If you were waiting for the sign that summer was officially over, it’s here.
It’s high school football season once again. It’s a day where hope springs eternal, everyone is undefeated and dreams of conference and state titles are alive and well in pretty much every locker room. For another day or so, anyway.
Here’s a look at Week 1’s action:
Wake Forest at Clayton
This is the JoCo Sports Game of the Week, with me and Justin Roy on the call. You can listen live tonight at 7:15 on JOCO Country here.
You can check out our season preview on the Comets, and then you’ll start to see why there is some excitement building over there this season.
Knightdale transfer Jonathan Montague is the key addition. The senior quarterback completed almost 58 percent of his passes for 1,713 yards and 14 touchdowns last fall while rushing for 318 yards and 10 scores — and his dual-threat ability gives head coach Scott Chadwick more offensive options than he had in his first season.
Clayton will be looking to avenge a 26-0 loss at the hands of the Cougars last season. Now, I’m a fan of the Massey Ratings, but in Week 1, they’re often not worth the server space it takes to host them. That said, the computer has Wake Forest as a 21.5-point favorite.
Me? I wouldn’t bet on that.
Cleveland at Hoggard
The Rams open their 2023 campaign with a journey down I-40 to Wilmington to face the Hoggard Vikings.
Now, if you read the preview, you know that the Rams have plenty of talent on hand for another run at postseason glory.
The Massey computer has Cleveland as a 10.5-point favorite on the road tonight, and according to MaxPreps (grain of salt always implied there), there are no recent meetings between the sides.
Princeton at South Johnston
Our friends at Curtis Media are broadcasting this game on 102.3, with my friend Chris Edwards on the call.
I love all-county matchups, but this one will come too early for one of these two teams. These schools haven’t met since 2008, and South has won all four recent matchups.
We mentioned the new faces in the backfield in our Princeton season preview, and we touched on the team spirit that’s running through the squad at South Johnston.
The computers have installed the Bulldogs as an 11.5-point favorite.
Corinth Holders at Sanderson
The Martin Samek era gets started tonight as the Pirates sail into Wake County to face Sanderson.
The Massey index has the home team as a 16.5-point favorite, implying that it might be expecting the new-look Pirates to take a while to find their sea legs.
I’ll have an eye on this one, as I haven’t heard a ton about how things are going over in Wendell since writing the preview.
South Lenoir at North Johnston
I pride myself in being fluent in coach speak, so reading in between the lines of the North Johnston preview, I can tell you that head coach Mike Barnett is optimistic about the Panthers’ prospects this fall.
The computer, which clearly doesn’t read JNOW or speak coach, has South Lenoir as a 10.5-point favorite. As Lee Corso might say, “not so fast, my friend.”
I asked a buddy of mine who knows Lenoir County football about South Lenoir, and his response was, “ehhhhhhhh.”
Take that as you will.
Smithfield-Selma at South Garner
Johnston County’s other new head coach, Hancel Phipps, will take the new-look (there’s that word again) Spartans over to South Garner.
The computers have the Titans as a 13.5-point favorite, and it always takes time to implement a new offense — even one as fun to watch as Phipps’ Pistol Wing-T.
SSS is trying to build on last season’s success, so we’ll keep an eye on the Spartans as well.
West Johnston at Harnett Central
West Johnston kicks off its 2023 campaign with a trek to Harnett County.
MaxPreps says that West holds a 10-6 series lead, and the two teams have played each year since 2009. West has won 10 of the last 11, and the Wildcats are a 13.5-point Massey favorite on the road.
Coach Jermaine Harper is hoping his team turns the corner this year, and a win tonight would be a step in that direction.