East, Northeast look to continue streaks

Published 4:58 pm Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Two local teams are on a roll they want to continue. The rest want to change direction.

Northeast Academy and Northampton County High School – East each got wins on their last trip onto the gridiron, but Bertie, Gates County, Hertford County and Lawrence Academy are each looking to bounce back from losses.

Game of the Week: Rocky Mount Academy at Northeast:

Northeast Academy has a chance to get even this week as they take to the gridiron for the sixth time this year. The Eagles come in 2-3 fresh off a win against rival Lawrence Academy.

While they’re riding high, the tough part for the home squad will be the short week. They played Lawrence Monday because of weather concerns from last Friday and turn around to welcome Rocky Mount in a Thursday affair.

The Eagles have several powerful offensive weapons including quarterbacks Brad Johnson and Ryan Williams as well as running back Bo Daniel. That offensive firepower has helped them move the football in every game.

Rocky Mount will look to use the short week for Northeast to their advantage and knock off the home squad.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Northeast Academy.

Northampton-East at North Edgecombe: A year ago, North Edgecombe was one of the two top teams in the Tar-Roanoke Conference and they rolled to a 44-8 win over East.

This year, the Rams are the ones standing atop the league standings with a 2-0 mark. They are fresh off an upset win over defending champion Gates County and looking to continue their two-week run which also includes a win over rival Northampton-West.

North Edgecombe, meanwhile, has stumbled to open league play starting 1-1 after losing to Northampton-West.

East standout quarterback Evans Grant will look to keep his team on pace in the conference standings and move to 3-3 overall.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Leggett.

Currituck at Hertford County: Thus far this season it has been an unusual year for both schools.

Currituck will enter Friday’s contest unbeaten in the Northeastern Coastal Conference after thumping Pasquotank County High School. They are 5-1 overall. That’s unusual for a team that has struggled much of the past decade, but the Knights have things clicking on all cylinders now.

Hertford County, meanwhile, is the perennial league heavyweight, but the Bears have struggled to open the season and currently sit 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the league.

The Bears got a 100-plus yard performance from senior running back Aaron Thomas despite falling to Edenton last week and will look to continue to improve on that success.

Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Bear Stadium.

Bertie at Northeastern: Bertie is coming off a tough 29-28 loss to Pasquotank County High School Monday and have the task of facing league favorite Northeastern Friday back in Elizabeth City.

The Falcons have struggled at the start of league play, dropping back-to-back outings, but will look to pull off the huge upset as they meet one of the league’s top teams.

Northampton-West at Gates County: The Red Barons will be looking to get things headed back in the right direction Friday as they welcome their second straight Northampton County team.

Gates County defeated Weldon in the opening week of league play, but fell to Northampton-East last week.

The Barons have one of the region’s top runners in DaShawn Stokely and will look to get back on track by beating the Hurricanes who are also 1-1 in Tar-Roanoke play.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. in Gates County.