MR. PICKEM FOOTBALL GRISSOM'S PREDICTIONS

Week 8 Nov. 20, 2020

Weekly Record: 6-0 Overall 67-21 Featured Games 6-5

Carroll Bulldogs (2-2) Vs Sterlington Panthers (3-2)

For the second week in a row the Carroll Bulldogs find their way into my feature game column. Last week’s performance was one to forget, but the Bulldogs are probably chomping at the bit to get that nasty taste out of their mouths. In the loss to Union Parish the ‘Dogs gave up over 500 yards total offense, a trend that has become very unusual on Renwick St. Coach Alex Washington can attribute that performance to a couple things but he’s not into the excuse-making business and will go back to the drawing board to prepare for another potent offense. Carroll showed signs of their brilliance offensively by accounting for over 300 yards of offense themselves. RB Amareya Greely bounced back from a 200 yard game vs Wossman with another stellar performance against the Farmers. The sophomore finished with 145 yards and 3 scores on just 8 totes in the loss. Defensively, Carroll was not able to corral the vaunted Farmers rushing attack and gave up over 600 yards offense with 400 of those on the ground. If the Bulldogs want to take that next step then they’ll need to improve on that in a hurry.

While 2020 has presented us with some intriguing matchups statewide, some teams are just happy to be playing period! One of those teams is Sterlington. The Panthers had to cancel back-to-back games vs Neville and Wossman due to Covid-19 protocols and I’m sure that coach, Lee Doty is eager to see if his squad still has what it takes to make a run. In their last outing the Panthers destroyed East Beauregard 50-8 in another game that had to be scheduled because if Covid restrictions. The Sterlington defense has been one of the many bright spots on a fairly young team that some expected to be in rebuild mode. Colin Zane-Foy and Ram Foster spearhead a pesky defense that’s given up only 15ppg this season. Former All-Grissom RB Dallas Reagor’s departure left somewhat of a void on the Panther offense but Zach Crain and J’Keldric Miller have stepped in by committee in efforts to keep Doty’s offense in motion.

If the Bulldogs want to win this game, they’ll need to feed Greely a lot more than they did a week ago. He has the size and durability to handle the load as lead back and I’m expecting Coach Washington to realize that moving forward. Senior QB Tony Hollins is the yin to Greely’s yang and can make all the throws which should give the Bulldogs the offensive balance that most teams would love to have. Sterlington isn’t as good as Carroll’s last week opponent, but they will pose a huge threat to the C-Dogs current #6 ranking. Foster serves as the Panthers best player in the secondary and he’ll have help from junior DB Cole Thompson and S Cliff Jones as they try to neutralize Carroll balanced offense. However, it’s hard for me to fathom a team that’s been off as long as Sterlington, coming in hitting on all cylinders. I think a sluggish start will hurt the Panthers and Greely will get it going early, but a touchdown from QB Grant Mangrum to Foster in the final seconds secures the win and Sterlington sneaks away with a win.

Sterlington 28 Carroll 26

***Grissom’s Star of The Game***

Ram Foster: 11 Tackles, 1 Int - 4 Catches, 120 Yards, 1 TDS

Other Games:

5A

Alexandria 37 West Ouachita 14

4A

Bastrop 30 North Desoto 20

2A

#2 Mangham 58 Madison Parish 8

#9 General Trass 41 Rayville 14

Bossier 18 Vidalia 12

1A

#3 Oak Grove 45 #10 Cedar Creek 21

#7 OCS 27 Denham Springs 16

St Fred’s 33 Delhi 6

River Oaks 35 Lincoln Prep 18

Grissom’s Top 10

Week 8

1 Union Parish Farmers (7-0)

2 Mangham Dragons (7-0)

3 Oak Grove Tigers (6-0)

4 Neville Tigers (4-2)

5 Ruston Bearcats (4-2)

6 West Monroe Rebs (4-1)

7 O.C.S. Eagles (5-1)

8 Ferriday Trojans (5-1)

9 General Trass Panthers (4-2)

10 Cedar Creek Cougars (5-2)

Just Missed It: Sterlington, Carroll, Bastrop, St Fred

GRISSOM’S G.O.A.T OF THE WEEK

WEEK 8

(OFFENSIVE)

TREY HOLLY

-UNION PARISH FARMERS-

22 CARRIES, 290 YARDS, 5 TDS

48-18 WIN OVER CARROLL BULLDOGS

GRISSOM’S G.O.AT. OF THE WEEK

WEEK 8

(DEFENSIVE)

GRIFFIN MCGEE

-NEVILLE TIGERS-

7 TACKLES, 1 PUNT BLOCK RETURN FOR TD

38-15 WIN OVER BASTROP RAMS