Breaking down tonight's CVAC games

Obviously all eyes tonight will be focused on the big matchup in Gamewell, where the West Caldwell Warriors will host the Fred T. Foard Tigers in a key CVAC contest. The Warriors come in with a perfect record and seem poised to make it eight in a row for the season. I honestly don't think there is anything the Tigers can do about it, either!

In other action, the Hibriten Panthers will host the Newton-Conover Red Devils. The Panthers suffered a heartbreaking defeat last week when Coach Cannon made the decision to try a two-point conversion play for the win instead of kicking for the tie. He gambled, they lost, and now the Panthers must win tonight to keep pace with Newton and Foard. Meanwhile, the Red Devils come back this week following their fluke victory over Hickory. For those who care, this will be a contest between two teams ranked in the AP Class 2A top ten. Newton is ranked #3 while Hibriten dropped to #10 after last week's loss.


FRED T. FOARD (4-1, 6-1) AT WEST CALDWELL (0-5, 0-7)

Series Notes: Foard brutalized the Warriors last year by the score of 61-6 and guess what? It could be even worse this time around.

What to look for tonight: The Tiger scrubs have been waiting for this night all season. Everybody gets into the game when West is the opponent. Hallelujah! The Tigers will hold serve tonight and keep the pressure on Newton and Hibriten. When the night is over the Tigers will either be in sole possession of second place in the CVAC or they will be in a three-way tie for first place. It's all good for the Tigers tonight. They just have to guard against the temptation to look past West and be thinking about the big game with Bunker Hill next week.

MAIDEN (1-4, 2-5) AT BUNKER HILL (1-4, 1-6)

Series Notes: Maiden has won 18 straight against the Care Bears of Bunker Hill and yet, curiously, nobody really cares these days.

What to look for tonight: Don't even bother. Go to Butler Stadium and pull for the Bandys Trojans to beat St. Stephens.

NEWTON-CONOVER (5-0, 7-0) AT HIBRITEN (4-1, 6-1)

Series Notes: Newton leads this series, 9-2. Red Devil head coach Nick Bazzle has never lost to Hibriten.

What to look for tonight: The Red Devils seem to have everything going their way these days. They are off to their best start in more than a decade, including the 2000 season when Newton went all the way to the 2A state championship game (resulting in a loss to Southwest Onslow). Hibriten, on the other hand, has spent the past week thinking about what might have been in the wake of a painful last-minute loss to Fred T. Foard.

The two teams are very evenly matched from a statistical standpoint. They are at the top of the CVAC team rushing category and both have outstanding workhorse running backs in Dorian Jones and Quin Smith. Although they are both efficient in the pass department they are hardly prolific. Newton ranks last in the CVAC in passing yardage yet has the league's second-best pass completion percentage. These teams keep the errors to a bare minimum as evidenced by the fact that they lead the league in the turnover ratio category.

Both teams are stout on defense. Newton's defensive speed in particular can be deadly to an opposing offense. Such was the case in last week's victory over Hickory. Hibriten has a bluechipper at safety in senior Quin Smith, who has verbally committed to South Carolina. He is extremely active and covers the entire field in true headhunter fashion. The Panthers may be able to do a better job than Hickory did in defending the outside lanes. This could be an opportunity for Newton fullback Josh Thompson to have a big game.

Given the stakes involved and the close similarities of the two teams it's easy to see how this game could go down to the wire, just like it did last week for Hibriten against Foard. Maybe this week it's Hibriten's turn to catch a break.

ST. STEPHENS (4-2, 5-2) AT BANDYS (3-2, 4-3)

Series Notes: The Indians upset Bandys in 2006 and 2001 but otherwise the series has been dominated recently by the Trojans. Bandys holds a slim 23-21 lead in this rivalry.

What to look for tonight: As I predicted right after Hickory defeated the Trojans on their home turf back in September, Bandys has won three straight against the bottomfeeders of the conference: West Caldwell, Bunker Hill and Patton. Now I am seeing them described by the local experts as being "on fire." Well, of course they are. Everybody catches fire when they face West Caldwell, Bunker Hill and Patton. But now it's time for the Trojans keep "the fire" burning and get a win over the visiting Indians.

Bandys has the league's top offense despite playing the past two games without ace quarterback Kyle Houser and two other offensive starters. Senior Josh McCombs has continued to run the football with power and is racking up major yardage. With Houser and wide receiver Seth Cranfill back in action the Trojans should really be able to move the ball tonight with a great deal of success.

Yes, St. Stephens has a pretty good defense. I was particularly impressed with the play of senior Graham McRary's effort against Hickory. But the Indians have been much less successful against teams with efficient, balanced offenses. That's why St. Stephens lost to Newton-Conover and Hibriten. Furthermore, the player who did more than anybody else to beat Hickory, senior Caleb Peterson, is lost for the season. His absence didn't hurt St. Stephens in last week's win but the Indians will definitely miss him on both sides of the football tonight.

I think St. Stephens will get exposed tonight. Observers will realize that with the exception of the historical win over Hickory a few weeks ago the Indians really haven't accomplished that much this season. The thoughts and prayers of the entire Tornado Nation are with the Bandys Trojans tonight as they host the misfits from Trailer Park Road. It is a game that the Trojans absolutely must win! Just win, baby!