Area teams hit road
Published 12:00 am Thursday, August 25, 2005
Only one area football team has the nickname Warriors, but five of them will be road warriors this weekend.
Northeast Academy, Northampton-East, Lawrence Academy, Hertford County and Bertie will all take to the road for the second week of the gridiron campaign. All except HCHS will be looking for their first win on the road.
The toughest game of the night is expected to be in Wilson where the Bears of Hertford County pay a visit on R.L. Fike’s Golden Demons.
Coach Greg Watford’s club handled Kinston with a late flurry, going on to a 41-27 victory after holding a tentative 28-21 lead in the second half. Fike meanwhile will be opening the 2005 season when Hertford County pays a visit.
Fike is coming off a 12-2 season last year while Hertford County was 9-6. The Bears, however return nine starters while the Golden Demons only boast of five returners.
Down the road in Greenville, a traditional rivalry will continue when Bertie pays a call on J.H. Rose.
The rivalry may not be as strong as when the Falcons snapped Rose’s 26-game regular season winning streak in their first meeting or when Roy Bond’s club rallied from a one-point halftime deficit at Rose to win three years later, but the fuel is still there.
The Rampants are the defending state champions, but are not projected to be as strong this season. The Falcons, who were forecast by many as having a down year, played a strong game last week against defending 3-A eastern champion James B. Hunt. The Falcons will look to break into the winning column after losing that game 14-6.
While Bertie and Hertford County will be making relatively close trips, the other three area teams may need to pack dinner.
Lawrence Academy is heading to Fayetteville where they will pay a visit to Fayetteville Christian. The Warriors are coming off a disappointing season opener in which they were shutout 35-0 by perennial power Harrells Christian Academy.
They will look to rebound against a club that is still trying to catch its stride at the eight-man level.
Another tough road trip will be in store for the Rams of Northampton-East. The Creeksville-based squad suffered a disappointing 50-12 setback last week at Roanoke and will have their hands full against a 4-A team like Southeast Raleigh.
Coach H.B. Harris has promised to pull out all the stops as the Rams attempt what would be one of the biggest upsets of the night.
Northeast Academy’s season didn’t start as the Eagle faithful had hoped, suffering a 66-0 loss to the state’s most powerful team in Trinity Christian.
The Eagles will have the chance to meet a squad they are likely to be able to compete with Friday when they pay a visit to Wake Christian School. The Bulldogs are a perennial power in the eight-man ranks, but do not seem to be as strong this season.
NEA will be looking to pull the upset as they make the trip to Wake County.
All games are scheduled to kickoff at 7:30 p.m.