Breaking down Friday's CVAC games

Bandys and Hibriten got the ball rolling last week in the CVAC's first game of 2008. Hibriten took an early lead in the standings by ripping the Trojans to shreds, 45-27. This week everybody else jumps into the fray. Three new head coaches (Brian Brown of Maiden, Fred Whalen of St. Stephens and Mike Setzer of West Caldwell) will get their first taste of life in the CVAC when they get that W or L next to their name. This week's slate of games should tell us quite a bit about who the real contenders will be for the final "original" CVAC title. Let the games begin!

FRED T. FOARD (2-0) at MAIDEN (1-1)

Series Notes: The Tigers are hoping that this is the year they can break a Maiden winning streak that now stands at 22 and counting. Maiden shutout Foard 35-0 last year. The last Tiger victory in this series was in 1985.

What to look for tonight: This is the week when Foard either puts up or shuts up. At 2-0 the Tigers can use this game to make a statement that they're ready to be a contender or they can do what comes naturally and take another beating at the hands of the Blue Devils. The Tiger defense has only allowed seven points in two ballgames. In fact, Foard hasn't allowed a score in the last seven quarters. The top offensive threats for the Tigers are quarterback Landon Isenhour (averaging 113 passing yards per game and 51 yards rushing), receiver Trent Safrit (4 catches for 100 yards) and running back Quinton Owens (12 carries for 96 yards - 8 per carry). Maiden will counter with its spread offense, featuring quarterback Justin Sizemore (27-55-1, 372 yards, 3 TDs). Sizemore is a talented passer who reminds folks, visually anyway, of a poor-man's Tim Tebow. But like the Gators, Maiden's ground game is highly suspect. Equally questionable is the Blue Devil defense. Last week Maiden gave up 345 rushing yards in a 40-23 loss to Lincolnton. If the Tigers can withstand the Maiden air assault and not panic they can control the tempo of the game with their superior rushing attack. Give me a stout defense over a pass-happy offense anytime.

HIBRITEN (3-0) at BUNKER HILL (0-2)

Series Notes: Hibriten has won three in a row against the Bears and is 12-8 overall in the series. The Panthers crushed Bunker Hill up in Lenoir last year by the score of 56-0.

What to look for tonight: This one could get out of hand real quick. Hibriten is better than it was last year at this time while Bunker Hill is suffering through a 21-game losing streak. Last year's experienced Bear ballclub went 0-11. The Bears graduated a bunch of players and entered this season in rebuilding mode. But then almost every season is a fixer-upper in Claremont. In last week's 45-27 romp over Bandys the Panthers scored pretty much whenever they wanted to until the starters got bored and the reserves got a chance to play. I doubt many of Hibriten's starters see the field after halftime in this one. Consider this: last week the Panthers had five guys rush for at least 50 yards. The total was 311. New quarterback Jamichael Walton only completed three passes - but they went for a total of 101 yards and a couple of touchdowns. Besides, the word on the street is that Hibriten wants to be the object of everybody's affection.

WEST CALDWELL (0-2) at PATTON (1-1)

Series Notes: Stop! You had me at hello... These teams have never played each other in a varsity game.

What to look for tonight: The new kids on the block had to go deep into the Smoky Mountains to find that elusive first-ever victory...but they got it done. Patton beat tiny Andrews High, 34-24, to claim the school's first varsity victory. The Panthers scored in a variety of ways, including a nice 48-yard TD run by Brandon Bethel, a 35-yard pass from quarterback Cody Story to Zack Cole, a 40-yard fumble return by Chris Wiseman and finally a 60-yard scamper by Story. Even though this is Patton's first season of varsity competition the Panthers did have a pretty good JV team last season and Burke County has strong middle school programs. So the Panthers may be a little better equipped than other teams in a similar situation. West Caldwell continues to struggle but I still maintain that the future is bright for the Warriors under new head coach Mike Setzer. This game is a golden opportunity to get off the snide and back into a winning mindset. To know exactly how tough things are right now up in Gamewell just consider that last Friday the Warriors took a 35-0 beating from South Caldwell - the same South Caldwell team that took a similar beating from Fred T. Foard in Week 1. The good news for the Warriors is that even if they don't get a win this time there is always Bunker Hill next week!

Newton-Conover (2-0) at St. Stephens (2-0)

Series Notes: In 2007 the Indians snapped Newton's 10-game winning streak in this series with a 13-10 victory. But that's only their second win in the last 16 meetings.

What to look for tonight: Somebody is gonna get their first loss tonight. It isn't often that we can say that about this game. There have been times in the recent past when neither one of these teams was worth much. That is definitely not the case this time around, however. Last week the Red Devils road-tripped to Icard and slaughtered the East Burke Cavaliers, 35-8, for what was apparently the "Championship of the Unifour." I'm still scratching my head over that one... On paper it did look like one heck of a matchup. But the Red Devils quickly and easily brought the Cavs to their knees, taking a 29-0 lead before the homers finally put some points on the board. As expected, Dorian Jones is having a great season for the Red Devils. Against the Cavs he exploded for 174 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries (10.9 yards per carry). He also caught three passes for 48 yards and a touchdown. I heard he also worked the concession stand in the 4th quarter and then drove the team bus back to Newton. What a player! All of this behind a completely rebuilt offensive line. Scary, seriously.

St. Stephens has looked good in their two victories (43-14 over West Lincoln and 10-7 over Alexander Central). Although the margin of victory was much slimmer against Central the victory was actually a lot more impressive. West Lincoln is a punchline, period. But we know that the Cougars can play some football. Quality win for the Indians, just like it was for the Red Tornadoes. However, in my humble opinion, the jury is still out on the Indians. What does it say about an offense when the quarterback is the team's leading rusher? I don't care who it is - St. Stephens or the University of Florida - if you're relying on your quarterback to get it done on the ground as well as in the air, you've got a problem. Quarterback Matt Fussell is the Indian rushing leader (72 yards per game) as well as the passing leader (88 yards per game). That won't be enough to get a victory over a complete team like Newton-Conover. On the bright side, St. Stephens did have an extra week to prepare for this. That's got to be worth something, right?