Well sports fans, it's time for another Friday night. Time to see if the hot (Cayuga, Grapeland, Oakwood) can stay hot and if the not (Palestine, Westwood, Elkhart, Frankston) can pick up their first win.
For the Wildcats of PHS, the test is a tough one. They'll travel all 100+ miles to Pittsburg on the "Yellow Dogs" to take on the Pirates. What awaits them there? Only a quarterback with bonafide Division I prospects (he's already been offered by San Jose St. and Wake Forrest, according to PHS head coach Lance Angel) and a tough Pittsburg team. The Pirates thrashed 2A-Jefferson last week on the road, 42-27. Combine that and the team's first road trip of the year, and it'll be a tough row to hoe for Angel's squad for the second week in a row.
Prediction: Pittsburg 27, Palestine 20
Westwood and Frankston hook up in a cross-county battle that features two of the top performers from Zero Week. Both WHS's Dominique Mickens and FHS's Jamal Allen lit up the stat sheet last week, but both did so in losing causes. Westwood fell victim to a polished Tyler Chapel Hill passing game, 50-10, while Frankston's comeback bid in White Oak fell short, 30-23. It's rebound time for one team.
Prediction: Westwood 34, Frankston 28
Elkhart looks to get head coach John Adair his first win in the blue and red when they travel to Normangee tonight. Elkhart was gorged by the run in last week's loss to Leon, surrendering more than 300 yards on the ground alone. Couple that with the Elks inability to move the ball (122 total yards) and it spelled disaster. Normangee fell last week to Trinity, 15-12, in their opener. As much as I want the Elks to get win No. 1, I don't think it happens this week.
Prediction: Normangee 18, Elkhart 8
Speaking of Trinity, the Tigers welcome in Grapeland in a battle of 1-0 teams. The Sandies squeaked by Centerville last week, 18-15, to get Jerry Richards his first win as a head coach. The Grapeland played well, putting up 327 total yards with a great balance (182 passing, 145 rushing). The problem for Grapeland comes on the defensive side, where Grapeland gave up 201 yards rushing. Trinity comes in after putting up more than 170 yards on the ground on Normangee. That'll be the battle to watch.
Prediction: Grapeland 22, Trinity 17
Cayuga looked its state champion self Friday in its opener, throttling Overton, 30-6. The Wildcat offensive was more than serviceable despite lacking anyone named Shead in the lineup. New quarterback Jake Nash threw for 177 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 55 yards more, while D'onte Jackson rushed for 87 yards and a score. The real treat for 'Yuga fans came on the defensive side of the ball where the Wildcats not only forced turnovers, they turned them into points. This week Caygua welcomes in Mt. Enterprise, another team who runs the Wing-T and who beat Cushing, 14-8, last week. Cayuga isn't Cushing.
Prediction: Cayuga 37, Mt. Enterprise 13
Last week the Oakwood Panthers shook off some understood distractions and performed like the team everyone hopes they'll be in 2010 after missing the playoffs by one game each of the last two years. Junior Edwards ran for four scores and Damien Durham added three more in what seemed an impressive 66-18, mercy-rule win over Fort Worth Nazarene in Azle. This week, Fruitvale comes to town fresh off a solid victory of their own, topping Athens Christian, 47-18. I sense something special on the Dogwood Circle's Western edge.
Prediction: Oakwood 55, Fruitvale 33
I'll be live in Pittsburg follwing PHS, so tune for updates throughout the game, as well as some look ins at other Dogwood Circle action.
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