In the aftermath of week five of the high school football season, every Chatham County team now holds a losing record.
Northwood was the only team to win Friday, which came at the expense of Jordan-Matthews and put the combined county record at 6-12.
But now, what matters for the playoffs are conference records, and only two teams, Jordan-Matthews and Chatham Central, are in the hole in conference play.
Before the county teams take another shot at improving their records and attempt to better their situations in the second half of the season, here’s a recap of Friday’s football action, a preview of next week for each county team, conference standings and the latest football power rankings:
Seaforth
Seaforth (1-2, 1-1) put up a good fight against defending conference runner ups Cummings (4-1, 3-0), but it couldn’t overcome self-inflicted wounds and Cummings’ rushing attack in a 41-20 loss.
Sophomore quarterback Duncan Parker threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns, including a 69-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Max Hinchman, who hauled in 4 receptions for 205 yards and two scores. However, Parker’s two interceptions didn’t help with the Hawks’ efforts to come back in the game.
Cummings also pounded the rock, rushing for 358 yards and five touchdowns on 41 carries. Junior Jaidyn Briskey punched in all five scores and rushed for 198 yards himself.
The Hawks will play at Chatham Central Friday at 7 p.m. in the third ever meeting between the two teams. Seaforth has yet to lose to the Bears since it began playing varsity football, and it looks like it has found something with Parker making plays to Hinchman in the passing game.
The Bears have had trouble stopping teams from doing whatever they want offensively, and fortunately for Seaforth, it also has a solid run game to further expose that. Last year, Seaforth won this matchup, 35-6, behind 217 yards rushing, and the Hawks are very capable of winning in similar fashion.
Chatham Central
Chatham Central (1-4, 0-3) failed to get back in the win-column with a 56-12 loss to Bartlett Yancey (2-3, 2-1).
The Bears completed some long passes throughout the night, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the Buccaneers’ offense.
The key for the Bears in their in-county bout with Seaforth will be to find ways to get in the end zone. Chatham Central has only scored 40 points all season and came up empty in multiple trips deep in opponent territory. Seaforth’s defense, which has been a strength for the Hawks, will be a tough unit to crack, but the Bears could wear them down by stringing together multiple positive plays at a time.
Jordan-Matthews
Following the 48-0 loss to Northwood Friday, Jordan-Matthews (2-3, 1-2) will travel to North Moore (0-4, 0-2) and battle the Mustangs at 7 p.m.
This isn’t the same North Moore program of recent history, but the “run people over” mindset is still alive. The Jets, who have multiple key players out due to injury, will need those filling in for missing starters to step up and play with great physicality.
Northwood
Northwood (2-3, 2-1) became the only county team with a winning record in conference play after the win Friday, and now, they’re looking to continue that success against Bartlett Yancey (2-3, 2-1).
The Buccaneers have had trouble stopping the run this season as they’ve allowed over 300 yards rushing in multiple games. For the Chargers, this game falls right into their offensive strength as their rushing attack has been their most effective weapon all year.
Defensively, Northwood’s defensive line needs to put together another solid game in which it lives in the backfield. Bartlett Yancey hasn’t shown to be very secure with the ball as it lost multiple fumbles against Chatham Central, and the Chargers have been pretty good with forcing turnovers.
Power Rankings
Last week: 1. Northwood; 2. Jordan-Matthews; 3. Seaforth; 4. Chatham Central
This week’s rankings: 1. Northwood; 2. Seaforth; 3. Jordan-Matthews; 4. Chatham Central
Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference standings: 1. Southeast Alamance (5-0, 3-0); 2. Cummings (4-1, 3-0); 3. Northwood (2-3, 2-1); 4. Bartlett Yancey (2-3, 2-1); 5. Seaforth (1-2, 1-1); 6. Jordan-Matthews (2-3, 1-2); 7. North Moore (0-4, 0-2); 8. Graham (0-4, 0-2); 9. Chatham Central (1-4, 0-3)