7-2A Picks for Week 1

Ole Man River · August 30, 2014, 10:21:40 am

The excitement of High School football starts this week. Young and old will be out in forces to support their sons, nephews, friends and grandkids. It's a time of the year that will match any opening day of deer season. What a great time in OMR's life also. I get to do things that I love to do. So on to this week's picks.

Murfreesboro at Strong Tuesday Night
The Rattlers went 5-6 last year and got beat by Mt. Ida 31-6 in the 1st Rd of the Playoffs. Strong went 8-5 and lost to Des Arc 42-8 in the 3rd Rd. Last year Strong beat Murfreesboro 29-12. This game was moved to Tuesday because of the game between Smackover and Junction City. The people of Union County wanted to see that game between 2 of the top teams in the State go at it. But back to this one. The Rattlers was picked to finish this year 4th by the coaches, and they have a good QB coming back to help. Alex Kennedy passed for 1,300 yards last year and will only get better this year. Stong has a monster coming back also. Davante Lovett (6-5 285 lbs) has Louisiana Tech salivating all over themselves. But he's got to get a little help because they are low in numbers this year. Great game to open up with. OMR is going with the Rattlers 26-8

Hope JV at Dierks Thursday Night
The Outlaws finished last year 11-1 and lost to Strong 27-8 in the 2nd Rd. These teams did not play last year. The JV Bobcats will run the same offense and defense as the Sr. High will run, but just not as big and fast. Still a team Coached by Jay Turley will be ready to play. He knows Coach Bennett well and will have his team ready. The Outlaws has Trendin McKinney coming back after a great year of rushing for 1,380 yards and 20 TD'S. He's going to have to take the team on his shoulder because they will be working on a new QB. The Outlaws are picked to win the Conference again this year, and having a huge offense line will help them. OMR is going with the Outlaws 21-14.

Mt Ida at Magazine
The Lions went 8-4 and lost to Bearden 39-0 in the 2nd Rd. The Rattlers went 8-3 and lost to Brinkley 20-17 in OT in the 1st Rd. These two teams did not play last year. WELCOME BACK LIONS. Our conference just got tougher. The Lions are picked to finish 3rd in the conference and there are plenty of reasons why. T. J. Wilson accounted for 1,659 yards and 9 TD'S passing and rushing. He has a good group of RBs and linemen to go with him. Now they will Challenge all the teams to get better. Magazine will bringing in a new QB this year, but will have Billy Yang back. He ran for 733 yards and 11 TDS. This is another good one to be at. OMR is going with Mt. Ida 14-6.

Lafayette County at Hermitage
The Courgars went 2-7 last year and did not make the playoffs. Hermitage went 2-8 and also did not make the playoffs. These teams did not play last year. Both these teams has a lot to prove this year. The Cougars has All Everything Tre Burks. He rushed for 1,669 yards and 14 TDS last year and will probably get more this year. He will need to get help to get his team back to the playoffs. Hermitage is on a 6 game losing streak. But when you have to play teams like Bearden, Junction City, and Rison that's not hard to do. Being not very big will hurt the Hermits, when they try to tackle Burks. OMR is going with the Cougars 48-6

Spring Hill at Bismarck
The Bears went 5-6 and lost to Strong 28-6 in the 1st Rd, while the Lions went 2-8 and did not make the playoffs. These two teams did not play last year. SH will come to this game with a new QB, but will have leading rusher from last year Jacob Crow (500 yards) They are coming in to this game with a 3 game losing streak. The numbers are up and depth will help out a young QB. In the Scrimmage last week with Prescott and Ashdown, they stepped up and played a good game. The Lions are also starting a new QB. But they have Zack Roberts back after rushing for 750 yards last year. They have depth on both offensive and defensive lines which will help out in the heat this early in the season. OMR is going with the Bears 28-14.

Mineral Springs at Fouke
The Hornets went 3-7 and lost to EPC 48-14 last year in the 1st Rd, while Fouke went 7-4 and lost to LR Episcopal 27-21 in the 1st Rd. Fouke won last year 29-8. The Hornets had to win the last game of the season last year to make the playoffs and did it. Now they are wanting to get back to their winning way. They will have to start with a new QB, but will have Cameron Lacy back, rushing for 520 yards and 4 TDS last year. Lack of depth and numbers will hurt them this year. The Panthers are coming off the best season since 2002. But they will be coming in with a new QB also. They will have Tyler Edwards back after rushing for 1,358 yards and 15 TDS. The Panthers are wanting to keep winning and prove to everyone that they will be a force in the 3A this year. OMR is going with Fouke 35-12.

