yard pass to Tario Young for a score. Tajae McMullens and Marquis Cash also posted an end zone run in the victory.
Chase will host the Hilltoppers of R-S Central (1-4, 0-1) this Friday. If the Trojans do win, they should lock themselves into the playoffs by obtaining 6 wins overall and two conference victories.
For Central, they just have to continue to believe in themselves, keep fighting and stick to the game plan. Quarterback, Taylor Ledbetter and running back, Devante Austin are making a pretty solid offensive duo in the Hilltoppers offensive scheme. For Chase, their triple-option offense, should keep Central guessing on the defensive end of things. Most importantly, Chase just need to keep playing with the same desire they have had over the past five games.
At the other end of Harris-Henrietta Road, the Gryphons, Efrim Borders caught two touchdowns passes and Travis Waldroup-Rodriguez hauled in another. However, Thomas Jefferson lost 61-21 to Mitchell last Friday, which is one of the best 1A schools in high school football at the moment.
This Friday, Thomas Jefferson (0-5) will host a quarterback with a riffle arm in Alex Villanueva and the Vikings of Avery County (3-2).
Chase football isn’t the only undefeated Rutherford County team. Down in Avondale, Thomas Jefferson’s boys soccer team has posted a 9-0 overall, 4-0 conference record so far this season. The Gryphons, who missed the playoffs last season return seven starters, including leading goal scorer from a year ago, David Snyder. Snyder has 13 goals and four assists in the eight games he has played. Keeper, Stephen Maimone has done a great job in goal, holding opponents to six goals in nine games and has recorded four shutouts for the Gryphons.
The road only gets tougher in the next three bouts as Polk and Hendersonville play them at home before having to go to Owen. Polk and Owen are always above .500 clubs, while Hendersonville has nothing but won back-to-back 1A state titles.
The SMAC football game of the week may be the Burns at Freedom contest. Two high powered offenses with two stingy defenses. Something has got to give!
