Find My Team

Submit Photos
Log in to High School OT with one click using your favorite social network:
OR
Log in using your High School OT account:



Wrong email/password combination.

Forgot password?

Register with High School OT using your favorite social network:
OR
Register for a High School OT account using our web form.
Log In
Register
Daily Schedule:
Feb. 6

Tim Candon

Week 10 notebook


Oct 30, 2008

HighSchoolOT.com Editor Tim Candon

HighSchoolOT.com Editor Tim Candon

Regardless of what goes down in the season’s final two weeks, the 2008 football season has been one of the wackiest in recent memory.

I said it earlier in the year, but it bears repeating, this season reminds me of the 2007 college football season, where the No. 2 ranked team in the country changed almost weekly, Appalachian State beat Michigan in the Big House and a two-loss team won the national championship. It was all unfathomable until we witnessed it play out.

A quick recap of the 2008 Triangle football season …

  • West Johnston, a team that changed coaches the week before the season started, ripped off eight straight wins, a run that included four straight away wins to start the season and a win over Garner in the Wildcats’ home and conference opener. The latter was the Trojans first ever loss in the Greater Neuse, and it left them 2-3, the first time since 1979 that they were below .500. At 8-0 entering the bye week, West was a shoe-in to win the Greater Neuse. If any team was going to prevent the Wildcats from doing so, it certainly wasn’t supposed to be Knightdale (the trendy guess was Southeast Raleigh on Nov. 7). But the Knights, a team that blew a 20-0 lead at Holly Springs its last time out, came back two weeks later and beat the only unbeaten team in the East, 38-27 on Monday night.
  • Leesville Road, the East 4-AA Regional runner-up last year that lost two Shrine Bowl players, is on the cusp of a shared Cap 7 championship. After the Pride waltzed through the Tri-Eight in the season’s first five weeks, I expected them to come back to earth. After they lost to Broughton, I thought I was on to something. Nope. Since that game, the Pride have ripped off wins against Wakefield, Sanderson and Millbrook, outscoring those three 94-13 along the way. All the Pride needs to do is beat Wake Forest-Rolesville on Nov. 7, and those two teams will split the title.
  • Millbrook, a team that looked indestructible early has turned out to be fallible. We gave them a pass for the loss to Wakefield, but how did this team get shut out at Leesville Road (the Pride’s defense clearly had a lot to do with it). Now the Wildcats are in danger of going to the playoffs as a three-loss team.
  • Fuquay-Varina. The Bengals changed coaches in the offseason, and they graduated three quarters of their starting lineup. Yet you’d never know it. They’re still playing the same old way, with a smash-mouth running game and tough-nosed defense. The winners of three straight conference championships could very well win a fourth.
  • And a few miscellaneous notes … Apex beat Middle Creek for the first time, then Apex won in Cary for the first time in a long time … All on the same night, Apex beat Middle Creek, a game which featured a halftime streaker, the then Nos. 3 and 4 teams in the state lost, and a player at West Johnston was kicked off the team for punching an assistant coach … Enloe started the season 4-0, then lost three in a row, then scored back-to-back wins over Broughton and Wakefield and have won the most games in a season since 2004 (six). … Jordan started the season 4-0, then lost three in a row, then earned consecutive wins over Riverside and East Chapel Hill … Riverside, a team two years removed from the 4-AA championship game, has allowed 68 points this season on three separate occasions.

A down the stretch they come

For all the wackiness of the first 10 weeks of the season, the final two offer loads of intrigue.

As many as nine teams have a legitimate chance to stake a claim to a conference title.

WF-R and Leesville could share the Cap 7, assuming WF-R beats Millbrook this week and Leesville beats WF-R on Nov. 7. If the Cougars win out, the league championship is theirs.

Apex and Fuquay-Varina are unbeaten in the Tri-Eight, and the winner of their meeting this week will likely win that league outright.

