October 30th, 2026 12:00pm
As the calendar brings an end to October, the stakes rise across Conference Carolinas and the Gulf South Conference. Saturday’s slate features two key games with plenty on the line. In Conference Carolinas play, Ferrum hosts Chowan at W.B. Adams Stadium on Homecoming Weekend. Both teams are 3-1 in the league, trailing UNC Pembroke and North Greenville at 4-1, and a win will keep the winner in the title hunt while putting the loser’s postseason hopes in jeopardy. In the Gulf South Conference, a pair of regional powers collide as West Alabama (5-3, 0-1) welcomes No. 13 Valdosta State (5-1) to Livingston for the Blazers’ conference opener.
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LAST WEEK’S RESULTS(home team in bold)
*No. 19 North Greenville 33, Barton 7
*Ferrum 34, Erskine 13
*UNC Pembroke 38, Chowan 21
No. 13 Valdosta State 41, Shorter 31
^Delta State 37, West Alabama 33
THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE (all times Eastern)
*denotes Conference Carolinas contest
^denotes Gulf South contest
Saturday, Oct. 31
*Erskine (2-6, 0-4 CC) at No. 18 North Greenville (7-1, 4-1 CC) | Tigerville, S.C. | 12:00 PM | STATS | VIDEO
Erskine suffered its sixth straight defeat a week ago, as the offense gained just 193 yards, 102 on the ground and 91 through the air, and committed two turnovers. Ben Black threw for 76 yards and a 24-yard touchdown to Jo Burson; Breylon Boyd added a 28-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter; and the defense had two sacks, with Weston Bergman, Keaton Cooley and Jon Scott each making six tackles. Over the six-game skid, the Flying Fleet has averaged 10.2 points. For the season, it is scoring 20.0 points and 237.6 yards per game while allowing 31.5 points and 407.8 yards. Burson has 28 catches for 462 yards and seven touchdowns, Marquies Lattner has 235 rushing yards, and Ryan Killmer threw for 851 yards and nine touchdowns before Black took over at quarterback. The defense has 13 sacks, with Bergman making 52 tackles and Gary Maddox III nine tackles for loss.
North Greenville is 7-1 and 4-1 in Conference Carolinas play after a 33-7 win at Barton, in which it gained 430 yards, 258 through the air and 172 on the ground, scored on five of six red-zone trips and forced two interceptions and a blocked kick. Quarterback Kam Montgomery threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns, including a 63-yard scoring strike to Jonathan Manley, who caught three passes for 95 yards. Jamie Downing Jr. made 10 tackles, and Isaac Hawkins had a sack and two tackles for loss. The Trailblazers are averaging 33.3 points and 376.4 yards per game while allowing 20.0 points, and the defense has 12 interceptions, 48 tackles for loss, and 12 sacks. Montgomery has thrown for 1,583 yards and 12 touchdowns and run for 473 yards and nine more scores, with only six interceptions, and his top targets are Manley (17 catches, 333 yards) and Sam Washam (17 catches, 294 yards). Downing leads the defense with 64 tackles, and Kaliber Hoey has three interceptions.
Prediction: No. 18 North Greenville
Delta State (4-3) at Frostburg State (4-4) | Frostburg, Md. | 12:00 PM | STATS | VIDEO
Delta State opened Gulf South Conference play last weekend with a 37-33 win over West Alabama at Homecoming, extending its winning streak to four games. The Statesmen ran for 274 yards on 52 carries, led by Nick Clark’s 178 yards and a touchdown and Qualon Farrar’s 87 yards and two scores. They were 7-of-14 on third down, 5-of-5 in the red zone and held the ball for 38:44, and Price Nixon made all three of his field goals. Jordan Bradley’s 62-yard fumble return for a touchdown helped offset two 97-yard kickoff return scores and a pick-six by West Alabama, and Barrett Newman led the defense with nine tackles. After an 0-3 start in which it was outscored 147-23, Delta State has outscored opponents 105-46 over the current win streak. For the season, DSU is averaging 18.3 points and 241.0 yards per game while allowing 27.6 points. Clark has 529 rushing yards, Farrar has 298, and quarterback Emile Picarella has thrown for 539 yards and four touchdowns. Tavian Moore has 52 tackles, Alonzo Jackson II has 53, and Newman has four tackles for loss.