Foreman at Genoa Central
The Gators went 2-7 last year and did not make the playoffs. The Dragons went 1-9 and also did not make the playoffs. The Gators beat Genoa last yeat 46-6. Like a lot of the teams this year, Foreman will start a new QB. Tucker Hall played in the last game of the year after moving up from the Jr. High team. He's got a big line to play behind but a small number as far as team numbers may hurt them as the year goes on. The Dragons got a new coach this year and is looking to turn things around. Phillip Binkley worked at Redwater, TX last year as the OC. Bringing a new offense should help out the Dragons. OMR is going with the Gators 28-14.

The 7-2A Game of the Week
Prescott at Gurdon
The Curley Wolves went 6-6 and lost to LR Episcopal 14-6 in the 2nd Rd, while the Go-Devils went 10-2 and lost to JC 25-6 in the 2nd Rd. Gurdon won last year 42-14. The Wolves are looking for redemption from last year's beat down. The will start a new QB but will have Khaalid Stewart (1,000 yards and 13 TDS) back. In their scrimmage with 4A Ashdown they tied 7-7. They will need to cut down on personal fouls penalties this week, and work hard at doing things right. The Go-Devils will start with a new head coach, Kyle Jackson (his dad is All Time Great Eddie Jackson). He will have to start the season with a new QB also, but will have Jackie Harvell (827 yards and 14 TDS) back. These two teams has a storied history between each other. They used to be in the same conference and had some heated contests, now one is 3A and the other is 2A but it's still the Battle of Hwy 67. I look for this game to be one of the Best in the Area. Low numbers for Gurdon will hurt them early, while Prescott are picked to come in 2nd in the 5-3A. The Tommy Poole led Wolves had a down year (in the Wolf Nation eyes) last year, but will rebound this year. OMR is going with the Curley Wolves 28-13.

So there it is Sports Fans, chime in and let me know what you think. OMR OUT!!!!!

LCC · August 30, 2014, 11:43:11 am

I like the picks.
Hermitage has a running back that may be up there with Burks. Lafayette 41-21
Strong has low numbers and Murfreesboro looked good in their scrimmage. Murf 50-13
Foreman lost 16 or 17 seniors and Genoa is running an offense more suited to them. Genoa 28-21

cuz · August 30, 2014, 01:08:21 pm

Good to here from you OMR, I like your picks, Hermitage does have a great back, though only a soph. he is drawing some attention. Just might be a little closer. Keep them coming and enjoy the season...........

FilmCrew · September 01, 2014, 05:39:32 pm

We're Back!!

I remember the first time we came over to the 7-2A...Do you remember Ol'man? I think we surprised a couple teams.. **ding, ding** Round 2!! I really hope you don't continue picking Mount Ida Ol Man, I like it much more when we don't get any respect in the Conference.

Great picks!!

I can't wait till friday..

tdmaker · September 02, 2014, 10:22:49 am

ok here's mine
murf 26-strong 12

dierks22-hopejv20

mt ida24-magazine 14

l.c. 35-hermits 13

springhill 14-bismarck 14

fouke28- mineral 13

foreman20- genoa 19

prescott34-gurdon20

outlaw2929 · September 02, 2014, 09:10:54 pm

58-24 dierks at half

mhfcharlesi · September 03, 2014, 08:39:33 am

Congrats Dierks on beating Hope's 10th grade and 11th Graders that don't see the field unless its in practice..I see you guys are still dangerous and that offense must be clicking or hope jv defense just couldn't tackle big boy..

outlaws4life26 · September 03, 2014, 09:01:17 am

Quote from: mhfcharlesi on September 03, 2014, 08:39:33 am
Congrats Dierks on beating Hope's 10th grade and 11th Graders that don't see the field unless its in practice..I see you guys are still dangerous and that offense must be clicking or hope jv defense just couldn't tackle big boy..

We would have beat there 8th and 9th graders too but they was saving them for thursdays jr. high game. Dierks offense looked pretty good and not just cause they played jv team. Defense still needs some work in the secondary but besides Murfreesboro, Dierks is not going to see the type of offense we seen from Hopes jv.

Big Boy · September 03, 2014, 09:17:24 am

Quote from: mhfcharlesi on September 03, 2014, 08:39:33 am
Congrats Dierks on beating Hope's 10th grade and 11th Graders that don't see the field unless its in practice..I see you guys are still dangerous and that offense must be clicking or hope jv defense just couldn't tackle big boy..

Yea, I could've gained a few yards on that defense. They had a little speed and one or two boys with some size, but were undersized in the trenches overall. I hope the Outlaws can get something out of this game. The first team offense was never stopped. Defense was a little shaky at times.

