KINSTON (2-2) at GREENVILLE ROSE (4-0)
A longtime traditional rivalry will be renewed tonight in Greenville as Kinston travels to Pitt County to take on an undefeated Rose team. Kinston and Rose played every year from 1970-2004, except for 1999 due to Hurricane Floyd. The Rampants are on a 19-game winning streak against the Vikings, who are coming off a 37-0 shutout to a powerhouse Havelock team.
Rose was 3-7 last year, so a 4-0 start is clearly a turnaround. The Rampants lost to Kinston’s most recent opponent last year when Havelock beat them 48-14. Rose held Rocky Mount to seven points in Week 4, with a speedy Geoffry Williams rushing for 107 yards on 10 carries.
Jessika’s pick: Rose 36, Kinston 13
EAST DUPLIN (1-3) at NORTH LENOIR (0-4)
A couple of former Lenoir County head coaches will return to the area in this matchup: Battle Holley, a former Kinston coach, and Wayne Jackson, a former North Lenoir coach who will be inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame tonight at halftime.
Coming back from a long road stint, the Hawks will play their first home game since the season-opener.
The Panthers were shut out the last two weeks and have only scored 19 points in four games this season. North Lenoir has proved it can score — but the Hawks are seriously lacking defense.
Jessika’s pick: North Lenoir 27, E. Duplin 14
SOUTH LENOIR (1-3) at ROSEWOOD (1-3)
South Lenoir lost a major piece to its offense in last week’s 31-6 loss to Richlands when quarterback Kyle Huffman went down with a head injury. Running back Dion Jones took his place for the rest of the game.
Coach Ken Grantham said Huffman is feeling better, but he was big in the Blue Devils’ first win of the season a couple of weeks ago at North Duplin. If he’s not 100 percent, a good Rosewood team will be hard to fight off.
Jessika’s pick: Rosewood 38, South Lenoir 20
FARMVILLE CENTRAL (3-0) at GREENE CENTRAL (0-4)
This is another big rivalry game as the Rams host Farmville Central tonight. The teams have met every year since 1971, when Farmville Central was formed following segregation; the Rams are 13-29 against FC since then.
Farmville Central is undefeated, as was GC’s Week 4 opponent, Eastern Wayne, which defeated the Rams in a 50-20 blowout.
Penalties have hurt Greene Central since Week 1, and they had 17 last week. The Rams haven’t tightened up on their errors, which is causing major issues for them each week.
Jessika’s Pick: Farmville Central 42, Greene Central 14
RICHLANDS (2-2) at JONES SENIOR (0-4)
Jones Senior hasn’t scored for three weeks in a row. They’ve only scored in one game this season; it was 21 points in a Week 1 loss to Kinston. Last week, the Wildcats ran in each of their touchdowns when they defeated South Lenoir.
With a strong running game and the Trojans’ lack of defense, it’s a clear call for the winless Jones Senior team — which has given up 201 points in four games.
Jessika’s pick: Richlands 50, Jones Senior 7
AYDEN-GRIFTON (0-4) at PAMLICO (1-3)
Week 5 could be the Chargers’ chance to finally get a win: Pamlico isn’t that good and they haven’t played and really good teams this season.
Ayden-Grifton showed a little improvement in the 41-18 loss to Farmville Central last week, but it was only for one half. The Chargers led by two at halftime, only to come back and give up 27 in the third quarter.
Jessika’s pick: Pamlico 41, Ayden-Grifton 24
SOUTHAMPTON (3-0) at ARENDELL PARROTT (3-0)
This will be the game to watch in the area.
Parrott is coming off of a statement-making win over Raleigh Word of God, a team it had lost to five times in the last three years. The Patriots downed the Holy Rams in a 72-28 smackdown.
Southampton, on the other hand, is making it clear they are the defending NCISAA 8-man champions as they’ve only allows six points this season.
Last week, Parrott achieved a big win without its starting quarterback, giving the Patriots a lot of momentum in confidence going into Week 4.
Jessika’s pick: Southampton 42, Parrott 36
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.