The Midway Greenwaves took a road trip to start the season and left Kingsport with a 34-23 win. The Waves did their damage in the air, with Lyle tossing 3 TD passes on 7 of 17 for the night. Woody was the main target off the night; hauling in 5 catches for 163 yards and 2 TDs. Highlights aside, it wasn’t a great showing by the Waves as a whole on the night but it was a win nonetheless.
This week the lights come on in the Emerald Forest as the Waves host Whitwell, a team that has had Midway’s number in recent years. The Whitwell Tigers also started the 2013 season with a win; 31-21 over Mt. Juliet Christian behind a strong running game.
Will the Waves put on a show for the home crowd or will last week’s troubles carry over into game #2? Let’s turn to our Panel of not-so-experts for this week’s pick.
Ralton Emory: Midway won the season opener. Good thing! Now they have the home opener against a team that they should beat, but has been the bane of their existence for the past two years. Bad thing!
Whitwell has gone 2-18 the past two years. Those two wins have come against one team – Midway. Harsh reality when it’s put in context.
But this is a new year, and coach and the team have a chip on their shoulder. They want to regain some pride and put these little felines away to gain some redemption.
Can they? That is a good question. The week one performance, while a win, was not one that would lead to a sense of confidence. Whitwell will come at you with a pounding running attack. Midway has the more diverse attack.
This one is truly a pick-em game. The two hour plus bus ride should favor the home team, but can the Green Team find the redemption they are looking for? They will need big plays early to take the wind out of the sails of the felines. Then they will need consistency to put them away.
This will be close in my opinion: Midway 21, Whitwell 20
Barry Narramore:
I’m 1-0!!! That’s a first in a while. The Greenwaves got that first win last Friday night while Woody has a career night. 3 TDs in one game, I’m impressed! 34 points in 3 quarters is impressive but the Green team will have to play better overall to get win number 2 against a good Whitwell team. I think our boys will answer the call but look for a dogfight South the River on Friday night! Midway 21 Whitwell 20!
Steven Sears:
I’m glad to see that Midway started the season off on the right foot last week against Tri-Cities Christian. Although first games usually consist of knocking the rust off and some sloppy playing, getting the W is always very important. The Whitwell game last year wasn’t pretty at all and it was my only loss on the pick panel. This year is a different story. The Tigers only won one game last season and that was against our Greenwaves. This year, both teams have a win under their belt so both teams have momentum coming into this matchup. I believe if Midway makes the right adjustments, they will be victorious. I like Midway in this matchup because I think we keep improving more and more each week. Midway 27 Whitwell 21. What do I know though? I have just been informed that I’m an “not-so-expert.” Help me prove the critics wrong Midway!
Kyle Canup: Glad to see the Waves take the season opener and although there was some things to work on the waves still put up some points and big plays. I know this week’s game is personal for Coach Campbell and I’m sure he’s been hitting practice hard this week. I think Midway comes out swinging on offense and if their defense can stop Whitwell’s run game early, it should be an exciting ball game. I think Midway edges out the win in a close one.
Amber Johnson: I know Whitwell thumped us pretty good last year at their place. I think these teams will be a little more evenly matched this year. I’ve got Midway edging out the Whitwell Tigers in the Emerald Forest.
Michael Rose: Friday night in the Emerald Forest brings the Red Tigers of Whitwell (seriously Red Tigers, who came up with that?) to town for the Green Teams home opener. Midway got off to a fast start last Friday night playing an away game in Mike Hayes’ back yard, er, I mean at Tri Cities Christian home field, which was some random community center in northeast Tennessee. Reportedly the bingo players at the community center were a bit upset and had to reschedule their game until Saturday night. Midway scored a lot, but gave up a few as well, and hopes to tighten up the defensive front this week.
The very rare Red Tigers (more difficult to spot in the wild than Sasquatch or Shawn Queener toting a Droid based electronic device) bring a reportedly improved team from the last couple years. Whitwell Coach Barnharts team, while slightly less talented than Barnharts former days at Free Shoe University, will look to run the ball behind a fairly talented offensive line. Whitwells number 79, 60 and 77 look to be a solid base for an offensive and defensive line and Whitwell RB McHone and QB Tate will look to run the ball often behind those big guys.
Last week’s aerial display was quite impressive for the Green team and Lyle looks to be able to chunk the ball around the sandlot to several capable green shirted wide receivers. A Longmire in the offensive backfield doesn’t seem possible (plus what about the Longmire nickname streak, Funk, Little Funk, Spunk, would like to hear a bit about the new Longmires nickname) but times are changing and this is a new generation. Midway has to play solid defense, limit turnovers and penalties, especially the 15 yard variety, and generally tighten up on both sides of the lines.
As old football coaches like Bobby Bowden (before Bobby began nodding off on the sidelines) and Philip Fulmer (seriously has it been 15 years since 1998?) like to say good teams have to run the ball and stop the run to consistently win football games, and that is a bit concerning for Midway right now. An improved Whitwell team is also problematic for Midway this week as Whitwell has taken the Green team to the woodshed the last couple of years. Looking forward to SORSN.coms wall to wall coverage this week, as I hear they are sending their editor, their best reporter and their best photographer to cover this game. Reportedly SORSN.com will have near live uploads of photos and game summary and a full write up posted by about 10 pm Friday night, so I would recommend checking back often for updates.
I want to go Boo Narramoring this week and pick the Green team, but Midways got to show me a little more before I pick them in back to back weeks. Might as well start the debate and the hate mail early this year, give me Whitwell to win in a close ballgame.
| Amber Johnson | Barry Narramore | Kyle Canup | Steven Sears | Ralton Emory | Michael Rose | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 0: @ Tri-Cities Christian | Midway | Midway | Midway | Midway | Midway | Midway |
| Week 1: Whitwell | Midway | Midway | Midway | Midway | Midway | Whitwell |
| Week 2: Bye | ||||||
| Week 3: Hancock Co. | Midway | Midway | Midway | Midway | Midway | Midway |
| Week 4: @ Tellico Plains | Midway | Midway | Midway | Midway | Midway | Tellico |
| Week 5: @ Sunbright | Midway | Midway | Midway | Sunbright | Sunbright | Sunbright |
| Week 6: Harriman | Midway | Midway | Midway | Midway | Midway | Midway |
| Week 7: Grace Christian | Grace | Midway | Grace | Grace | Grace | Grace |
| Week 8: Meigs Co. | Midway | Midway | Midway | Meigs | Midway | Midway |
| Week 9: @ Rockwood | Midway | Midway | Midway | Rockwood | Rockwood | Rockwood |
| Week 10: @ Greenback | Greenback | Midway | Greenback | Greenback | Greenback | Greenback |
| Standings: | 7-3 | 7-3 | 7-3 | 6-4 | 7-3 | 7-3 |