By CHRIS HOBBS
HobbsDailyReport.com
Previewing tonight’s varsity football games (all statistical references are unofficial totals):
SOUTH FORK 2A
BROWN
HIS RECORDS
330-97-6 at Maiden
22-20-1 at Bunker Hill
13-23-0 at E. Burke
365-140-7
EAST LINCOLN (5-3, 4-0) at MAIDEN (8-0, 4-0), 7:30 p.m.
It’s a big night in The Biggest Little Football Town In The World for at least two reasons — what will happen before the game and which team wins to be either still tied for first place or in sole possession of first place (if North Lincoln were to beat Newton-Conover).
The 90 minutes before the game will be special, as former players and others join retired head coach Tom Brown for a reception. Brown, 74, is being honored as Maiden officially names its football stadium Thomas E. Brown Stadium tonight.
The school’s football stadium at the old MHS carried Brown’s name beginning in 2000 but the new one — first played in (2006) when Brown was still coaching the Blue Devils — will now carry Brown’s name.
He spent 35 years coaching the Blue Devils with 330 of his 365 career wins coming during two tenures at their head coach.
The game should be exciting with East Lincoln going for its sixth straight victory since a 0-3 start, its sixth straight in the series and its third consecutive win at Maiden.
QB Keygan Mayfield will lead Maiden, trying to reach nine wins for the 32nd time in the school’s varsity football history. The Blue Devils are well on their way to their 30th postseason bid in 32 seasons.
QB Chase Jones has played well of late for the Mustangs, who have won 46 of their last 53 games in a hunt for a 13th straight state playoff bid.
NORTH LINCOLN (2-6, 1-3) at NEWTON-CONOVER (7-1, 4-0), 7:30 p.m.
Two coaching buddies go head-to-head for the first time in this South Fork 2A game on Homecoming Night at Gurley Stadium.
The coaching tenure of Steven Pack, the Knights’ new head coach, includes stints as an assistant on Red Devils head coach Matt Beam’s staffs at Burns and Newton-Conover.
It’s unclear if Newton-Conover’s top rusher — RB Tylor Stinson – will be active or not for tonight’s game. In an inquiry via email about Stinson’s official status, school athletic officials declined comment.
Regardless of the lineup, the Red Devils come in having scored more than 50 points in three straight games, led by Stinson and QB Shamar Baker.
North Lincoln has been competitive because of strong years by QB Reed McRorie and RB Clayton Cribb.
Tonight’s game is the first varsity football Knights-Red Devils game, with Newton-Conover having a chance to post its 22nd season with eight or more wins since 1974. That stretch includes a six-year run of doing that (1984 through 1989).
WEST LINCOLN (3-5, 1-3) at BANDYS (2-6, 0-4), 7:30 p.m.
The Trojans need some wins to avoid missing the state playoffs for the third straight season, which would be their longest span since not getting in for six straight years from 1987 through 1992.
Bandys goes for its 17th straight win in the series and 11th straight over the Rebels at Butler Stadium.
West Lincoln hasn’t beaten the Trojans since 1992 and hasn’t won at Butler since 1988.
The Rebels are led by their running game this season while Bandys has RB Ethan Howard nearing 1,000 rushing yards and is trying to smoothen out its offense with QB Lake Hojnacki in the mix for the third straight game. Hojancki missed the first seven games with a broken collarbone.
Bandys, 7-23 in its last 30 games, leads the all-time series 36-10-1.
West Lincoln, 16-26 in its last 42 games, needs a win to keep postseason hopes alive. The Rebels have reached the state playoffs five times in the previous seven years.
LAKE NORMAN CHARTER (3-6, 0-4) at LINCOLNTON (3-5, 2-2), 7:30 p.m.
If the Wolves want their 18th straight state playoff bid, they’ll probably need to win out.
Lincolnton has been to the postseason every year since 1999, when it was in the midst of a three-year run without a postseason game.
RB Tyshaun Harris leads Lincolnton, which has won at least five games in 16 straight seasons.
Since 1971, the Wolves have failed to win five games only seven times – 1972, 1973, 1984, 1985, 1997, 1998 and 1999.
NORTHWESTERN FOOTHILLS 2A
LEWIS
EAST BURKE (1-7, 0-3) at HIBRITEN (8-0, 3-0), 7:30 p.m.
Hibriten can move into a tie for first place with idle Patton by winning tonight in Lenoir.
The Panthers have again been steady, and they’ve now won 22 of their last 23 games under head coach Clay Lewis.
A victory tonight would make this the 10th Hibriten team to climb to nine wins (since 1966), and the Panthers are heavily favored to get No. 9 for this season tonight.
Hibriten has two straight wins over the Cavs, who have won 12 of the 19 matchups since 1980.
East Burke has struggled — beating only West Lincoln, in overtime – and could end up as the school’s seventh team with two or fewer wins.
