October 2nd, 2026 4:00am
Back with another week of football in Conference Carolinas and the Gulf South! The marquee matchup of the week pits an unbeaten North Greenville squad against UNC Pembroke in a rematch of last season's Conference Carolinas championship, with both programs riding winning streaks into Saturday's showdown. Elsewhere, several teams are shaking off a week of rest, with Valdosta State and Delta State among those returning from bye weeks looking to pick up where they left off. Add in a handful of programs still searching for their footing and plenty of matchups with conference implications, and there's no shortage of storylines to track this weekend.
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS(home team in bold)
UNC Pembroke 24, Monroe 6
*Shorter 31, Erskine 24
*No. 24 North Greenville 41, Ferrum 10
West Alabama 17, Barton 7
THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE (all times Eastern)
*denotes Conference Carolinas contest
Saturday, Oct. 3
*No. 18 North Greenville (4-0, 1-0 CC) at UNC Pembroke (4-1, 1-0 CC) | Pembroke, N.C. | 1:00 PM | STATS | VIDEO
North Greenville rolls into this Saturday's rematch of last year's Conference Carolinas championship game unbeaten after a 41-10 rout of Ferrum, a win in which Kam Montgomery accounted for 206 passing yards and two touchdowns while also chipping in 56 rushing yards, with RJ Glasgow and Kaliber Hoey each adding a pick six in the victory. Montgomery has been the driving force behind the Trailblazers' historic start, piling up 261 rushing yards and 859 passing yards with 11 total touchdowns, while Sam Washam (140 yards) and Darius Bailem (142 yards) give him a deep stable of targets in an offense averaging nearly 37 points per game. The defense has been opportunistic as well, with Hoey's three interceptions leading a unit that has picked off nine passes on the season, and Gavin Calhoun pacing the tackle chart with 29 stops.
UNC Pembroke enters this week’s rivalry renewal coming off a 24-6 handling of Monroe in which the Braves rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns while a swarming defense recorded three sacks and recovered three fumbles to hold the Mustangs to just six points. Dual-threat quarterback Josh Ehrlich continues to power the offense, with 353 rushing yards and 809 passing yards for seven total touchdowns on the season, and Malik Brown (285 receiving yards) and Avery Curtis (127 yards) give him a reliable pair of targets, helping UNC Pembroke total 1,607 yards through five games. The defense has been equally productive, racking up 14 sacks and five interceptions on the year, with Fred Giles and Myles Hudson both logging 30 tackles apiece and Giles adding four sacks.
Prediction: No. 18 North Greenville
*Ferrum (0-4, 0-1 CC) at Barton (1-4, 0-1 CC) | Wilson, N.C. | 2:00 PM | AUDIO | STATS | VIDEO
Ferrum heads to Barton still hunting its first win, having fallen 41-10 to a red-hot North Greenville squad in a game where quarterback Eli Foutz actually threw for 249 yards but was undone by four interceptions despite completing 27-of-45 attempts. That turnover trouble aside, Foutz has been productive through the air all season, throwing for 889 yards and six touchdowns, with Omarza Gray (238 yards, two scores) and Tay Carter (149 yards) serving as his top targets, while Jycen Anciso paces the ground game with 269 rushing yards. The defense has actually shown some fight, picking off five passes on the year — including one apiece from Jamarion Montford and Elias Hines in the North Greenville loss alone — and Deandre Watson leads in the trenches with 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.
Barton hosts a winless Ferrum team looking to snap its own two-game skid after a 17-7 setback to West Alabama, where the Bulldogs' offense managed just 121 total yards while Kylyn Brown paced the defense with 14 tackles. Receiver Tyler Davis has continued to be a steady presence in the passing game with 16 catches for 226 yards and three touchdowns on the season, while quarterback Geronimo Sanchez (147 yards, two TDs) and running back Jayden Brown (171 yards) have shared the load on the ground for an offense that's averaging just 14.6 points per game. Barton's defense has quietly outperformed its offense, totaling 12 sacks on the year, led by Sean-Jacob Bethea's 29 stops and Cameron Royal's 27 tackles and an interception.
