Green Hope's Sidney Harris, (3) goes after Cary's Rakeem Chambers, (8) on Friday night, October 17, 2008 at Green Hope High School in Cary.
Oct 30, 2008
Last Week: Apex defeated Cary 24-17; Fuquay-Varina defeated Green Hope 46-14.
This is the game that the Tri-Eight fans have been waiting to see all season, Apex and Fuquay-Varina. Apex suffered a scare from Cary last week before a last second touchdown lifted the Cougars to their 24-17 win, while Fuquay-Varina hammered struggling Green Hope. This week both teams should be in a true battle, and the batle will be for the conference championship and a No. 1 playoff spot.
Fuquay-Varina's defense has gotten most of the attention this season, but their offense, led by Cory Hunter, has been putting up big numbers in the past few weeks. Even with the best record in the conference, Fuquay enters this game as the probable underdog. The key for Apex will be defense, and whether or not they can stop the Apex passing attack from quarterback Houston Hawley. The Bengals won't allow Apex to run on them, so look for Hawley to try and find the likes of Rob Fronk and Brandon Carr.
Last Week: Athens Drive defeated Panther Creek 49-25; Middle Creek defeated Lee County 13-12.
Even though the Apex and Fuquay-Varina game will garner much of the attention this week out of the Tri-Eight, the Athens Drive and Middle Creek match-up could be the most important on Friday night. Why? Because it will help determine who goes to playoffs, and who stays home.
The Tri-Eight will likely only get three teams into the playoffs this season, and those three teams will be the three automatic berths from first, second and third place. With a win over Athens Drive, Middle Creek could tie the Jags at 3-3 in he conference, and they would own the head-to-head tie-breaker if it came down to a tie after next week. Cary is also 3-2 in the conference, but one of their losses came to Athens Drive, so the Jaguars already own the tie-breaker over the Imps. With a win Friday, Athens could all but wrap-up a playoff berth.
Last Week: Lee County lost to Middle Creek 13-12; Green Hope lost to Fuquay-Varina 46-14.
This game will have no impact whatsoever on playoffs berths because both teams are out of the playoff picture, but someone is about to get their first conference win of the season, and if Green Hope wins, they will have their first win since beating Panther Creek last year.
Green Hope has run the spread offense this season, but they haven't seen the same success that other teams have after spreading thigns out. The Falcons' defense spends a lot of time on the field because the Green Hope offense has had trouble moving the ball against opponent. Green Hope should see a pretty evenly matched game on Friday night, and according to the computer simulation from NationalSportsRankings.com, the Falcons will get their first win of the season, ending their losing skid dating back to last season.
Last Week: Cary lost to Apex 24-17; Panther Creek lost to Athens Drive 49-25.
This is a must-win game or the Cary Imps after losing to Apex last week. The Imps are in contention for the last playoff spot from the Tri-Eight Conference, but in a tie with Athens Drive for third place, Cary does not own the tie-breaker. Athens Drive came from behind to beat Cary earlier in the season, and that loss may come back to haunt them.
The Imps will have to play Fuquay-Varina next week, and that could be a loss for Cary, so a loss to Pather Creek this week is unacceptable if the Imps want a playoff berth. At this point, Panther Creek is playing for sake of playing, as the Catamounts appear to be out of playoff contention. But a win against Cary could do wonders for the Panther Creek squad's confidence looking ahead to next season.
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