With a lot of down time during the holiday season the College Football Playoffs and local high school basketball tournaments have proven a great deal of fun for local sports fans.
Saturday provided a great deal of excitement as LSU hosted Oklahoma in one semi-final down in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta before reigning champion Clemson tangled with Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl out in Arizona.
The first game, well, it was a mauling by the Purple and Gold Tigers. LSU, led by Heisman-winning quarterback Joe Burrow, destroyed Oklahoma 63-28. Burrow was 29-of-39 for 493 yards and seven touchdown passes while rushing five times for 22 yards and a score. From start to finish, LSU dominated Oklahoma and Jalen Hurts in every facet of the game in what was a impressive performance.
Down at the Peach Bowl, Clemson put together a late-game four-play, 94-yard championship drive behind quarterback Trevor Lawrence to down Ohio State 29-23. The Buckeyes led early 16-0 before a late surge in the first half put the Tigers back in the game. After the winning drive and a pick of Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields in the end zone to seal the deal, the Tigers punched their ticket back into the title game.
An all-Tigers CFP game was my prediction, though the second game could have went either way. I’ve always pulled for LSU a bit — I just love their colors, uniforms, and passion of the fans. The atmosphere in the real Death Valley is second to none. Hoodie Williams, congrats may man, you are having a season anointed by the hand of God being an LSU and Baltimore Ravens fan, enjoy!
And I’ve never liked Ohio State. They never lose, it’s always someone else’s fault, and that was the reaction by their first year coach Ryan Day and the biased Midwest media after the contest. Anton Moffitt is the ONLY reason I would have been happy if the Buckeyes had won, and that would have been 1 percent of me.
Clemson, well, Marshall and Jennifer Gibson, Angela Brookbank Burgess, congrats and I’m happy for the Orange and Purple Tigers fans. Even Dabo, who I was skeptical about for a long time, has proven me wrong. He’s the real deal, though I can’t help but to think of Barney Fife the entire game when watching that goofy rascal on the sidelines.
So who’s going to win the title? Geaux Tigers, the LSU Tigers. That’s been my pick and I’m sticking with it. They are the complete team, with Burrow at QB, a stable of backs and wideouts, and the best offensive line in the nation. They are also more battle-tested, and the defense is strong in all 11 spots and has a lot of depth.
Can Clemson win? Of course, they expect to win and have that big-game experience. Lawrence is the best talent in college football at the QB position, and the receivers are elite, as is Travis Etienne at running back. The difference in this year’s Clemson team is that they aren’t as good on the offensive line, particularly in the tackle spots, and the defensive front seven isn’t as good. Are they talented? Yes, just not as experienced and with less depth. You can’t lose so much talent to the NFL in consecutive seasons and not expect a drop off. It’s impossible for any program.
But the bottom line is that Clemson is still there, and LSU will have to earn it and win it on the field. And there is something to be said for a team being overlooked the entire year especially when they are the reigning national champions. So get the popcorn ready for this one, it’s going to be a good one.
Locally, the high school basketball tournaments continue to deliver. The Northwood boys were unbeaten last week before falling 79-63 in the Chargers Classic finals to 4A Apex Friendship and Jordan-Matthews alum and former coach P.J. Lowman. But coach Matthew Brown certainly has to be pleased with the effort of his Chargers and the Northwood student body certainly showed up as well to support their squad at the event.
The Chatham Charter girls also won their first ever Chatham Charter Winter Slam tournament title in Siler City on Saturday night under coach Jennifer Dameron with an impressive rout of North Moore. Morgan Lineberry was named MVP for the Lady Knights and continued a strong junior campaign.
In the nightcap, Chatham Central, a late entry due to a withdrawal, took on unbeaten Chatham Charter in the boys’ finals. Now these two teams weren’t slated to meet one another after quite the budding rivalry in recent years when they were in the same conference. So needless to say, there was a lot of buzz and excitement surrounding this contest. And it delivered.
In overtime, Chatham Central took a 70-64 triumph over Chatham Charter. Michael Moore, the top player in the county, was named MVP for the Bears, while Jordan Hamilton of Chatham Charter, the best true post player in the county, also turned in a stellar performance in a contest that even exceeded expectations in front of a packed house.
Also, coach Cameron Vernon’s Lady Chargers were scheduled to battle 4A Apex Friendship for the Chargers Classic Tournament title in the girl’s bracket on Monday night, and let’s hope Northwood comes out on top this time against the Patriots.
Speaking of tournaments, Northwood and Chatham Charter have done first class jobs hosting the events. It would be great to see a tournament in the future featuring all the Chatham County squads, boys and girls, and Northwood has expressed interest in it.
And it could happen. Jordan-Matthews has been a part of the Asheboro Courier-Tribune Christmas Invitational Tournament for 29 years, but how solid that tournament is after long-time director Dennis Garcia stepping down remains to be seen. Also, rumors have swirled about Uwharrie Charter being a choice to replace the Jets to make it an All-Randolph County event, which of course would free J-M up if that were to happen.
So don’t sleep on a Chargers Classic in the future with Northwood, Jordan-Matthews, Chatham Central, Chatham Charter and Woods Charter. And let’s not forget Seaforth High School coming around in 2021. That would add a sixth team, and certainly level the playing field a great deal considering Northwood would go from a projected 1,500-1,600 enrollment to closer to 800, which Seaforth taking the remainder.
That would allow for two other teams and North Moore, Union Pines, Carrboro and Apex Friendship are names that could fill out the remaining pair of slots in what would be an exciting event for Chatham County indeed.