Prediction: Barton
Erskine (2-2) at No. 16 Valdosta State (3-1) | Valdosta, Ga. | 4:00 PM | STATS | VIDEO
Erskine will need to reverse course quickly, facing 16th-ranked Valdosta State on the road after dropping back-to-back games, most recently a 31-24 conference loss to Shorter in which the Flying Fleet's offense stalled at just 220 total yards, with Ryan Killmer completing 17-of-42 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns while the ground game netted almost nothing. Killmer's overall numbers remain solid, with 855 passing yards and nine touchdowns on the season, and Jo Burson has been his top weapon with 330 receiving yards and five scores, helping Erskine average 34 points per game despite the recent skid. Defensively, Weston Bergman and Gary Maddox III have each racked up 28 tackles, including a 12-tackle effort from Bergman in the Shorter loss, though the unit has managed just one interception.
Valdosta State returns from its bye week to host Erskine still stinging from its first loss of the season, a 44-41 shootout defeat at UNC Pembroke in which the Blazers still managed 446 total yards, including 237 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground, plus a 94-yard interception return on defense that wasn't enough to seal the win. Even with that setback, Valdosta State remains one of the most explosive offenses in the region, averaging 44 points and 445 yards per game behind Shawn Paschall's 363 rushing yards and four touchdowns, Champ Harris' 600 combined passing yards, and Jaheim Arnold's team-best 29.9 yards per catch. Julius Pascal leads a defense that has notched 223 tackles and five interceptions through four games, though the unit will look to tighten up after allowing 44 points in the loss.
Prediction: No. 16 Valdosta State
Chowan (2-2) at West Alabama (4-1) | Livingston, Ala. | 5:00 PM | STATS | VIDEO
Chowan is back in action after a bye week to face West Alabama riding a two-game winning streak, most recently blanking Barton 34-0 behind quarterback Tyler Adkins' 465-yard, two-touchdown passing performance, highlighted by Dezmond Randolph's 181-yard, one-touchdown effort on six catches and a pair of interceptions from Allen Sieni and Jimmy Lacy on defense. Adkins has now thrown for 1,224 yards and seven touchdowns on the season, while Amir Alexander has developed into a go-to weapon with 25 receptions for 448 yards, giving the Hawks one of the more productive passing attacks in the conference. Darian Whitaker continues to anchor the defense with 29 tackles and 2.5 sacks, part of a unit that has forced five interceptions and two fumble recoveries through four games.
West Alabama bounced back from its lone loss with a 17-7 road win at Barton, holding the Bulldogs to a meager 121 total yards while Luther Richesson tossed two touchdown passes, including a 63-yard connection to Madixx Morris, on 18-of-28 passing for 212 yards. That win pushed the Tigers to 4-1, with Richesson's season line now up to 964 yards and 10 touchdowns through the air, while TD Parker (237 yards, three TDs) and Jaylon York (205 yards, two TDs) have both emerged as legitimate downfield threats. Joseph Harper leads a defense that has generated eight sacks and six interceptions on the season with 28 tackles of his own, and the unit limited Barton to under 50 rushing yards in the win.
Prediction: West Alabama
Shorter (2-2) at Delta State (1-3) | Cleveland, Miss. | 7:00 PM | STATS | VIDEO
Shorter got back in the win column a week ago, most recently bouncing back with a 31-24 road win at Erskine behind David Hill's monster day — 194 yards and a 74-yard touchdown run on 28 carries — while Jeb Walls added 199 passing yards and a score. Walls has been one of the more efficient passers in the league, throwing for 756 yards and 10 touchdowns on the year, and Silas Hinson (260 receiving yards, two TDs) has emerged as his favorite target, helping the Hawks average 35 points per game as a team. On defense, Christian Benson has racked up three sacks and DJ Walker and Conrad Hussey have each chipped in an interception, part of a unit that piled up four sacks in the Erskine win alone.
Delta State comes off its bye week into a home date with Shorter, having snapped a three-game skid with a 21-6 win over Mississippi Valley State behind Nick Clark's 96 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, plus a touchdown grab from Lawrence Armstrong. That victory was built on a ground-and-control approach, with the Statesmen dominating time of possession, and Clark has emerged as the offensive workhorse this season with 118 rushing yards, while quarterback Emile Picarella has thrown for 262 yards and three scores. The defense, however, remains a work in progress, having allowed 38.25 points per game and still without an interception through four contests, though Tavian Moore (30 tackles) and Alonzo Jackson II (27 tackles) have provided steady play up front. at over against Shorter after the extra week off.
Prediction: Delta State
Columnist Picks
Last week: 4-0
2026 season: 23-7