Friday football brings tough opponents

Published 10:01 am Thursday, September 3, 2015

Prince Edward and Buckingham both have interesting games coming up this Friday night for different reasons.

The Eagles walloped Windsor last Friday and will look to keep that momentum going against Altavista, which is coming off of a loss at Central of Lunenburg.

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The Knights will get another playoff-caliber opponent this week in Chatham and after a tough loss to Appomattox, Buckingham will need to get its offensive woes worked out prior to facing tougher opponents in the future.

Prince Edward vs. Altavista

Altavista was riding a 25-game winning streak when it lost to Central of Lunenburg last week. Altavista lost a ton of talent from the previous year, but it stills have the offensive firepower to be a threat to any opponent this year.

Gone is All-State player Juan Thornhill, but sophomore quarterback Jacob Adams has some talent through the air and on the ground. Mateo Maulbeck and Nelson Dews are both running and receiving threats for Altavista.

The Colonels were outscored by Central, and Prince Edward will need to use a similar formula to pull off an upset this weekend.

The Colonels’ defense is not as stout as last season and Prince Edward has to have a big offensive night like last Friday, because Altavista is going to put points on the board.

Buckingham vs. Chatham

The Chatham Cavaliers should be fighting for a playoff spot this year for the second season in a row. After a 5-5 year in 2014, the Cavaliers return 20 seniors out of 29 players on the team.

They will feature an offense that likes to pass and will rely on quarterback Kalure Preston and a group of skilled players led by Rae Giggetts. The defense is senior laden as well with Hunter Crews and Zach Lacks back as the leading tacklers.

The Knights have a talented team and big expectations, but after some offensive struggles in scrimmage games and only scoring seven points in a loss to Appomattox last week, they will look to get that side of the ball going.

The move of Leon Ragland to running back was supposed to bring in more talent to the Knights’ backfield, but they have not been able to get on track yet. Chatham should be a good test for the team this week.

Two of the area’s high school teams will be off this week as Cumberland enjoys an extra week of practice following its big season-opening win over Charles City last Friday. The Dukes will return to action on Sept. 11 at home against Bluestone.

The Fuqua Falcons will also be off this week after a big win over Greenbrier Christian last Friday night. The Falcons will be at home on Sept. 11 against Fishburne Military Academy.