LAURINBURG — The second week of high school football saw the Sandhills Athletic Conference come out on the losing end with five losses and only three wins.
The losses come from the usual suspects Lumberton, Hoke and Jack Britt along with Seventy-First and Richmond. Two weeks in and a dividing line already seems to be forming.
Keep in mind, the SAC-8 Power Rankings are based on how the team’s are performing this season — not how they’ve done over the past five years.
As always, if you don’t like where I slotted your team, we can have a discussion about it via phone, e-mail, or social media — but please, leave the pitchforks at home.
Without further adieu, here are my rankings entering Week 3.
1. Purnell Swett (2-0)
The Rams rallied in the second half from a 6-3 deficit against Ashley (1-1) to score 28 unanswered points to remain undefeated.
Purnell Swett’s defense collected four fumbles to set up three touchdown runs by Al’Drique Thompson. This rushing onslaught comes a week after quarterback Luke Oxendine threw for 293 yards for five touchdowns.
Jon Sherman appears to want to keep defenses guessing with what type of offense he will run from week-to-week. The Rams have a very winnable game this week against Douglas Byrd (0-2) which would move them to 3-0 for the first time since 2009.
Next up for Purnell Swett: a home game against Douglas Byrd.
2. Scotland (1-1)
The Scots showed flashes of the team they could be by the end of the year against Hillside (1-1).
The offense posted 322 total yards as they returned to the run game in the second half of Friday’s game to pick up the fourth quarter win over the Hornets. Senior Zamir White had 13 carries for 122 yards and three touchdowns while junior Syheam McQueen had seven carries for 99 yards and a touchdown.
The defense swarmed Hillside’s quarterback and recorded nine sacks — it could have been double digits but Hillside’s Randy Trice Jr. proved to be very elusive.
Once the dropped passes and holding penalties are eliminated the Scots will be an unstoppable force.
Next up for Scotland: a road game against Marlboro County.
3. Pinecrest (2-0)
The Patriots offense came to play against Gray’s Creek (0-2) under the direction of junior Greg VanSteen. In his second game at quarterback, VanSteen threw four touchdowns on 18 passes for 308 yards.
Pinecres took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, which they followed up with 21 points in the second quarter to outscore Gray’s Creek, 35-6. Pinecrest’s defense gave up 304 yards of total offense and one touchdown to the Bears. The Patriots scored one final touchdown in the fourth quarter courtesy of their second-string players.
SAC-8 fans will have an apples-to-apples comparison of how the Scots and Pinecrest will match up as the Patriots host Durham Hillside on Friday.
Next up for Pinecrest: a home game against Durham Hillside.
4. Richmond (1-1)
There wasn’t enough Raider Magic in all the land that could have helped Richmond on Friday against Wake Forest (2-0), the reigning 4AA state champions.
The Cougars scored three unanswered touchdowns and a field goal in the first two quarters. A fourth touchdown in the third quarter put Wake Forest ahead 31-0 before Richmond quarterback Caleb Hood tossed a 72-yard pass to Jahyee Stanback.
Wake Forest scored one more time in the third quarter to secure a 38-13 win, despite a fourth quarter score by the Raiders.
Next up for Richmond: a road game against Pine Forest.
5. Seventy-First (1-1)
Seventy-First handed former conference rival Cape Fear (2-0) a win on Friday, after they failed to capitalize on three turnovers by Cape Fear.
The Colts scored 15 points in the first quarter before putting up goose eggs the rest of the game. Seventy-First mounted a second-half comeback scoring six points in the third quarter and eight in the fourth. The Falcons pulled within a point of Cape Fear, but the Colts defense shut Seventy-First down.
The final defensive stand was led by Cape Fear quarterback Justice Galloway-Velazquez, who was filling in at linebacker. Galloway-Velazquez stuffed Falcons running back Fabion Jones for the win.
Next up for Seventy-First: a road contest against E.E. Smith.
6. Hoke (0-2)
Hoke and South View (2-0) combined for five turnovers in their non-conference game. The Bucks kept pace with the Tigers during the first half down by one at halftime, 14-13.
Double digit third and fourth quarters allowed South View to pull away capitalizing on three fumbles by the Bucks. South View also had double the number of first downs as Hoke, 24 to 12.
To go along with three fumbles, Hoke quarterback Kevin Thorpe threw two interceptions — making a second-half comeback impossible.
Next up for Hoke: a road game against Westover.
7. Jack Britt (0-2)
Despite out gaining Terry Sanford (2-0) in total yards 308 to 202, two interceptions, penalties and a muffed punt return spelled disaster for Jack Britt in a 21-0 loss to the Bulldogs.
After a blow-out loss to Pinecrest last week, the Cougars are going to be playing with a chip on their shoulder. If the Buccaneers don’t get a win soon it’s going to be an uphill climb for them to have any chance at making it into the playoffs.
Next up for Jack Britt: a home game against Gray’s Creek.
8. Lumberton (0-2)
When it rains it pours.
The Pirates fell to Westover (1-1), 20-15, in the final 12 seconds of their game. Lumberton had a 15-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter that quickly evaporated as their offense and defense fell apart.
Lumberton takes on South View this week, a team that is making the rounds in the SAC-8 with a 2-0 record defeating Jack Britt in Week 1 and Hoke in Week 2.
Next up for Lumberton: a home game against South View.
Amber Hatten can be reached at 910-506-3170.