Assuming West Johnston and Southeast Raleigh win this week (quite likely), then their meeting on Nov. 7 will be for the Greater Neuse conference championship.

And in the PAC 6, Southern, Hillside and Chapel Hill all tied for first place. They’ve all already played each other, so if the logjam is going to sort itself out, one of the teams in the middle of the league will have to spring an upset. It’s doubtful that Southern or Hillside will lose again, while Chapel Hill still has a tough test against Jordan on Nov. 7.

Houston has no problems

Apex quarterback Houston Hawley’s 23-yard, game-winning touchdown pass to Brandon Carr with 11 seconds to play at Cary was a thing of beauty.

The Cougars ran the same play two snaps earlier, and Hawley’s pass went just out of Carr’s grasp. Given the opportunity, both players wanted to run that play again. That they nailed it was impressive, even more so considering the play was designed for tight end Rob Fronk over the middle. But Hawley knew he would hit Carr.

That Hawley bounced back from three interceptions – one which led to a thorough chewing out by Apex coach Bob Wolfe on the sideline – to make that play was equally impressive.

But thing the blew me away talking to Hawley on the field afterwards was how he kept his head on straight.

“I was throwing off my back foot, lofting balls and you just can’t do that,” he said. “The team showed a lot of resiliency. We came together. Even after all those picks. The team backed me up. They wouldn’t let me keep my head down. That’s why we came back and won. Nobody doubted me. I knew I could do it, but I needed their help to get me to realize that everything was going to be fine. We had to come together as a team and it all worked out.”

Stat of the week


Cary’s Bryan Wilson was a special teams menace in the Imps’ 24-17 loss to Apex. In the first half, Wilson recovered two onsides kicks, returned a kickoff 65 yards and jumped on a punt to pin Apex inside its own one-yard line.

Game balls


Week 10 game balls are aplenty.

Kevin Fogg: the Apex running back had 13 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown to go along with eight catches for 102 yards in the Cougars’ 24-17 win over Cary.

Phillip Barren: The Athens Drive receiver caught six passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns, and he had a 15-yard touchdown run in the Jaguars’ 49-25 win over Panther Creek.

Cory Hunter: The Fuquay-Varina running back had 244 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries in the Bengals’ 46-14 win over Green Hope.

Brexton Young: The Wake Forest-Rolesville running back had 162 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries in the Cougars’ 53-0 win over Sanderson.

Aziel Faison: The Enloe running back had 18 carries for 149 yards and three touchdowns in the Eagles’ 31-21 win over Wakefield.

Zach Gentry: The Leesville Road running back had 110 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries in the Pride’s 24-0 win over Millbrook.

Josh Gorham: The Knightdale running back had 151 yards on 12 carries, plus a 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a successful two-point conversion run in the Knights’ 31-21 win over West Johnston.

Deonte Anderson: The West Johnston wide receiver had nine catches for 189 yards and a touchdown in the Wildcats’ loss to Knightdale.

Dominque Jones: The Southeast Raleigh defensive back’s 76-yard interception return for a touchdown was the game-winning score in the Bulldogs’ 35-34 win.

Andrew Peacock: The Northern Durham quarterback was 13 of 15 from 229 yards and three touchdowns, and he ran 16 times for 135 yards and two TDs in the Knights’ 76-14 win over Riverside.

Corey Gattis: The Hillside quarterback was 11 of 17 for 216 yards and two touchdowns in the Hornets’ 34-31 win over Chapel Hill.

John Haus: The Chapel Hill quarterback was 17 of 30 for 256 yards and two touchdowns in the Tigers’ loss to Hillside.

Apex defense: After allowing 105 yards and 17 points to Cary in the first half, the Cougars held the Imps to 28 yards, no first downs and no points in the second half of their 24-17 win.

Leesville Road defense: The Pride shut out Millbrook and held the Wildcats 186 yards of total offense.

East Wake defense: The Warriors shut out Clayton and held the Comets to 36 yards rushing (on 35 attempts) and 74 yards of total offense in their 12-0 win.