Frostburg State fell to 4-4 overall with a 27-24 home loss to Wheeling on Oct. 24, a game in which the Bobcats had 404 total yards, including 279 passing, but managed 125 rushing yards and finished 2-of-3 on field goals. Three of Frostburg’s four losses have been by 10 points or fewer, with a 30-24 overtime defeat at West Liberty and a 34-26 loss at Shepherd to start the year, while its wins have included blowouts of West Virginia Wesleyan (45-7) and Glenville State (56-7). The Bobcats are averaging 32.8 points and 389.8 yards per game while allowing 23.4 points and 314.9 yards, and they have scored on 25 of 35 red-zone trips. KJ Smothers leads the ground game with 606 yards and 10 touchdowns; Jordan Brooks (1,195 yards) and Peyton Murphy (815 yards, 10 touchdowns, one interception) have shared the quarterback duties, and Tra’Shaun Timmons has 44 catches for 626 yards and seven touchdowns. Rainer Halveland leads a defense that has 12 takeaways, with 44 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. Frostburg looks to get back in the win column Saturday at noon at Bobcat Stadium in a non-conference game against Delta State, which is on a four-game winning streak.
Prediction: Delta State
*Barton (1-7, 0-4 CC) at Shorter (2-6, 1-3 CC) | Rome, Ga. | 12:00 PM | AUDIO | STATS | VIDEO
Barton snapped back-to-back shutouts with a late second-quarter touchdown, a 28-yard pass from Nazir Garrett to Artis, in a 33-7 home loss to North Greenville, its fifth straight defeat. The Bulldogs did get some good individual work in the game, with Jayden Brown running for 137 yards on 22 carries, Kevin Brown making 11 tackles and intercepting two passes, and Braxton McPherson adding a third interception, but they managed only 61 passing yards on 6-of-18 passing. At 1-7 overall and 0-4 in Conference Carolinas play, Barton is scoring 10.0 points per game and allowing 31.5, with Brown now at 386 rushing yards and Tyler Davis at 21 catches for 273 yards and three touchdowns. The defense, which had nine tackles for loss and a sack against North Greenville, has 55 tackles for loss, 13 sacks and six interceptions on the season, with Emmanuel Miller (10.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks), Sean-Jacob Bethea (45 tackles) and Cameron Royal (43) as its leaders.
Shorter went to Valdosta State and led the 13th-ranked Blazers 24-21 at halftime before falling 41-31, its fourth straight loss. The Hawks jumped out to a 17-14 lead on a fumble return touchdown, and Devin Edmonds threw three touchdown passes, two of them to Kyree Jenkins, who caught three passes for 77 yards. But Valdosta State pulled away in the second half behind 273 rushing yards, and Edmonds threw five interceptions. At 2-6 overall and 1-3 in Conference Carolinas play, Shorter is averaging 23.0 points and 335.3 yards per game while giving up 24.6 points and 280.1 yards. Turnovers have been the problem, since the Hawks have thrown 12 interceptions, while the defense has 46 tackles for loss, 13 sacks, and 11 fumble recoveries. David Hill has run for more than 700 yards, Jeb Walls threw for 1,086 yards and 10 touchdowns before Edmonds took over under center, and Silas Hinson (24 catches, 327 yards), Jenkins (four touchdowns), and Dennis Sims (30 catches) lead the receivers. On defense, Conrad Hussey has 44 tackles, Christian Benson has 7.0 tackles for loss, and Mikey Matos has 2.5 sacks.