Ball Hawk · September 03, 2014, 08:04:22 pm

Quote from: mhfcharlesi on September 03, 2014, 08:39:33 am
Congrats Dierks on beating Hope's 10th grade and 11th Graders that don't see the field unless its in practice..I see you guys are still dangerous and that offense must be clicking or hope jv defense just couldn't tackle big boy..

Smack talk from a chump at Lafayette County......priceless.

mhfcharlesi · September 04, 2014, 09:49:53 am

Oh so we name calling now..Man get out your feelings Hawk..I'm not taking away from the outlaws just stating that given up 30 points to a group that doesn't see the field on Fridays is not a good look..but call me what you like behind the screen..im not gone stoop to that level because that tells me a ton about you..think about it and you'll figure out what im saying..#fearlessfridaythuglol #cricketsinpersonibet

HorseFeathers · September 04, 2014, 10:45:28 am

think it might be safe to assume a top ten 5a school probably has some scrubs that would start at a lot of 2a schools .

mhfcharlesi · September 04, 2014, 10:50:57 am

You right HF but I'm familiar with Hope and most of their real good underclassmen play on varsity level..and Dierks lost a lot and I look for them to still be dominant in 7-2A and they have an outstanding coach that has them ready to compete week in and week out. Just not sure why they gave up so many points to the JV thats my question I wasn't at the game and if you were or anybody were then please feel me in as to why they gave up 30 points. Last year that D was stingy as heck so what happen and I'm sure they will get better and better as the season progresses.

HorseFeathers · September 04, 2014, 10:54:31 am

just seen the score on the scoreboard that night . .but i think dierks had a good size lead at one point. They might have pulled the starters?

mhfcharlesi · September 04, 2014, 11:12:54 am

True I didn't even think about that..thanks for bringing that to my mind

outlaws4life26 · September 04, 2014, 11:28:00 am

Quote from: mhfcharlesi on September 04, 2014, 11:12:54 am
True I didn't even think about that..thanks for bringing that to my mind

I was at the game and Hope jv scored on the first possession went up 6-0 about 8 min later it was 30-6 Dierks on top. Halftime was 58-24 and final was 58-30. Hope scored 24 on Dierks starting Def. Dierks will not give up that many points to many teams this year. Hope played 5 wide most of the night and passed it all over the field. I think the kid's number was 13 from hope caught over 50% of the passes. He was a pretty good athlete. Now back to Dierks defense got 2 10th graders starting at linebacker and only 1 db back from last year. They should get better as the season goes along not to many offenses in 7-2a west throw the ball as much as hope jv did. The run defense should be pretty good got some big d-linemen but wasnt really tested in this game as hope passed 95% of the game.

Big Boy · September 04, 2014, 11:28:28 am

The halftime score was 58-24. The coaches and refs agreed to run the clock the entire second half. So, with the 2nd and 3rd teamers in for Dierks and a quick 24 minutes, Dierks did not score any more points.

Dierks def does have some work to do, particularly in the secondary. I believe that was mentioned in an earlier post. Hope JV had an athletic qb that threw the ball to a couple decent WRs. #13 Munn I believe was the one that was the most dominant for Hope JV. They could get zero going on the ground, but did throw the ball a ton. Hope JV had some good catches and we had some missed opportunities, pass interference penalties, etc. that led to their scores. We will get that cleaned up and be just fine. Go Big Blue!

Big Boy · September 04, 2014, 11:30:48 am

Well Outlaws look like we watched the same game! LOL.

KOJACK · September 04, 2014, 11:42:47 am

Are y'all seriously arguing over how bad you beat Hope's Jv??? Really

outlaws4life26 · September 04, 2014, 11:46:09 am

Quote from: KOJACK on September 04, 2014, 11:42:47 am
Are y'all seriously arguing over how bad you beat Hope's Jv??? Really

Nope if u will go back and read just answered a question that was asked about Dierk's defense

Ball Hawk · September 04, 2014, 11:04:05 pm

Quote from: mhfcharlesi on September 04, 2014, 09:49:53 am
Oh so we name calling now..Man get out your feelings Hawk..I'm not taking away from the outlaws just stating that given up 30 points to a group that doesn't see the field on Fridays is not a good look..but call me what you like behind the screen..im not gone stoop to that level because that tells me a ton about you..think about it and you'll figure out what im saying..#fearlessfridaythuglol #cricketsinpersonibet

No feelings son. I'll snatch ya up quick if that's what you want.

5A JV vs 2A team.......doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the JV team is going to have a few good athletes on the 2A level......I know you are from Lafayette High so I'm sure I'm talking over your head right now.

Oh and hashtags?? Really......wow.