North Carolina Football Association (NCFA)

Week 7 of the NCFA saw some surprising upsets and two teams making their dominance of the league known.

 

Salisbury beat Burlington back in week 5 to become the only undefeated team and they showed their stride this week beating 4-2 Charlotte 40-3.  It was in some ways a sloppy game for the Popes losing 4 of 6 fumbles, but it made no difference as they knocked out the Clippers starting quarterback Royce Scott and then picked backup Walter Carson 4 times returning two of these for TDs.  Carson would end the day 9/31 for 134yds with 4ints and 2 fumbles.  The rest of the Salisbury attack was David Harley, who racked up 108yds on 29 carries with 1TD.  Van Egger struggled for consistency hitting only 14/31 for 214yds, but this was a day for Popes defense and a day that made Popes fans everywhere very happy.

 

Kinston has consistently been the best team to not make the playoffs.  They've been to the playoffs twice over the past 8 years both times as division champs, but they've failed other years when they were often favored.  So sitting at 3-3 going into a struggling but dangerous Asheville it should come as no surprise that the Eagles blew a 13-3 lead in the 4th quarter and now sit at the bottom of the Coastal divison 3-4.  But it does always surprise.  Luckily for Joe Maryland his Tourists were able to turn their fortunes around in this game and come up with some big plays when they needed them.  The biggest boost came from the running game where Brett Stinson racked up 86yds on 28 carries and Scott Buck chipped in another 36yds.  Asheville has struggled on the ground since Marshal Moss's age started to show last season and this is really the first solid running game we've seen from them.  There is also the matter of Asheville's defense who has struggled for the past three seasons to keep anyone under control, but they managed to silence Kinston in the second half of this game giving Erik Waters all that he needed to make a comeback. 

 

In a surprise blowout Durham beat Greensboro 31-9.  It's a surprise simply because Robert Walker's Patriot teams are known for playing games close, but this was one game where their defense never was able to get any control of Durham.  Nate Mustoe had sat on the Durham bench for a few weeks but came back strong in this outing going 17/34 for 261yds and 2TDs while Hal Workman (the surpise running back of the year) managed 106yds on 33 carries with 2TDs.  Durham also played solid defense when backed up and managed to not only keep Greensboro quiet but to help setup the offense forcing 4 turnovers.

 

For the first four weeks Burlington didn't seem to be themselves.  Then they lost to Salisbury and ever since it has been a Bees team born anew.  This week they destroyed Winston-Salem 57-10 as Thaddeus Schlotter threw 6TDs with only 16 completions on 25 attempts.  Greg Caufield also had a strong performance with 115yds on 22 carries.  Burlington's defense also looked strong making 4ints against the Twins hope for the future James Martin who went a weak 20/45 for 184yds with 1TD and 4Ints. 

 

The real upset of the week has to be Raleigh going to Rocky Mount and beating the Leafs 20-17.  Rocky Mount started the season 5-0 and looked unbeatable but now they've lost two in a row and many fans are starting to wonder what will happen next.   They still remember 2004 when the Leafs started the season 6-0 and finished 6-6.  It's hard to say exactly what happened to Rocky Mount to make them lose this game.  Play was certainly sloppy in the second half, but it was sloppy on both sides of the field.  Maybe it was just that no matter how bad Marcus Musson can look if you keep on and keep on giving him opportunities to make plays he will make a few and they will cost you.  This is certainly how the game played out as Raleigh hit the winning field goal with time running out.

 

 

Another upset though not as great was Wilson beating Gastonia 24-13.  Gastonia has been everyones pick as the 3rd best team in the league all season, and at times they have looked it.  But the rest of the time they look like the 3rd worst team in the league and that was the story of this game.  Luckily for Wilson Hyde showed up to play for the Pirates in the second half and Wilson completely blew the game apart.  Wortham Wainright had a huge game for the Tobs with 155yds and a TD on 8 receptions.  Gastonia meanwhile watched their chances fall apart in the 2nd half as Wilson shut down their running game and forced Darrell Sparks into too many long yardage situations. 

 

Next week in the NCFA we see big matchups between Charlotte and Gastonia, Rocky Mount and Kinston, and Wilson and Raleigh.

 

Mountain Division

Salisbury 7-0

Charlotte 4-3

Gastonia 3-4

Asheville 2-5

 

Piedmont Division

Burlington 6-1

Durham 2-5

Greensboro 1-6

Winston-Salem 1-6

 

Coastal Division

Rocky Mount 5-2

Raleigh 4-3

Wilson 4-3

Kinston 3-4

 

coaches who could be in trouble

 

Joe Maryland at Asheville could be in serious trouble if he's unable to turn things around at Asheville this year.  This is his 6th season at Asheville where he came into the season with a 29-30-1 record with two wild card births.  Last in the mountain division two years in a row may be tough to bounce back from. 

 

Gavin Rucker at Durham could get the axe after his second season if he doesn't at least end with 4 wins.  Anything less than that would be seen as a step backwards.

 

Larry Hefner could be in trouble at Winston-Salem in his 6th season.  They've been slippling the past couple of seasons and he needs to show an ability to rebuild this team.  He has a record of 31-29 with the Twins and one playoff appearance.

 

Al Woodall managed to win the Coastal division last season but it was with a losing record not something that impressed anyone.  They need to win the division this year, or at least go down fighting in order for Woodall to keep his job.

 

Charles Machu could be in trouble at Wilson if he doesn't improve over his 3-9 record from his first season with the club.  Use to winning it is hard for the Tobs fans and management to handle losing records.