Prediction: Shorter
*Chowan (4-4, 3-1 CC) at Ferrum (3-5, 3-1 CC) | Ferrum, Va. | 2:00 PM | STATS | VIDEO
Chowan’s run at an unbeaten league record ended in a 38-21 loss at UNC Pembroke, though the Hawks were within 17-14 at halftime. Tyler Adkins threw for 227 yards and three touchdowns, with Dezmond Randolph catching five passes for 93 yards and a score, but the ground game managed only 54 yards. Tayshawn Benson had two sacks and four tackles for loss, and Darian Whitaker led the team with 10 tackles. At 4-4 overall and 3-1 in Conference Carolinas play, Chowan is averaging 25.1 points and 344.6 yards per game while allowing 24.6 points. The offense is almost entirely a passing attack, since the Hawks have netted just 62.3 rushing yards per game, but Adkins has thrown for 2,249 yards and 18 touchdowns with three interceptions; Amir Alexander has 46 catches for 802 yards and seven touchdowns, and Randolph has 31 catches for 564 yards. The Hawks have scored on 23 of 28 red-zone trips, and kicker Riley Swanson has made six field goals. On defense, Whitaker has 68 tackles, and Benson has 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks, and the unit has 19 sacks and seven interceptions.
Ferrum has won two of its last three games, including a 34-13 road win at Erskine in which Eli Foutz threw for 233 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, and Brett Tate-Blanks caught two of them for 74 yards. The Panthers were 5-for-5 in the red zone, kicker Cooper Wolfe made both of his field goals, and the defense had four sacks and two interceptions. At 3-5 overall and 3-1 in Conference Carolinas play, Ferrum is averaging 17.5 points and 336.9 yards per game while allowing 23.8 points. Foutz has thrown for 1,519 yards and nine touchdowns with eight interceptions; Jycen Anciso has 566 net rushing yards and five touchdowns; and Omarza Gray has 36 catches for 425 yards. The defense has 46 tackles for loss, 13 sacks and 13 takeaways, with Emory Womack (28 tackles), Rashaud Cherry (27 tackles, two interceptions) and Jamel Alexander (3.0 sacks) among its leaders. Ferrum is 0-4 at W.B. Adams Stadium this season, but it gets a chance to change that Saturday, where a win would keep the team in the hunt for the Conference Carolinas title game and could knock Chowan out of contention for the Conference Carolinas Bowl.
Prediction: Ferrum
^No. 13 Valdosta State (5-1, 0-0 GSC) at West Alabama (5-3, 0-1 GSC) | Livingston, Ala. | 2:00 PM | STATS | VIDEO
No. 13 Valdosta State went into halftime trailing Shorter 24-21 at Homecoming, then outscored the Hawks 20-7 over the final two quarters for a 41-31 win. The Blazers rushed for 273 yards and six touchdowns, with Shawn Paschall running for 124 yards and three scores, and the defense intercepted five passes, two of them by Curtis Janvier, while Jayden Bethea made 10 tackles. At 5-1, Valdosta State is averaging 45.5 points and 450.0 yards per game while allowing just 17.3 points and 264.7 yards, and its only loss, 44-41 at UNC Pembroke, was by three points. Paschall has 596 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, Champ Harris has thrown for 920 yards and six touchdowns and run for five more; and the Blazers have scored on 25-of-31 red-zone trips. The defense has 14 interceptions and 15 sacks, with Janvier’s three interceptions, Bethea’s 35 tackles and 6.0 tackles for loss, and Malik Moore’s 2.5 sacks leading the way as VSU opens Gulf South play this weekend.
West Alabama turned in one of the most unusual performances of the season in a 37-33 loss at Delta State in its Gulf South opener. Kendrick Joseph returned two kickoffs 97 yards for touchdowns, and he finished with six returns for 327 yards, a 54.5-yard average, which earned him D2Football.com National Special Teams Player of the Week honors. Legend Doggett added a 56-yard interception return for a score, and Luther Richesson’s 2-yard touchdown pass to TD Parker with 1:32 left made it a one-possession game. But the Tigers managed just 237 yards of offense, including 64 on the ground, and Joseph Harper’s 12 tackles and two sacks weren’t enough to stop Delta State’s 274 rushing yards. The loss was West Alabama’s second straight, dropping it to 5-3 overall and 0-1 in the GSC. The Tigers are averaging 22.6 points and 309.1 yards per game while allowing 24.3 points. Richesson has thrown for 1,524 yards and 14 touchdowns with six interceptions; Parker has 21 catches for 299 yards and four touchdowns, and Brayden Jenkins leads the ground game with 370 yards. The defense has nine interceptions, 11 fumble recoveries and 11 sacks, with Harper at 53 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss.
Prediction: West Alabama
Columnist Picks
Last week: 4-1
2026 season: 38-10