A special game ball

When the conference, regional, and state coaches of the year awards are announced at the end of the season, a lot of deserving coaches are going to get their just recognition.

One person who won’t get much of a sniff for any postseason award is Cary coach Ben Kolstad.

I’m not advocating that he should, but people should be aware of how well he and his staff have done at Cary this fall. They have only 38 kids on the roster, and that number has dipped at times due to injury. Kolstad and his staff are able to pull more out of those 38 kids than some teams with two and a half times as many players

The Imps are 3-6 and they could conceivably miss the playoffs (they have to play Panther Creek and Fuquay-Varina, and it looks like four wins will not get a playoff bid). Cary has lost three games in the fourth quarter this season (the Imps were up one on Sanderson only to lose by 17; they were up 10 on Athens only to lose by 10; and they were up seven on Apex only to lose by seven). Not to discredit those on the team, but you’ve got to imagine that with a few more bodies and fresher legs, that Cary pulls out one, two or maybe even all three of those games.

Team of the week


This week, it’s a no-brainer – come on down Knightdale.

The Knights opened up a 20-6 lead in the first quarter, and unlike the last time they led big early (20-0 at Holly Springs), they didn’t think the game was over.

When West Johnston came back and took a 27-23 lead by the end of the third quarter, the Knights had an answer. Greg Jackson had a 28-yard TD run, and Aaron Smith put the game away with an 85-yard interception return to the end zone.

Just like that, the Greater Neuse championship chase opened up, as did the entire Eastern half of the state.

One more note

There will be no Week 11 notebook next week. I will be in Florida all next week for my brother-in-law’s wedding.

Back to Tim Candon
COMMENTS

0 Comments



This blog post is closed for comments.

