THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 9, 1994 TAG: 9410070242
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 31 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
My, how things have changed in the Albemarle Conference this year. Teams that are traditionally down are up. And some teams that are traditionally up are down. At least that's how it looked through the first six weeks of the season.
Usually the top four teams from the conference make the 1A state playoffs. This year, only three teams are going to the ``big dance,'' so each conference win is of great importance.
The biggest surprise so far has been Camden. The Bruins had not won a conference game since 1990 when the 1994 season opened. Now they are vying for one of the three 1A playoff spots. It took a big loss to non-conference opponent Chocowinity to show the Bruins how good they really were, however.
``The last two weeks we have come out and played fired up,'' said Camden head coach Scott Jones after the Bruins dumped Gates County 32-6. ``We learned our lesson at Chocowinity.''
Every week is a new adventure for the Bruins and with every win the confidence is building.
Gates County, on the other hand, has been disappointing under new head coach Clark Harrell. The Barons reached the 1A playoffs each of the last three seasons under former head coach Donnie Kiefer, but have failed to win a game this year. Some Albemarle Conference coaches have said it's payback time for the Barons, who racked up some big wins over the last three years.
Another disappointment has been Perquimans, which was expected to contend for the conference title but came out flat losing three straight games, including two in the conference. Last year's conference champs are reeling both physically and mentally.
``We are not in a good state of mind,'' said head coach Harrell Thach after the Pirates' 31-21 loss to Northampton East.
Another surprise so far has been Weldon. The Chargers already have as many wins this year as they did all of last year (four) and knocked off Perquimans to open the conference season. Weldon has a legitimate shot of reaching the playoffs after going 2-4 in the conference last year and figuring to place fifth in the pre-season coaches poll.
Northampton East, usually strong, is back again with another quality team.
The jury is still out on Williamston. The Tigers, predicted to finish first in the conference, have had a Jekyll and Hyde showing so far. Williamston looked awful in an opening-day loss to Roanoke, then came back the next week and beat Edenton-Holmes, a larger school.
Some key matchups to watch the rest of the way will be Williamston at Weldon and Camden at Northampton East on Oct. 21, and Camden at Perquimans and Northampton East at Williamston on Nov. 4. ILLUSTRATION: THE LINEUP
Here are the games being played Friday
Manteo High at Currituck
Columbia High at Jamesville
Northampton West at Perquimans County
Hertford County at Southwest Edgecomb
Northampton East at Gates County
Northeastern at Rocky Mount
Bertie County at Southern Nash
Weldon at Camden County
by CNB