Gaston and Lincoln Playoff Round 2 Picks

Game of the Week: Lincolnton (9-3) @ East Lincoln (11-1)

Whoever worked the 2AA playoff pairings must love Lincoln County Football. Two Lincoln County teams have already played in the first round. Lincolnton beat North Lincoln 14-0 last week and must now play another conference and county rival, East Lincoln. East Lincoln whipped Lincolnton 49-14 earlier in the season and the Wolves are hoping for payback.

Don’t expect the Mustangs to thrash the Wolves like they did earlier in the season, but the Mustangs are poised for the sweep, though.

My pick: East Lincoln 35 – Lincolnton 21

T.W. Andrews (9-3) @ South Point (11-1)

The Battle of the Red Raiders is on tonight. South Point has a pretty solid track record against teams with ‘Raiders’ in their mascot name. They are coming off a 42-6 win over South Rowan in the first round of the playoffs but must turn around and focus on T.W. Andrews, a 36-18 winner over Western Alamance.

The Red Raiders triple-option attack has been hard for opponents to stop. This game will likely be no exception. The Red Raiders defense has also come a long way since the beginning of the season.

Look for FB Aaron Crumbley, QB Desmond Lowery and company to give Andrews’ defense all they can handle.

My pick: South Point 42 – T.W. Andrews 21

Bessemer City (9-3) @ Newton-Conover (11-1)

Bessemer City is coming off a 41-27 shootout win over Monroe while Newton-Conover shredded Graham by a score of 53-7. These two teams have only one opponent in common and that’s East Lincoln. The Red Devils toppled East Lincoln 37-10 at the beginning of the season. That same team walloped Bessemer City 40-0 later on in the year.

None of that means anything in the postseason. The Yellow Jackets ended their regular season with a tie for second place in the Southern Piedmont 2A/1A. The Red Devils finished their regular season with a tie for first place in the Catawba Valley 3A/2A conference. Both teams run similar offenses and run them really well. However, both teams showed signs of weakness on defense at times during the season.

My pick: Newton-Conover 38 – Bessemer City 24

Mooresville (9-3) @ Kings Mountain (9-3)

Kings Mountain started off sluggish against Hickory, but came around to upend the Red Tornadoes in a 24-7 win. Mooresville had to scrape and scuffle in their 21-16 win over Sun Valley. Kings Mountain brings big running game into this match-up with RB’s Chris Chambers and Carlos Bell. QB Michael Roberts is a threat to run and throw. Mooresville’s running game will also be a formidable factor. Mooresville’s RB Jjshawn Pinkston has surpassed the 2,000 yard rushing mark on the season and will be a force for the Mountaineers defense to reckon with. The Mountaineers, however, are no stranger to those kinds of offenses.

My pick: Kings Mountain 42 – Mooresville 35