The ‘23 Football Season begins on August 18
Alex Brooks | Bladen Journal
Teams around the SAC 7 gear up for the ‘23 Fall Season as they continue their hunt for success and glory. The Clinton Darkhorses’ come into this season as the defending champions and they will surely be the favorites again this season. The first game of the new season will kick off on Friday, Aug. 18.
BLADENBORO — The West Bladen Knights will open their season at South Columbus in a non-conference matchup on Friday, August 18th. South Columbus defeated the Knights away from home for a 34-13 victory last season and will hope for a similar result on the second time around. The Knights will want to start the year positive before paying a visit to cross-county rivals East Bladen on week two of the season.
East Bladen won’t be in the SAC 7 this season but they hold bragging rights over their rivals after last season’s victory. West Bladen will hold their home opener on September 1st against the West Columbus Cavaliers. Then the Knights will be back on the road at East Columbus on September 8th before their bye the following week.
The Knights’ last non-conference match-up of the regular season will be against Havelock at home on Sept. 22. Havelock finished last season with an overall record of 9-3 and was bounced out in the second round of NCHSAA State Playoffs. West Bladen will host Clinton for their first game in conference play on Sept. 29. Their next game will be away to Midway before they host St. Pauls for their senior night. The Knights’ final game of the regular season will be against Red Springs on Oct. 27.
CLINTON — The Clinton Darkhorses will start their ‘23 campaign against Northside-Jacksonville at home on Aug. 18 for a non-conference match-up. Northside-Jacksonville finished last season with an overall record of 1-9 and they finished sixth in their conference. The Darkhorses will test themselves against Wallace-Rose Hill at home for a week 2 clash between two playoff hopefuls. Wallace-Rose Hill made it to the semifinals of the NCHSAA 2A State Playoffs last season before losing to the eventual champions, East Duplin.
The next two games for the Darkhorses’ will be away to Lumberton and Whiteville in a couple of non-conference match-ups. Clinton will host Princeton for their final non-conference match-up of the season. Princeton is a high-power team on offense and they finished last season with an overall record of 12-2.
The Darkhorses will open up conference play against West Bladen before they host Red Springs on Oct. 6. They will host Midway in their final home game of the season before closing out the regular season against St. Pauls and Fairmont.
FAIRMONT — The Fairmont Golden Tornadoes will open their season against Lumberton at home in a non-conference match-up. Then the Golden Tornadoes will go on the road to face off with the Purnell Swett Rams in week two before clashing with Westover at home. Fairmont’s next three games will be on the road to Southern Lee, Riverside-Martin, and Midway.
Their game with Midway on Sept. 29 will be their first game in conference play and they’ll follow it up with a home game against St. Pauls the next week. The Golden Tornadoes will take on Red Springs for their last away game of the regular season and will host Clinton on their senior night for their regular season finale.
ST. PAULS — The St. Pauls’ Bulldogs finished behind the Clinton Darkhorese in the SAC 7 Conference standings last season and made it to the NCHSAA 2A State Playoffs. The Bulldogs’ first game will be away from home to Westover on Aug. 18. The Westover Wolverines were victorious over the Bulldogs last season with a 40-6 trouncing on enemy territory. The Bulldogs will face off with Lee County on week two of the season for yet another tough test but this time will play host.
Then the Bulldogs will hit the road for a clash against South Brunswick on September 1st before they host their next three games against West Columbus, Charlotte Latin, and Red Springs. St. Pauls’ first game in conference play will be against Red Springs on Sept. 29 and they will travel to Fairmont on Oct. 6. The Bulldogs’ last three regular-season games will be against West Bladen, Clinton, and Midway. Their final home game of the season will be against Clinton on Oct. 20 for a pivotal conference match-up.
SPIVEY’S CORNER — The Midway Raiders will travel away to Hobbton for their opening game of the season in a non-conference match-up. They’ll travel to James Kenan on week two before hosting North Johnston on Aug. 31. Their last two non-conference match-ups will be against Lakewood and Goldsboro. The Raiders will open up conference play against Fairmont at home and then they’ll take on West Bladen the following week.
The Raiders will hit the road against Clinton and Red Springs before hosting St. Pauls in their regular season finale.
RED SPRINGS — The Red Springs Red Devils will play Douglas Byrd on Aug. 18 to start their ‘23 Fall season. Then they’ll host their next two non-conference match-ups of Gray’s Creek and Purnell Swett. The Red Devils will end their non-conference schedule on the road against Lumberton and Mullins in SC. Their first game in the SAC 7 will be against St. Pauls’ on Sept. 29 and the game will be away from home.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Red Devils as they will travel to Clinton for their second conference game of the season on Oct. 6. Red Springs will finish their last three regular-season games at home with Fairmont, Midway and West Bladen in line. Red Springs will host West Bladen in their regular season finale on Oct. 27.