NEW 6

Winning the conference championship automatically gives the conference champion at least to homes games, if not more in the playoffs.

Regardless of how the non-conference part of any team's schedule goes, those last five games of the season are everything.

SouthWest Edgecombe's loss on Monday night to West Craven means that four of the six conference members lost their first game.

I know you are not suppose to do this, but we can get some idea of what kind of team Wilson Fike has this Friday night (scratch that - that game has be moved to Thursday) it hosts Hunt.

I like what I saw of Fike during the scrimmages at the jamboree, which was held at Rocky Mount.

You know, since the schedule change, Fike and Rocky Mount could clash for the conference championship the last game of the season.

Every team will play at least five games before conference play starts and one loss the first week of the season is not a disaster for anyone.

SouthWest played their first game of the season at West Craven, which was at home and playing its second game of the season. Don't count SouthWest out just yet because West Craven is always around when the playoffs start.

There is an old saying that teams improve the most between the first and second week of the season.

After you have been knocked around a little bit that first game, teams realize they aren't as good as they thought and pay closer attention to their coaches that second week of practice.

Nash Central came back this past week with a victory after it had taken a shellacking the week before.

Northern Nash improved and found the end zone, but this week they get Tarboro - a team that is giddy over the start it has had this year.

Tarboro has outscored its opposition 85-7 in its first two games.

I think most folks in Stanhope feel like the Firebirds let one get away last week against Bunn. This week, Southern Nash will have an opportunity to see if that second-week improvement deal is true.

Fike had the week off and many of its players were at Hunt watching two teams that they will have important games with in Hunt this week and Rocky Mount at the end of the season.

Now back to the home field, in at least the first couple of rounds, if not more depending on who survives the first couple of weeks in the playoffs.

Rocky Mount is 10-5 during the B.W. Holt era in the playoffs.

The Gryphons are 8-3 at home and 2-2 (wins at Gray's Creek, Hertford County) on the road. Where do you want to be when the playoffs start? I think there is a distinct advantage in playing at home during the high school playoffs

As of this minute as I write this on a Wednesday night, Rocky Mount's JVs are still on at home Thursday. No word on moving the varsity game, so I would assume if the weather is too bad Friday, it would have to be moved to Monday.

The Tarboro-Northern Nash game has been changed to Thursday night, as well as Beddingfield at Nash Central. SouthWest Edgecombe will have to travel to Leggett to face North Edgecombe Thursday evening.

This will be my last blog before the Friday night game at Henderson, weather permitting. Will be doing the PA tomorrow night at the Gryphon JV game.

See you there .....