HighSchoolOT Forums
More HighSchoolOT Forums
  1. Chris__Edwards: I'm a big fan of Troy. RT @emilyyydrake: choot 'em! My favorite is Bruce, haha
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 11:08 PM
  2. Chris__Edwards: I can not tell you how excited I am for Swamp People to start back.
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 10:52 PM
  3. Chris__Edwards: Aww....thanks, favorite cousin! RT @maddimarie_x3: hahah you make me laugh ;)
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 10:36 PM
  4. Chris__Edwards: I've said it before and I'll say it again, the lack of professionalism among some coaches in HS sports is appalling.
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 7:32 PM
  5. Chris__Edwards: Fitting that the worldwide leader has chosen this week as "Rivalry Week" the two biggest rivals in the #GNRC will battle again tomorrow.
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 7:29 PM
  6. highschoolot: Heels offer Bunn receiver http://t.co/IMEJ41fW
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 6:31 PM
  7. highschoolot: Harnett Central's Ware inks with Shaw http://t.co/TH1lh2Yr
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 6:31 PM
  8. highschoolot: Harnett Central QB Blake Ware signed to play football at Shaw: http://t.co/S1I46WDi
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 5:42 PM
  9. highschoolot: Bunn WR Johnathan Alston picked up his first offer last week and it comes from #UNC: http://t.co/I5fAeRzz
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 5:29 PM
  10. highschoolot: Here's the new logo for @DaveTelep's Carolina Challenge. I love this event. http://t.co/wgETK37H
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 4:38 PM
  11. highschoolot: @DaveTelep just sent me the sweet new logo for the Carolina Challenge! I'll twitpic it as soon as I can get my computer to work right...
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 4:27 PM
  12. Chris__Edwards: Since when did Taylor Swift start her own greeting card line? #toomanythingsgoingonthismonth
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 4:09 PM
  13. Chris__Edwards: Our Aversboro Restaurant tip-off show hits the air at 7:45 tomorrow on http://t.co/dBRpnn95 or through the TuneIn Radio app for your iPhone.
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 3:07 PM
  14. Chris__Edwards: A little less than 29 hours until Garner/SE Raleigh from the cathedral that is Trojan Coliseum. Join us on the Trojan Sports Network.
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 3:05 PM
  15. highschoolot: Time to head into the TV station. Been a busy day so far. More to come I'm sure.
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 2:01 PM
  16. NCHSAA: NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION 2012 DUAL TEAM WRESTLING PAIRINGS First two rounds scheduled... http://t.co/aIH7Gcmd
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 1:58 PM
  17. highschoolot: Dual team wrestling state tourney starts Tuesday http://t.co/k6fEQgoH
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 1:52 PM
  18. highschoolot: Tournament of Champions leaving North Carolina http://t.co/WU9aF24S
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 1:52 PM
  19. highschoolot: Football coaches vote for change to playoffs http://t.co/WMcBsdvt
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 1:52 PM
  20. highschoolot: #shoutout to @MandyWRAL for shooting & editing the @WRALExtraEffort Award this week. See it tomorrow at 6 on @WRAL.
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 1:52 PM
  21. WRALExtraEffort: We are headed to Southern Lee this week to give the Extra Effort Award to Ace Chalmers.
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 1:47 PM
  22. highschoolot: In case you missed it earlier, the names of the 2012 Carolina Challenge players have been released: http://t.co/h9gNkYCD
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 1:46 PM
  23. highschoolot: The Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions won't be in NC this year, it's moving to Atlanta: http://t.co/l3jAZBLx
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 1:40 PM
  24. Chris__Edwards: Just another manic Monday.
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 1:39 PM
  25. highschoolot: Here are the dual team wrestling state tournament pairings from the @NCHSAA: http://t.co/UwLE7YLz #hsotscores
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 1:18 PM
  26. highschoolot: @CarolinaPreps1 if the coaches are demanding change, the @NCHSAA needs to listen.
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 1:09 PM
  27. highschoolot: Here's a slideshow of some of our area players selected to @DaveTelep's Carolina Challenge: http://t.co/aHwsTliH
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 12:51 PM
  28. highschoolot: Players announced for 2012 Carolina Challenge http://t.co/x37hu9Ju
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 12:41 PM
  29. highschoolot: NCHSAA releases PSA about importance of high school sports http://t.co/e1kB74XB
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 12:41 PM
  30. highschoolot: Last local player selected to Carolina Challenge -- Hoke County's Tarique Thompson (Jr).
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 12:35 PM
  31. highschoolot: David Robertson (Jr) of Panther Creek will play in the Carolina Challenge.
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 12:35 PM
  32. Chris__Edwards: Looking forward to being in Wilson on Wednesday afternoon to talk about this summer. Excited about what's going on. #baseballseason
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 12:23 PM
  33. WCNChs: VIDEO: South Meck boys hold off Myers Park on Senior night. http://t.co/trSYwsCQ #FNfrenzy
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 12:20 PM
  34. NCHSAA: "People look up to a role model when they show an amount of success and courage to overcome their own obstacles."... http://t.co/isvLfNIB
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 9:45 AM
  35. NCHSAA: Former Charlotte Independence football standout Hakeem Nicks caught 10 passes for 109 yards as he aided the New... http://t.co/75CeRZsM
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 9:20 AM
  36. NCHSAA: 2008 1A Men's NCHSAA State Basketball Championship MVP - Reggie Johnson a graduate of Winston Salem Prep had a... http://t.co/l40L4Dsa
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 9:15 AM
  37. NCHSAA: NCHSAA PARTNERSHIP PRODUCES PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS CHAPEL HILL-- The North Carolina High... http://t.co/lxDex3nx
      — Monday, February 6, 2012 9:13 AM
  38. WCNChs: Super Bowl champion Hakeem Nicks, an Independence HS grad, with 10 catches for 109 yards. Both game highs.
      — Sunday, February 5, 2012 10:51 PM
Blogs
*
More HSOT Today
*
Heels offer Bunn receiver
Posted at 5:23 p.m.
More On The Trail