By Sonny Jones
Is Friday the night for West Bladen to snap its 10-game football losing streak? Will first-year head coach Stanley Williams get his first victory?
West Bladen last won a football game on Oct. 18, 2019 when it beat West Columbus 36-32. The Knights lost their last three games that season, all six games in the COVID-shortened 2021 spring season and their opener last Friday against South Brunswick. West Bladen has been outscored 418-176 during that time.
Friday night, West Bladen (0-1) is scheduled to travel to Lake Waccamaw to play East Columbus (1-0). The Gators beat Lakewood 32-29 to open this season after opting out of the spring season.
It’s been a tough start for the Knights this season. Because of COVID-19 protocols, the team wasn’t able to scrimmage and the first two scheduled games were called off.
It’s time for the program to catch a break. Friday is as good of a night as any. WEST BLADEN 20, EAST COLUMBUS 16.
Week 3 record: 9-2
Season record: 18-5 (78%)
Total postponed/canceled through Week 3: 17
Here’s the rest of the Week 4 picks.
WILMINGTON LANEY 28, EAST BLADEN 12: The Eagles difficult nonconference schedule comes to an end. Counting Laney’s 2-0 record, East Bladen’s opponents are 7-1 this season. The lone loss was East Bladen’s win against West Carteret.
MIDWAY 49, LAKEWOOD 20: Raiders’ quarterback Wyatt Holland should toss a few touchdowns.
LAKE VIEW, SC 35, FAIRMONT 8: The Golden Tornadoes’ scheduled game at Southern Lee was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.
CLINTON 48, NORTHSIDE-JACKSONVILLE 13: The Dark Horses tune up for next week’s Southeastern Conference opener.
ST. PAULS 35, UNION PINES 22: The Bulldogs celebrated their delayed start to the season with a Labor Day morning route of Northside.
NORTH MOORE 43, WEST COLUMBUS 12: The Mustangs are 3-0 and have outscored their opponents 109-34.
NORTH BRUNSWICK 22, SOUTH COLUMBUS 20: The Stallions finally open their season after dealing with COVID-19 issues. North Brunswick is playing its third game.
WHITEVILLE 42, ROSEWOOD 22: The Wolfpack is averaging 48.5 points per game and looking strong.
HEIDE TRASK 31, DIXON 22: Can guarantee that Trask will give up less than the 90 points it allowed in a 90-62 loss against Hobbton.
COLLEGE
N.C. STATE 20, MISSISSIPPI STATE 17: It will be interesting to see how the Wolfpack performs in a hostile environment. Will the winner also be the College World Series baseball champion?
NORTH CAROLINA 49, GEORGIA STATE 10: The Tar Heels should bounce back in a big way after last week’s disappointment at Virginia Tech.
WINGATE 31, FAYETTEVILLE STATE 14: Tough road game for the Broncos, who are 0-6 against Wingate all-time.
METHODIST 24, GUILFORD 17: Time for the Monarchs to snap a six-game losing streak against the Quakers in the first night game played at Methodist.
CAMPBELL 35, ELON 24: First game at Barker-Lane Stadium in 665 days should result in a win for the Camels. East Bladen graduate Chris Cromartie had four tackles last Saturday in Campbell’s 48-7 loss at Liberty.
SOUTH CAROLINA 30, EAST CAROLINA 20: It’s expected Dowdy-Ficklen will be rocking Saturday, but not sure that’s enough to beat “Beamer Ball.”
DUKE 45, NC A&T 14: The Blue Devils should cruise, but after last week’s loss at Charlotte, who knows?
WAKE FOREST 56, NORFOLK STATE 7: The Deacons will have no problem against Norfolk State, which will be playing an ACC team for the first time.
PRO
CAROLINA 28, NY JETS 16: Sam Darnold should enjoy playing against his former team. It’s a game the Panthers need to win.
Sonny Jones can be reached at wibbyj@gmail.com.
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