Football outlook - week two

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on August 25, 2016 1:49 PM

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Greene Central (1-0) at C.B. Aycock (1-0)

Last meeting: 2015, Greene Central won 57-0

Notable: The Golden Falcons and Rams have played each other every season since 1962. Aycock snapped a 6-game road skid last week at Rosewood.

Aycock's emphasis in practice this week: The Golden Falcons' focus is trying to get better, learning to be more disciplined on both sides of the ball and eliminating the silly penalties from last week. CBA had three TDs negated due to the yellow hanky. Hanging in the locker room is a picture taken after last year's loss in Snow Hill. It's been a reminder all winter, all spring and during camp.

CBA head coach Steve Brooks' thoughts on Greene Central: They're still very athletic, they're still well coached. The running back is really good. They beat a 4-A team (South Central) at their place last week. They do some good things. They have two quarterbacks and both are capable of what they're trying to get done on offense. Defensively, they bring a lot of pressure. Our quarterback has to be aware of who is coming and where to throw the football when we do throw the football.

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Princeton (1-0) at Midway (1-0)

Last meeting: 2015, Midway won 20-0

Notable: The Raiders have won 10 of the last 11 meetings against the Bulldogs since 2005 and have allowed seven points or less -- including two shutouts -- in six games during that span. Princeton's lone victory (28-7) occurred in 2014 when current N.C. State running back Johnny Frasier was a senior.

Princeton's emphasis in practice this week: We had a good win, but when you watch the film, it's never as good as you think it is. But, on the flip side, it's never as bad as you think it is, either. I saw a lot of things where we need to get better on and learn from. It's a good, teachable opportunity coming off a win. The kids are feeling good about it and when you are seeing yourself be successful, you know that you also can get better.

PHS head coach Travis Gaster's thoughts on Midway: When you play a program (like Midway), it's diferent that playing somebody who has a run of good teams for a couple of years. Midway is consistently very solid. They're a physical team that is well-coached. That's what I want Princeton be as well. I want us to be a physical team that shows discipline on the field in execution. It will be a great test for us. They're actually very balanced this year. We both run the same (scheme) offensively. They do use their passing game effectively.

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Rosewood (0-1) at North Johnston (1-0)

Last meeting: 2015, Rosewood won 41-20

Notable: North Johnston leads the all-time series 17-14-1 since 1980. The teams did not play from 2011-14. The Eagles' longest win streak against the Panthers is 8 games from 1997-2004.

Rosewood's emphasis in practice this week: We played a very good Aycock team last week and they handled us pretty good up front. This week we're making sure our kids understand what their blocking assignment is when they're given a couple of different looks. We've got to be able to adjust. It's a process, teaching our rules and how the block might change if they're lined up differently. We have to get better where we're not very good at right now. We can't continue to miss assignments.

RHS head coach Robert Britt's thoughts on the Panthers: They've gone to a spread offense and they've got some really good players. They have a new quarterback this year and seems to be pretty athletic. He made some big plays for them last week throwing and running. They run an offense kind of similar to ours -- quarterback heavy where quarterback has to make a lot of good decisions, be able to run as well as throw. They've got some good running backs and a couple of good slots (receivers) they can get the ball into their hands, too. We've got to be sound... improve this week on the defensive side.

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North Duplin (0-1) at Pinetown Northside (1-0)

Last meeting: 2015, Northside won 20-12

Notable: After the Panthers' victory in Calypso, they went on a nine-game losing streak that ended with a 47-0, season-opening victory over Creswell. Meanwhile, the Rebels are 1-3 all-time against Northside with the only win coming in 2013.

North Duplin's emphasis in practice this week: The Rebels used Tuesday to recover from Monday's opener against Southside. The coaching staff also used the day to begin breaking down film on Northside to get the players' thought process on Northside. Martin said the preparation is different and wants the team to see the full picture of what they're facing Friday.

ND head coach Hugh Martin's thoughts on Northside: Looking at them on film, they've got a lot of people back from last year and have added a couple of linemen who didn't play last year. They are very big up front. The quarterback is quick and dangerous in the open field. The running back is a downfield-type runner and is tough to bring down. It's going to be quite a challenge for us. We have to be in good position (defensively) and kept them limited with their perimeter game as well. We have to control the ball on offense.

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Lejeune (0-1) at Spring Creek (0-1)

Last meeting: 2015, Spring Creek won 21-10

Notable: The Gators and Devilpups are meeting for the sixth consecutive season. Lejeune emerged as the eastern 1-A (small-school) regional runner-up in 2013. However, the Devilpups are 1-20 during their last two campaigns on the gridiron. Spring Creek looks to break a 10-game skid that started after its win over Lejeune a year ago.

Spring Creek's emphasis in practice this week: The Gators must limit their offensive miscues (five turnovers vs. South Lenoir) and cannot commit costly errors on defense -- a running into the kicker penalty and several unsportsmanlike calls. Sanders said his team has to be "tough enough to recover from that."

SC head coach Aaron Sanders' thoughts on Lejeune: The Gators faced the Devilpups in a preseason scrimmage, which gave Sanders and his coaching staff an early glance at their week 2 opponent. "(A) very run-heavy offense. They're in the gun, but they want to run the football. Defensively, they've got some size up front. Their secondary's not bad, so we have our work cut out for us."