Durham Riverside (0-2)

at Chapel Hill (2-0)

Riverside found some offense last Friday, coming up with 272 total yards. Of that, 225 of came from Darius Smiley. Expect him to draw lots of attention from Chapel Hill’s front seven, who’ve been exceptionally effective in both of the Tigers’ wins. Twice they’ve come up with goal-line stands in late-game situations.

On offense, the Tigers will take whatever the defense gives them. Quarterback T.J. Johnson has all-conference receiver in Alex Duncan, but he’ll run whenever needed. .

Orange (2-0)

at Carrboro (2-0)

Orange may be the most improved team in the Triangle. The Panthers were 6-6 last year, but now seem to be reaping the benefits of returning a flock of all-conference lettermen. But the same is true for Carrboro, which likewise is deep in experienced players. This one may come down to which tea, commits the fewest errors.

A 2A team going against a bigger 3A school, to be successful, Carrboro needs to handle Orange’s pass rush, led by linebacker Jalen Pittman, and contain Panther running back Patrick Pettiford.

Cedar Ridge (0-2)

at East Chapel Hill (1-1)

In the preseason, East Chapel Hill coach Bill Renner said that, to have a good year, his team had to do beter against the “3 Cs” – Chapel Hill, Cedar Ridge and Carrboro. East played its closest game in years at Chapel Hill last week before losing 19-6. If the Wildcats can eliminate the mistakes that cost them at CHHS, they’ll give Cedar Ridge all it an handle. The Red Wolves likewise must stop shooting themselves in the foot to have a chance in this one.

Jordan-Matthews (1-0)

at Northwood (1-1)

The Jets have been Northwood’s bête noire for years, using their fabulous speed to bedevil the Chargers’ secondary. Now it may be Northwood’s turn. The Chargers converted to a Flexbone option offense, like Georgia Tech’s double wing – full of feints and fakes and misdirection. After a poor start against East Duplin, Northwood got the new offense into gear last week in a decisive win at Southern Lee.

Player of the week

Darius Allen

Chapel Hill, Jr., RB.

CHHS running back Darius Allen seems to be getting up to speed. He rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns in 3A Chapel Hill’s 19-6 victory over 4A East Chapel Hill last week

Coach speak

“We need to establish our running game right away. We cannot wait until the second half to get started. We need to get Darius Allen at least 25 touches a game.”

Issac Marsh

Head Coach, Chapel Hill