Week 8 Instant Analysis

Week 8 is (mostly) in the books, and we saw plenty worth writing about. We'll have coverage on games from all across the state over the course of the week with measured analysis and accurate statistics.   I don't have the precise statistics here, but I do have plenty of thoughts about some of the state's biggest results. Here, I'm reacting to some of the week's top results in our weekly instant analysis.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Week 8 Instant Analysis</h2>   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Big East 5A/6A Conference Heats Up</h3>   The top four teams in the Big East 5A/6A Conference entered Friday's games with one loss each, all to elite teams (Clayton, Cleveland, Tarboro x2).   More than that, Southern Nash, Northern Nash, Rocky Mount, and Hunt have dominated the bottom of the conference and all entered Friday's games unbeaten in conference play. Rocky Mount handled business against Aycock, scoring 56 in the first half behind its relentless ground attack. Northern Nash did the same, taking a 44-0 lead at halftime behind a 78-yard receiving touchdown by [player_tooltip player_id='1665255' first='Kamren' last='Freeman'] and two rushing touchdowns from [player_tooltip player_id='618689' first='Myles' last='Eatmon'].   But the game of the night in the conference was the back-and-forth slugfest between Hunt and Southern Nash. Southern Nash led in the third quarter and was within three as late as the four-minute mark of the fourth quarter before Hunt pulled away late in a 51-34 win.   Hunt quarterback Mez Harris had another huge game on the ground, scoring three touchdowns in the second half. Despite giving up some big plays early, the Hunt defense stepped up late, capping the win with a pick-six by [player_tooltip player_id='1704824' first='Jamauris' last='Howard']. The Southern Nash rushing game was once again huge, as the talented backfield led by [player_tooltip player_id='1634632' first='Jaden' last='Hartsfield'] and Camron Lyons had five touchdowns in the loss.   The Big East is nowhere near settled, as those top four teams play each other next week. We'll certainly have coverage in the lead-up to that big week.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Southern Carolina 6A/7A Check-in</h3>   The Southern Carolina 6A/7A Conference isn't so much intriguing in that it's wide open, but because it's full of strong teams. Weddington is the obvious favorite, but beyond that, no single-game result would be shocking, and a lot of the games are close.   All three parts of that last statement were proven true on Friday, as Weddington rolled to a 34-7 win, while Sun Valley-Charlotte Catholic ended with an upset, and Porter Ridge-Marvin Ridge ended up being a nail-biter.   [player_tooltip player_id='1321106' first='Kelson' last='Tate'] once again scored multiple receiving touchdowns as highly-rated athlete [player_tooltip player_id='1157260' first='KD' last='Cotton'] made his Warrior debut after transferring in from West Charlotte. The Warriors took a 28-7 lead into the half and coasted the rest of the way.   The stars were out in a tight Porter Ridge-Marvin Ridge game that the Pirates won, 23-21. Raisahwn Elmore had two touchdowns and a couple of long runs for the Pirates, while [player_tooltip player_id='1455237' first='Alex' last='Voss'] had a big touchdown catch for the Mavericks. Ultimately, the Porter Rideg defense won out, as [player_tooltip player_id='1616163' first='Makai' last='Henriquez'] and the Pirate pass rush began to get home. Christian Cathen had a pick-six for the Pirates to extend the lead, and the Pirates held off the Mavericks to win, 23021. Ultimately, a 37-yard first-half field goal from [player_tooltip player_id='791102' first='Ryan' last='Ladimir'] was the difference.   Props to Sun Valley's defense are long overdue. In their last five games, the Spartans have given up just 31 points, 21 of which came to Weddington. Friday, the Spartans picked up their second shutout of the year in a 21-0 win over Charlotte Catholic. Nothing should be surprising in this conference, but the Cougars were the favorites coming in.   The Spartans have made a living this season of playing run-heavy, ball-control offense with running backs [player_tooltip player_id='1169882' first='Zach' last='Cullen'] and freshman Aden Haskins. When the defense plays this well, that usually works.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Unbeatens Go Down</h3>   There were 27 remaining unbeaten teams at the start of the night, so while we weren't guaranteed to see that number shrink, it was likely that a few perfect teams would go down. By the end of the night, the number was down to 24.   I wouldn't really call any of the losses upsets, to be honest. The three teams that went down played tough teams.   R.J. Reynolds, for example, played 5-1 Reagan, a team our <a href="https://prepredzone.com/north-carolina/team-database/">Power Scores</a> algorithm ranks just outside the top 10 in 7A. The Raiders held Reynolds scoreless until late in the first half, building a 21-0 lead in the process. The defense has never been an issue this season, allowing just 75 points in the first six games. [player_tooltip player_id='1201581' first='Jacob' last='Smith'] and the offense have gotten things going in recent weeks, and now the Raiders may be considered the favorites in the Central Piedmont 7A/8A Conference.   In Stanly County, we got a blowout as South Stanly's offense once again stole the show. [player_tooltip player_id='1626301' first='Kaleb' last='Richardson'] threw multiple long touchdowns, one to Jasiah Holt and one to Ikey Holt. The Rowdy Rebel Bull defense got in on the action with a fumble returned for a touchdown in a 40-0 shutout.   Seventy-First looks like an entirely different team than the one that struggled early in the season. [player_tooltip player_id='1334992' first='R'maunni' last='Watson'] looks settled in at quarterback as he linked up with [player_tooltip player_id='1346327' first='Jayson' last='Franklin']--one-half of the Falcons' dynamic running back duo-- for a short touchdown. [player_tooltip player_id='653512' first='Shon' last='Pone Jr']., the other half of an elite backfield, scored midway through the second quarter on a long run before Franklin scored again with an even longer scamper.   The Falcons held [player_tooltip player_id='1709591' first='Yoshua' last='McBryde'] in check in the first half, leading 20-0 at halftime, before the St. Pauls RB got going in the second half. Pone would score two more times to lead Seventy-First to a 34-14 win, handing St. Pauls its first loss of the season.   Obviously, I can't hit everything in this one piece, but what did I miss? Who do I need to write about this week? Let me know on Twitter (<a href="https://x.com/whelms21">@whelms21</a>)

Week 8 is (mostly) in the books, and we saw plenty worth writing about. We'll have coverage on games from all across the state over the course of the week with measured analysis and accurate statistics.