DRAUGHN (2-7, 1-3) at FRED T. FOARD (5-3, 1-2), 7:30 p.m.
After their week off, the Tigers get back on the field for a special night at Foard.
They’ll wear pink jerseys with the name of someone who has cancer on the jersey, then present those to the person or family after the game. It’s an effort to raise cancer awareness.
Draughn and Foard are meeting for the first time in varsity football.
It’s the 20th game with Derrick Minor (8-11) calling the shots at Foard, which can reach six wins for the 14th time in the Tigers’ 58-year football history by winning tonight. The first of those teams with six or more wins came in 1967; the last to do it was the 2014 team.
RB Tate Beaver is among Foard’s leaders, both offensively and defensively.
At 2-7, Draughn isn’t likely to make the postseason and will finish with a losing record for the eighth time in nine varsity seasons since the Burke County school opened.
WEST IREDELL (4-4, 2-1) at BUNKER HILL (1-8, 1-3), 7:30 p.m.
The 20th game (since 1981) between the Warriors and Bears is on tap tonight.
West Iredell has won two of the last three battles and in its last three trips to Claremont (2016, 2014, 1999).
The Warriors count among their leaders WR Bernie Briley, who last season played at Bunker Hill. His family moved to Iredell County.
The Bears are coming off a losing streak-snapping victory at East Burke, their second win under David Haynie as head coach.
West Iredell is vying to stop its streak of five straight losing seasons – the Warriors are 7-47 in their last 54 games – and to secure a postseason bid for the first time since 2011. When they did that in 2011, it was their 10th straight playoff year.
The Bears need a win to derail going in the books as the seventh team in school history with one or fewer wins. Five of those seasons have been since 2006.
NORTHWESTERN 3A-4A
ST. STEPHENS (3-5, 2-2) at ALEXANDER CENTRAL (8-0, 4-0), 7:30 p.m.
The Cougars have dominated the series (14-2 since 1981), winning six straight overall and seven straight in Taylorsville.
St. Stephens is coming off a gut-it-out win over Watauga that has kept alive its hopes of reaching the postseason for the 11th time in school history.
K Bryce DeSantis has been a key player for the Indians this season.
QB Gunnar Anderson is at the controls of an explosive Alexander Central offense that also features RBs Devon Weiss and Bryson Godfrey.
The Indians’ only win in those 16 games since 1981 were both at St. Stephens (1982, 2008).
The Cougars have been adding records to their history under head coach Butch Carter, who came over two years ago from South Caldwell and is 15-5 at Alexander Central.
If the Cougars win tonight, they’ll be the fifth team since 1978 in Taylorsville to win nine or more games. They’d join a 1983 team coached by Glenn Wilson, a 2006 team coached by Chris Deal and the 2009 and 2010 teams coached by Tom Harper.
HICKORY (5-4, 2-2) at SOUTH CALDWELL (1-7, 1-3), 7:30 p.m.
The 37th game between the Red Tornadoes and the Spartans is tonight in Hudson.
Could be another big step for Hickory under new head coach Russsell Stone in his 414th career game, as the Red Tornadoes haven’t won six games in a season since 2013 (6-6).
QB Derrien Phillips has had another sterling year, one that could eventually net HHS its first state playoff bid since 2013 (which was the last of 13 straight).
Hickory beat the Spartans last season, snapping their six-game win streak in the series, and leads an overall series that began in 1977 (26-10).
The Red Tornadoes are 9-33 in their last 42 games.
Ten previous South Caldwell teams have won two or fewer games. But as the only other 4A team in the league besides McDowell – and a win over the Titans in hand – the Spartans are headed to the state playoffs.
FREEDOM (6-2, 3-1) at WEST CALDWELL (5-3, 2-2), 7:30 p.m.
From a most-athletes-on-the-field prospective, this could be the best game on tonight’s late.
Freedom QB Jayden Birchfield, a sophomore, is one of the top young players in the Greater Hickory area.
RB Taye Dula, a senior, leads West Caldwell.
The Patriots, 33-11 in their last 44 games, have won five straight in the series and 11 of the last 12.
A win tonight would give Freedom 24 teams with seven or more wins since 1978.
West Caldwell, 15-6 in its last 21 games, needs a win to reach six or more for the 20th time since 1977. A victory would go a long way in providing the Warriors a chance to have their second straight winning season after 12 straight losing records before that.
McDOWELL (1-7, 0-4) at WATAUGA (6-2, 2-2), 7:30 p.m.
A team that won’t make the postseason, McDowell, meets a team that needs to keep winning to get there again.
Watauga has been consistently good under head coach Ryan Habich. Tonight, the Pioneers, 23-10 in their last 33 games, has a chance to collect its 40th win since Habich took over the program five years ago.
All of Habich’s previous four teams won at least eight games, and a win tonight would give him 90 for his career.
QB Anderson Castle and RB Bryce Satterfield lead Watauga.