Weird Week On High School Diamond; Panthers Must Choose Wisely in NFL Draft

If we have learned anything this past week about Rutherford County High school baseball and softball, it is this--nobody assume anything.
The certain became uncertain as some teams had a letdown while others revived their season in a hurry this past week.
East Rutherford baseball lost two of three this week. The lone win came in conference as they defeated a decent Patton club in walk off fashion. Brock Helton (double) and Jordan Strickland (winning RBI single) made the Panthers pay for throwing fastballs in a 7-6 win.
R-S Central baseball was surprised by Chase this week in a 2-1 loss, but did take care of Freedom later in the week. For Chase, it was their first conference victory of the season.
East Rutherford felt their first conference loss of the season when Patton shocked them 3-2 at home in softball. Emily Dotson destroyed a two-run homer against Patton, but two seventh inning errors by East doomed their chances for a SMAC perfect season. However, the Lady Cavs still have a 1.5 game led over Chase in the standings.
R-S Central softball was the surprise of the week. They only had three wins coming into last week’s games, but stunned Chase 8-5 and then baffled Freedom 4-0 this week. Brandy Whitener and Katie McEntire led with two hits each in the Freedom win. Shelby Smith was near perfect in tossing a two-hit shutout against Freedom. R-S Central had to come from behind in the sixth and score four runs to overtake Chase. The Lady Hilltoppers were led by freshman, Beam Taylor with three hits in the Chase victory.
With the two wins, R-S Central puts themselves back in the thick of the playoff hunt and tied for the No.2 SMAC 3A spot.
Although Chase softball lost to Central, they did pick up a 3-0 win against Burns. Chase was led by Dakota Reid’s performance from the pitching circle, allowing just two hits on the afternoon.
The NFL Draft is this week and I am curious to see how it all plays out. For Carolina’s sake, let’s hope they go in the right direction as I felt Ron Rivera did a fairly decent job in 2012. Last year, they picked up a solid first rounder in linebacker, Luke Kuechly, as the Panthers will pick 14th in this draft.
Sheldon Richardson is the obvious pick as a defensive tackle, but I like offensive lineman D.J. Fluker from Alabama even better. However, Carolina could shock everybody and go after a wide receiver such as Deandre Hopkins or Cordarrelle Patterson. They may even go with an Xaiver Rhodes or Desmond Trufant at cornerback.
Carolina has just four picks after that with one each in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth rounds. Three draftees became opening day starters out of the seven picks a year ago. Smarts and aggressiveness should be on the selection agenda since Rivera has some pressure on him in 2013.