Another night wet night is upon us

By Steve Roush
Published in Sports on October 27, 2006 2:10 PM

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Welcome to another wet and wild night of Friday football.

With just one week left in the regular season after tonight, everyone knows what's at stake this evening.

And since I'm not a meteorologist, I'm not going to tell you how much it's going to rain.

So let's go straight to the picks...

C.B. Aycock at Eastern Wayne (Monday night) -- Both teams are hungry for a win after losses to Wilson teams last week. The Falcons (7-2, 2-1 ECC) suffered their first conference loss to Hunt -- a 23-7 setback -- a Friday ago while the Warriors (5-4, 1-2) saw Beddingfield come from behind to grab a 21-19 victory. The Warriors have proven to be tough to beat at Little Big Horn this season and probably have the edge in team speed, but Aycock is more proficient with the run and the pass.

FALCONS

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Goldsboro at North Lenoir -- The Hawks (2-7, 1-2 EPC) are coming off a 6-2 defensive slugfest against North Pitt, and the Cougars almost knocked off state-ranked Greene Central two weeks ago and are better than their 0-9 record indicates. Goldsboro junior RB Tremé Boone went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark again last week, and QB Tim Kornegay (749 passing yards) and WR Jamar Branch (20 rec., 559 yards, 8 TDs) can hit anyone up for a big play (just ask Rocky Mount and Southern Wayne). But it's tough to pick an 0-9 team ... or is it?

COUGARS

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North Duplin at Rosewood -- Rosewood QB Josh Myers ran for four touchdowns and threw for two more last week against Spring Creek. Don't expect those kind of numbers against a stingy North Duplin defense that is giving up just 201.6 yards per contest. If RB Devon Bennett (ankle) is back to 100 percent, the Eagles can make a game of it. But remember, the Rebels also have a pretty good offense with quarterback Doug Lloyd, running back Michael Schilling, WR/RB Ryan Killette and company. Last year, North Duplin won 22-20 in Calypso. Expect another tight one this time.

REBELS

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North Johnston at Spring Creek -- Josh Wright has played quarterback, running back, wide receiver and defensive back for the Gators (3-6, 1-2 Carolina) this season, and the senior has 1,011 rushing yards. But considering Spring Creek gave up 50 points last Friday against Rosewood, Wright, Alex Dunmire, Ronnie Butler and Emmanuel Hinton may need to combine to run for 500 yards this week against the Panthers (6-3, 3-0) for the Gators to win this one.

PANTHERS

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Princeton at Ayden-Grifton -- The Bulldogs have two more wins than they did last year, but Princeton (2-7, 0-3 Carolina) won't get No. 3 against an angry Chargers (6-3, 2-1) team that lost at North Duplin last week. Despite boasting a pair of big fullbacks and a decent quarterback, A-G could muster just 115 yards (79 rushing, 36 passing) against the Rebels. Look for the Chargers to play some smash-mouth football in this contest.

CHARGERS

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James Kenan at Union -- The Tigers (9-0, 3-0 Super Six), who moved up a spot to No. 5 in the AP 1-A poll this week, rolled up 418 yards of total offense against Hobbton last Friday in a 36-0 win. Brandon Satchell ran for 106 yards and a 3 TDs for JK while Stedman Mathis added 100 rushing yards and a TD. Expect Kenan to put up some more big numbers against Union (5-4, 1-2).

TIGERS

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Farmville Central at Greene Central -- The Rams (8-1, 3-0 EPC), who also moved up a spot in the AP 2-A poll to No. 7, have another big challenge this week after dealing Tarboro its first conference loss of the season last Friday. Will Farmville (6-3, 2-0) be able to throttle QB Cameron Shelton, who has passed for 1,339 yards and 13 TDs this season, and a stout running game led by two-way standout J.J. Thompson (843 rushing yards, 9 TDs)? So far, only undefeated James Kenan has been able to do that.

RAMS

Last week -- 7-3 (.700)

Overall -- 55-22 (.714)