Junious Smith: Football is upon us

We actually have more than two games on this week’s schedule.

Since Hurricane Florence shut down sports and Lenoir County Schools for a couple weeks, it’s been a slow crawl back to normal on the gridiron. Friday’s games will be the first taste of it with the upcoming week providing chaos before stabilization. Most teams are scheduled to play Oct. 2 and Oct. 5 (my birthday), so be prepared for cabin fever to explode onto the field.

For now, let’s look at the three games slated for Friday:

Arendell Parrott (3-1) at St. David’s (4-0)

The Patriots’ last game against the top-ranked team in the NCISAA on the road resulted in a 42-22 victory over Southampton Academy, but the task gets even tougher in Raleigh. The Warriors have outscored their first four opponents 253-61, including last week’s 52-14 thrashing of Rocky Mount Academy. APA has another statement to make here.

Bethel Christian (1-2) at Lawrence Academy (0-3)

This was not the team the Warriors wanted to see, a Trojans squad coming off a 76-18 victory against Community Christian on Sept. 11 and looking to make additional noise. Bethel Christian’s 1-2 punch of Cody Dunk and Josh Sutton twisted the Cyclones and now get to play a Lawrence Academy team struggling to find its footing after being outscored 128-6 in its first three games.

Ayden-Grifton (2-2) at North Pitt (0-5)

It has been three weeks since the Chargers’ 22-0 victory over Farmville Central, so rust could take over against the Panthers. North Pitt got back to action on Sept. 21, albeit with a 45-0 loss to Hertford County, but has played the ECC tough, hanging with Kinston for a bit in a 26-6 loss on Aug. 24 and falling 14-8 to Greene Central a week later in a game where only a quarter and a half was played.