By BRIAN WOODSON
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BLUEFIELD —
Week 2 of the high school football season has arrived.
Here is a look at not only each game, with a guess on a result, but also the Telegraph 10, which is the top 10 teams in the 19-school coverage area.
Top 10 area teams
1. Richlands; 2. Bluefield; 3. PikeView; 4. River View; 5. Grundy; 6. James Monroe; 7. Princeton; 8. Honaker; 9. Hurley. 10. Bland County...next in line: Giles, Graham.
Bland County (1-0) at
Craig County (1-0)
The Bears were impressive in routing Patrick Henry 34-14, accumulating 359 yards on offense, led by Jacob Lambert and Dylan Kidd, a duo that combined for 218 yards and four touchdowns. The Rockets thumped Auburn 42-6, with a trio of backs going for 287 yards and five scores. Bland County had two wins last season, including a 28-21 home victory over Craig County.
Prediction: Craig County 28, Bland County 26.
Christiansburg (1-0) at
Giles (0-1)
Giles certainly starts the season with a brutal schedule, following up last week’s 30-7 loss to Division 4 Blacksburg, and the Division 4 Blue Demons won’t be any easier for the Spartans. Christiansburg, who opened with a 40-12 win over Floyd County. flashed plenty of speed in a scrimmage at Bluefield earlier this season, an attribute Giles simply doesn’t have. The single-wing will have to contain the football, led by Brad Kessinger and Adam Baker.
Prediction: Christiansburg 36, Giles 20
East Ridge (Ky) (1-0) at Grundy (1-0)
Two senior-dominated teams meet in this border battle. The Golden Wave throttled Twin Valley 51-6, led by Tyler Berglowe with three touchdowns and three scoring tosses by John Kelly. The Warriors beat Shelby Valley with an impressive 31-6 showing. Grundy won last year’s matchup 26-0 against a club that lost their final six games of the season after a 3-2 start.
Prediction: Grundy 27, East Ridge 20.
Gate City (0-1) at Tazewell (0-1)
Bad news for the Bulldogs. Gate City lost 31-0 to Richlands, and won’t be happy. Tazewell, which dropped a 28-0 decision to George Wythe, could have a tough time finding the end zone. It was just 3-0 at halftime before the Blue Devils allowed 21 fourth quarter points. Running backs Dusty Clark and Joseph Vaughn, and quarterback Nick Bowen will be tough for the young Bulldogs to stop. Tazewell had just 116 yards against the Maroons.
Prediction: Gate City 31, Tazewell 0.
Graham (0-1) at
Cave Spring (1-0)
One week after dropping a 48-0 decision to Bluefield, the G-Men have travel to Roanoke to face the Knights, which defeated a senior-dominated Graham squad twice last season, 55-12 and 42-0. The G-Men had just 115 yards against the Beavers, while Cave Spring rolled up 392 yards in a 41-21 win over Staunton River, led by Sam Wright with 166 yards. The Knights did allow the Eagles three touchdowns of 57, 72 and 25 yards.
Prediction: Cave Spring 45, Graham 6.
Haysi (0-0) at Clintwood (1-0)
Dickenson County bragging rights are at stake in this one, with the Tigers opening their season against the Green Wave, the favorites to win the tradition-rich Lonesome Pine District. Haysi, playing its first game in years without departed signal-caller Chris Fleming, will face a tall task. Clinwood opened it season last week, flogging Coeburn 42-6.
Prediction: Clintwood 30, Haysi 16.
Honaker (0-1) at
Richlands (1-0)
After a slow start, the Blue Tornado expanded on a 3-0 halftime lead with 21 in the fourth quarter for a surprising 31-0 win over Gate City. The schedule just gets tougher for the Tigers, which lost to highly-regarded Lebanon 20-6. Reece Strong and Cody Lockhart combined to throw for 135 yards, and Devon Johnson and Cody Thomas ran for 147. Defensively, the Blues were stingy against a talented trio of backs. Lebanon had two 100-yard rushers, and 300 yards on the ground against the Tigers.
Prediction: Richlands 38, Honaker 7
James Monroe (1-0) at
Summers County (0-1)
Despite being in so-called rebuilding mode, the Mavericks put up 46 points in stopping Narrows, and will now face another young club that allowed 47 points in a loss to PikeView. James Monroe, which beat Summers County 42-0 in last year’s regular season finale, had five different players score touchdowns, including two by Matthew Romanello. The ‘Cats depend on freshmen to perform, including T.J. Smith and Isaiah Brown.
Prediction: James Monroe 44, Summers County 8.
Mount View (0-1) at Man (0-1)
Two teams that allowed lots of points in their openers meet in this one. The Knights displayed speed, scoring two touchdowns on a pair of 79-yard kick returns in a 52-18 loss to River View, but did allow the Raiders to run and pass up and down the field. One season after the Hillbillies reached the Class A state title game, only to lose to Madonna, Man was thumped by Class AAA opponent Logan 55-18. This could be an offensive show.
Prediction: Man 36, Mount View 23.
Montcalm (0-0) at Twin Valley (0-1)
A tossup. It’s anyone’s guess how this one comes out. The Panthers have lost 11 games in a row, and have finished 0-10 in two of the last three seasons. While Panthers were soundly beaten by Grundy 51-6 last week, the Generals hope to open its season with a win over Twin Valley, something Montcalm did last season. Both clubs suffer from lack of numbers, although the Generals have built their early roster from 15 to 22.
Prediction: Montcalm 8, Twin Valley 6.
Narrows (0-1) at
Eastern Montgomery (1-0)
Coming off a 42-6 defeat at James Monroe, the Green Wave remains on the road for a visit to Shawsville. It could be an aerial show, with Brock Lusk of Narrows being one of the signal-callers in the region, while Shawn Christian threw for a pair of touchdowns in the Mustangs’ 27-20 win last week over Bath County. Brad Wooten scored twice for East Mont. The ‘Wave dropped a 32-3 decision last season in this rivalry.
Prediction: Eastern Montgomery 28, Narrows 13.
Princeton (0-1) at Bluefield (1-0)
The Mercer Cup of local high school football, the Tigers and Beavers have split the last 12 meetings in this series, with Bluefield coming out ahead last season. The Beavers were impressive in a 48-0 whipping of Graham, while Spring Valley scored two fourth quarter touchdowns to slip past Princeton. Both teams have plenty of firepower, including Tevin Allen and possibly talented freshman Tahj Johnson for Princeton, while the Beavers have the same, but they also have a veteran offensive line that could be the difference.
Prediction: Bluefield 24, Princeton 16.
River View (1-0) vs. PikeView (1-0)
Another close call. PikeView will be playing its second straight “home” game away from home, this time at Princeton. Having the advantage of turf could help the Panthers’ playmakers, which rolled up 47 points last week against Summers County at Concord. River View made its debut a success, running through Mount View for 52 points, with eight different players scoring touchdowns, two on passes, something Mitch Estep did at Iaeger about once a season.
Prediction: PikeView 37, River View 34.
St. Paul (1-0) at Hurley (1-0)
The Rebels drilled the ‘other’ Rebels ... of Ervinton — 40-0 to open the season, and now the Deacons will visit “The Cliff.” St. Paul also won its opener, topping Holston 34-19. Hurley, which defeated the Deacons 28-26 last season, is led by quarterback Austin Cooper, 6-foot-7 receiver Austin Waynick, All-BDD linebacker John Layne and a veteran offensive line.
Prediction: Hurley 28, St. Paul 27.
