While the state’s two longest winning streaks stayed intact both the Patriots and Cougars didn’t exactly look dominate which has to have their future opponents feeling some hope as they look at the schedule.

Head coach Tom Knotts said he was “embarrassed” by the Patriots effort in their 17-6 win over West Charlotte at Memorial Stadium. The biggest challenge for Knotts and his staff will be convincing this talented team that they can be beat, before it actually happens. If the players will bring themselves back to reality, they should be able to return to the high powered offensive machine that Knotts is known for coaching. The plus out of this game for Independence was the defense, which really only gave up the one big play resulting in West Charlotte’s only touchdown. And give the Lions credit, for going toe to toe with the Patriots and not letting the score get out of control. It will be very interesting to see how the Patriots fare in their home opener against West Meck.

Charlotte Catholic escaped their season opener at South Meck with a 15-8 win. Ben Herlocker was his usual stud self and the defense came up big to move the winning streak to 33. The Cougars play at Myers Park this week, and the Mustang’s have to be licking their chops and Coach Jim Ruark always has his team ready to go. I’m expecting a great game at Myers Park.

Some of the best high lights we had last Friday night came from Vance freshman quarterback Anthony Carothers who threw for 185 yards and four touchdowns in Concord against the Spiders. Look for E.Z. Smith to refocus his team as the Spiders play at Northwest Cabarrus and Vance steps onto another big stage as they travel to Providence for the Panthers opener.

The Ashbrook Greenwave looked impressive to me in person on Friday night in their 39-14 win over West Meck. Patrick Hall ran wild for 149 yards on 14 carries and 5 touchdowns, in just 3 quarters of work. The new dark green helmets also look very sharp.

Freedom at Shelby and Burns at Crest will also be some big match ups in Cleveland County this coming week. Gaston County will also host a huge game with Lincolnton playing at one of the best home field atmospheres that I have seen, Lineberger Stadium at South Point High School in Belmont. The Wolves are 1-0 after beating St. Stephen last week and the Red Raiders will be looking to prove something in their opener.

On stat patrol, Anson County hosts Gastonia Forestview and it will be fun to see how RB Michael Bowman follows up his 243 yard, 3 touchdown effort as the Bearcats host the Jaguars.

It’s going to be a great week and we’ll have you covered. We’ll bring you the highlights first on the Friday Night Blitz at 11:15 on WCNC-TV and .com. In the meantime, feel free to drop me a line!
Ira