Gridiron Preview: Round Two

After round one of the state tournament only two teams remain repping Sampson County. The No. 1 Clinton Dark Horses remain unbeaten as they have dominated the gridiron in every way, trouncing foe after foe. The No. 7 Lakewood Leopards have been vicious this season with their bullish run game and hardnosed defensive core.

No. 1 Clinton (11-0) v No. 16 Beddingfield (7-4)

The Dark Horses are primed and in motion, in route to that state title. Standing in the way of that are the Beddingfield Bruins. As the stampede rolls on the Bruins are going to have to be ready to stand against this torrential team. Anyone who has faced Clinton this season has been met with an unbearable force of athletes on all fronts. From offense to defense, the Dark Horses have reigned supreme with no one really coming close. Out of 11 games, Clinton averages, as of this writing, 53 points per contest. The opponents have found no such luck, all 11 trampled foes that face these behemoths of the gridiron have put up a measly 11 points.

The Bruins have scored literally half of what Clinton has in 11 and have allowed more on defense as well. With powerhouses on the ground like McLaurin and Robinson, the versatility of Ny’Darion Blackwell in the pocket, heavy hitter Amaris Williams and their talented corner Alexander Evans and plenty more, it will be tough sledding at the Dark Horse Complex for the Bruins.

Game time is slated for 7 p.m.

No. 7 Lakewood (9-2) v No. 10 Perquimans (7-3) *Game of the Week*

The Pirates of Perquimans will travel out to the backwoods of Sampson to face off against the tenacious Lakewood Leopards.

Lakewood has been a force to be reckoned with putting up 479 points in their 11 contests of the season. Their two losses this season didn’t come easy for their competition as they fiercely stayed in it, showing they’ll go toe to toe no matter what. The Leopards average 43 points a game compared to the 30 from the Pirates. The Leopards defense is a fierce group who don’t know when to quit. The Leopards secondary have been hard at work this season defended 28 passes to the Pirates six and they have caused 13 fumbles while recovering 12 of them.

Both teams are tied in interceptions at 12 a piece with Lakewood’s anti-air defense coming down to four players, who account for all of them: Jaziah Brunson (3), Nakai Owens (2), Rylan Godbold (2) and Dontavious Smith (2). With that in mind, the Pirates like to toss the ball and will need to be careful. Posting a 56% completion percentage against a team that doesn’t shy away from going for the interception. In addition to the anti-air game, they’ve sacked the quarterback nine times this season, tearing through the o-line their sack leader, Xavier Howard (3.5) will be looking to make an impact.

Lakewood’s offense has been reliant on the ground game accounting for 47 touchdowns to the Leopards. They average around eight yards per carry out of their 307 runs this season to date. They have three backs who have posted above 500 yards this season. Freshman Calvin Lacewell leads the way at 622, following him are Nakai Owens (539) and Shamell Little (523).

It will be anyone’s game in this gridiron contest that is scheduled for Thursday Nov. 9 due to forecasted poor weather. Kick off is slated for 7 p.m.