The NEW 6 so far

The last few years the NEW 6 3-A has proven to be one of the best football conferences in the state.

This year seems to be no different. Now that the non-conference portion of the schedule is over let's look at the conference.

Fike - 5-1 Stung tonight by the Beddingfield passing attack Fike loses for the first time 34-28

Rocky Mount- Having played in the Eastern Finals last year everyone around the state is aware of the Gryphons.

Nash Central - Having lost their first game of the season to Tarboro, people are not paying attention to the Bulldogs. They have not lost since that opener.

Unlike Rocky Mount, which discovered the ineligible player problem in Nash County, Nash Central had to forfeit two games, but on the field it's 5-1.

SouthWest Edgecombe- Like Nash Central, the Cougars lost their first game and stand 4-1. You need to remember that SouthWest played its first game of the season at West Craven, which is still undefeated. West Craven had already played one game when it met the Cougars, so that was a LARGE advantage that night.

Southern Nash - The Firebirds are up one week and down the next. They have been up more than down at sport a 3-2 record.

Northern Nash - A couple of blowout losses in the first couple of games but the Knights continue to improved each week. The last two games went to the wire with a chance to beat Bertie at Bertie and last week's last-play victory over Southern Vance. Northern stands at 1-5.

The conference has an overall 24-10 record on the field as conference play cranks up next week. Northern is holding five of the ten losses.

Fike, Nash Central, Rocky Mount and SouthWest Edgecombe are 20-4 in games played on the field. This championship might not already be sewn up for the Gryphons.

Strength of schedule is very important when preparing for conference play. Looking back at the Gryphons' six opponents record to date..... East Forsyth, J.H. Rose and Hertford County have a combined 11-4 record in their games not involving the Gryphons.

Rose lost tonight at home to West Craven 29-6. West Craven is unbeaten in 3-A play and very well may challenge for the No. 1 seed in the 3-A eastern bracket when the playoffs roll around.

The other end of the spectrum are Southern Wayne, Wilson Hunt and Northern Vance. They are a combined 4-11 when playing some one other than the Gryphons.

That makes our overall record of the teams on our schedule a combined 15-15. That's not bad
even though a couple of teams were not very good in our six games so far.

You know one of the reasons that the conference started rotating the schedule was because the way the conference football has played out in the first three years of the league. Rocky Mount and SouthWest have pretty much played for the championship the first week of conference play.

That's why we are playing Northern Next week, not at the end of the season. They rotated every team up one game in the schedule cycle.

So what has that caused? Next week, SouthWest plays host to Fike and then SouthWest entertains the Gryphons. The Cougars get the two of the top NEW- 6 teams at their place the first two conference games.

The last time the Gryphons went to Pinetops, they got beat on a Monday night 21-16.

In fact, all three games with SouthWest during the regular season have been played on a Monday night. All have been decided by a touchdown margin or less difference every time, except their first NEW 6 tilt (24-7, RM).

The first two weeks will tell us a lot about who might be the conference champion or either we will have to wait until the first Friday night in November.

Fike's loss tonight drops a potential undefeated team out of the running for the No. 1 seeding at the end of year. That is, of course, assuming some one will stay unbeaten all year long.

Right now, the unbeaten teams looking for the No. 1 seed in the east are West Craven, Beddingfield, which beat Fike tonight, but which earlier this year lost to Nash Central. They got that lost back after Nash Central had to give up the game on the forfeit, Rocky Mount and Eastern Alamance.

If all those teams end up unbeaten, a drawing will be held between the four teams to determine the top four seeds.

As the conference play unfolds, all four of these teams should be the first scores you look for if you are worried about seedings for the playoffs.