Carolina Gridiron Game of the Week - Week 11

The final week of the regular season is here and now it’s do or die in many conference races across the entire state. Playoff berths and home playoff games are on the line. Which teams will make it to the big dance and which teams are going to stay home? Be sure to go out and support your local team this Friday night.

Carolina Gridiron Game of the Week

There are so many good games on the schedule this week. Trying to choose one conference championship game to go to is almost too difficult task to do. So we decided to go with a matchup that has historical significance. This week’s Carolina Gridiron has decided that you can’t go wrong with the oldest continuous rivalry in the state and this Friday we’ll be watching the Concord Spiders take on the A.L. Brown Wonders in South Piedmont 3A action.

The Battle for the Bell is in its 81^st year, with Concord holding a slight advantage, 39-37. There have been also been four ties in the series (1936, 1937, 1942, 1950) and one forfeit (2001). This year’s matchup features two teams looking to battle for the South Piedmont conference title, something not unique to this series. Although quite common in this series, there was an eleven year period (1989-1999) where the game between Concord and Brown actually decided the SPC 3A title in the final week of the season.

The Concord Spiders, led by head coach Glen Padgett, come in to this week's game with 8-2 record. The Spiders have had some big non-conference wins against West Charlotte and Monroe this season and have taken down most of their conference foes. They were tripped up last week by Hickory Ridge but are looking to rebound and clinch at least a share of the South Piedmont 3A conference title.

Offensively, the Spiders are led by junior quarterback B. J. Beecher who has thrown for over 2072 yards and 22 touchdowns this year. Beecher will be making his third start in the Battle for the Bell, going 1-1 with a win in his freshman year. One of Beecher’s favorite targets is tight end and UNC recruit Terrance Knox. The Spiders have averaged 37 points on offense while only giving up 17 points a game on defense pitching two shutouts along the way.

A.L. Brown is led by former Butler coach Mike Newsome. Newsome may be new to the Battle for the Bell, but he is no stranger to big games, winning two straight 4AA titles before making the move to become the coach of the Wonders. Brown has dominated their South Piedmont opponents this year, giving up only 24 points total in six games, shutting out four teams.

The Wonder offense is led by two tremendous athletes, Kalif Phillips and Damien Washington. Phillips leads the Brown offense with over 1000 yards rushing and 23 touchdowns. Washington, who is verbally committed to North Carolina, has 14 scores this year and was recently named to the North Carolina Shrine Bowl team. The Brown defense has given up only 11.5 points a game and has been the driving force behind the Wonders’ 9-1 record.

It looks to be a great game Friday night in Kannapolis. Check with the Carolina Gridiron livescoreboard and follow us on Twitter, @NCGridiron and @NCGridironNews for information about the game.