The Daily Southerner, Tarboro, NC

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July 19, 2011

2011 SEASON

Prep football schedules set

SPORTS EDITOR Calvin Adkins

TARBORO —      Although the threat of NFL lockout is imminent, high school football fans in Edgecombe County can anticipate a full season of Gridiron action as all three varsity high school teams' 2011-2012 schedules have been released with Tarboro and SouthWest playing 10 regular season games each and North Edgecombe nine.

     VIKINGS The defending 2-A state back-to-back champions, the Tarboro Vikings, schedule is a mirror of last years with the exception of Roanoke Rapids in which they dropped due to the NCHSAA mandatory 10-game season. The Vikings dominated the Yellow Jackets for five seasons including playing them twice in 2009 and 2010. Vikings Coach Jeff Craddock said Roanoke Rapids Coach Russell Wienstein, who is coincidentally a former Vikings football head coach, had talked about dropping Tarboro from its schedule before the NCHSAA made the decision to go to a mandatory 10-game season.

    The remainder of the Vikings' opponents are the same as they were last year and the defending champions' schedule appears to be favorable for them to advance to the state playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. Tarboro could breeze through the first six games, however, they shouldn't overlook their date with Northern Nash on Sept. 2 and Greene Central, on Sept. 30. Last year, Tarboro squeaked by both teams in the final seconds of the game and they won by a combined three points. The good news about both of those games is that the Vikings will be at home. If the Vikings get by Northern Nash and Greene Central without a blemish, their first big test could be a road trip to Kinston on Oct. 7. Kinston is one of the top teams in the Eastern Plain Conference.

    Things doesn't get any easier for the Vikings the following week when they go on the road again to play their county rival SouthWest Edgecombe. This game has become one of the most talked about games in the state. In the last two years spectators have over crowed the stadiums to watch the two perennials 2-A powerhouses battle. Tarboro won the battle last year. The Vikings will end the season at home against Farmville Central on Oct. 21 andBeddingfield on Oct. 28.

    COUGARS The SouthWest Edgecombe Cougars may still have a bitter taste in their mouth to its quick first-round demise in the state playoffs last year. Therefore, they may be a little anxious to get back on the field. Over the past years, SouthWest has had one of the toughest schedule barring any classification and the same can be said about this year. Five out of five of their first five opponents are preseason picks to be among the top of their respective conferences.

     The Cougars kickoff the season with a new regular season opponent, Southern Nash on Aug. 19 followed by North Edgecombe, Wilson Hunt, Rocky Mount and then they open conference play with Kinston. After a battle of the first five weeks, they could have somewhat of a break when they travel to Farmville Central, who won only two games last year. That break will not last long because after the Farmville Central game they will travel to Beddingfield — the team that ousted them in the state playoffs last year.After the Beddingfield's game the Cougars will have three games remaining including the their rival, Tarboro.

       WARRIORS The North Edgecombe Warriors have only one game to prepare to play two of the best 2-A schools in the state — the Vikings and the Cougars. The Warriors first game on August 19, is away against South Creek. The following week they will travel to SouthWest and then the next week they will be at home against Tarboro. It has been quite a few years since the Warriors have beaten SouthWest or Tarboro. Although the Warriors have loss convincingly, with the exception of last years 22-14 loss to SouthWest, those games have been somewhat of a booster for North for the remainder of the year. Last year after the Tarboro game, North went 6-0 and outscored their opponents 39-7. North loss the seventh game 19-18 to Gates County. They advanced to the second round of the playoffs where they were defeated by Northampton-West 14-6. North had defeated Northampton 42-8 prior to the playoffs.



SCHEDULES

NORTH EDGECOMBE

08/19 @ South Creek

08/26 @ Southwest

09/09 Tarboro

09/16 @ Southeast Halifax

09/23 @ Northampton-W

09/30 Northampton-East

10/07 KIPP Pride

10/14 @ Weldon

10/21 Gates County

SOUTHWEST EDGECOMBE

08/19 @ Southern Nash

08/26 North Edgecombe

09/02 @ Hunt

09/09 @ Rocky Mount

09/16 Kinston

09/23 @ Farmville Central

09/30 Beddingfield

10/07 @ North Pitt

10/14 Tarboro

10/21 @ Greene Central

TARBORO

08/19 @ Nash Central

08/26 @ Washington

09/02 Northern Nash

09/09 @ North Edgecombe

9/16 @ North Pitt

09/30 Greene Central

10/07 @ Kinston

10/14 @ SWE

10/21 Farmville Central

10/28 Beddingfield

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