The 2021 Rafferty’s Bowl Nightcap features a 5A favorite and a 6A squad whose seniors have seen a lot of success the past 3 seasons.  The South Warren Spartans enter the 2021 campaign with lofty goals based upon the return of 7 offensive and 7 defensive starters from a strong 2020 Team that saw them ranked #1 in 5A after the 2020 regular season.  Approximately 60% of those returning starters are seniors who have started since their Sophomore year.  Very strong.

The Spartan offense is led by two WKU signees - SR QB Caden Veltcamp and SR WR/S Arvin Bell.  Add returning RB SR Kobe Martin, stud WR/DB Christian Conyers, WR/K SR Eldar Dervicevic and the Spartan cupboard is well-stocked!!!  But it doesn’t stop there, as South Warren always prides itself with having a stout defense and this season will be no exception.  Seniors DL Jake Jackson and LB Luke Burton are two of the best at causing havoc for opposing offenses.  Add Conyers and Bell in the secondary and this unit will be among the leaders of 5A and perhaps the state in many defensive team stats. 

Coach Brent Thompson’s North Hardin Trojans come into the 2021 campaign after earning 3 of the program’s top seasons all-time from 2018 to 2020.  To that point, this year’s Trojan Seniors have a combined record of 31 and 5 over the past 3 years.  Very impressive and even more so when you consider they were knocked out by Male (the 6A State Champs in 2018), Trinity (the 6A State Champs in 2019), and St Xavier (the 6A Semi-Finalist in 2020).  However, graduation wasn’t as kind to North Hardin as it was to South Warren, as the Trojans are going to need to call on more inexperienced players this season to get the job done.

The Trojan offense does return one of its unquestioned leaders in SR QB Mannie Wimberly after throwing over 1,500 yards and 14 TDs vs only 2 INTs all of last year.  JR RB David Boyd, who stepped in when Lavell Wright went down to injury last year, returns along with talented SO Alex White.  JR Shawn Rose and SO Shaun Boykins look to retool the WR corps while SR Bailey Groft returns to lead the Trojan offensive line.

On defense, North Hardin has had to retool before and looks to reload this year with SR Luke Chadbourne anchoring the DLine and JR Jujuan Williams at LB.  In the secondary, SRs Micah Parmes and Isiah Palmer will lead that position group.  And the Trojans return both their place kicker and punter, who were both instrumental in big wins over Frederick Douglass and Belfry last season.

This game sets up to be an entertaining one.  And as most Game 1’s goes, anything can happen.  So, who are you taking in this season opening matchup?

I'll take South Warren since they return more starters. North Hardin's youth going to have to grow up fast to have a chance in this game.

I expect South Warren to win comfortably, NH has really struggled on offense against very good defenses in recent years, I would expect much of the same. 
SW-35 

NH-14

With key losses in Lavell Wright, Marcus Harris, Jordan Lovett, Michael Lunz, and Jalen Sharps, and 21 Senior losses overall, North Hardin will struggle with youth and inexperience. Key Returning players include; Manie Wimberly Sr., QB; Micah Parmes Sr., CB; Tre Alexander Jr., OL; Demoni Taylor Jr., OL. On top of a plethora of young inexperienced players, North Hardin was unable to conduct any scrimmages in the preseason as the Friday night scrimmage with Franklin County was cancelled due to weather. North Hardin 's first real game experience will be against South Warren, not a good recipe for success. In the end, South Warren is too deep and will put North Hardin away. 

South Warren 35

North Hardin 10

This Spartan army should be the best team South has had since the 2018 champs and possibly even better than that club. Several all-state caliber players combined on both sides of the ball. I'm in lock step with what @Tigerpride94 and @Hardin County Preps have said about NH's youth. There's too much of it to stand up to such a talented, seasoned opponent in Week 1.

The Trojan War lasted ten years. This clash between the Trojans and Spartans should only take four quarters, but the outcome should be the same... a Spartan victory.

I would have loved to have seen this game last season. I don't see this being much of a competition this year. North Hardin has lost too many off of last year's roster and South is loaded. So South should win this pretty easily. 

South has had an opportunity to play two scrimmages so far, Allen county and Central Hardin. They dominated in both, but had some difficulties during the first few minutes. It took them some time to shake the rust off. Going into a high profile game like this without taking on another opponent yet this year will make it hard for North Hardin.

Central Hardin outsized South at the line of scrimmage on both sides. South has a lot of talent, but they are generally undersized, as they have been every year. At the 2018 state championship, Covington Catholic was noticeably larger than South, but it didn't make that much of a difference then. There are going to be 2 major challenges for South. Will their O-line be able to handle North's D-line? If they can't block for Veltcamp and he has to scramble the entire game, then it will be a mess. If the O-line can keep the pressure off Veltcamp, then South's cadre of extremely talented receivers will have a field day and South will pull off the victory. How will South's dominating D-line, particularly Jake Jackson, match up against the 6'7" 345 Tre Alexander? There's 7 inches and 100 pounds difference between the two players. If Jackson gets neutralized, it's a different game. This is a matchup to watch. If South can't stop the run, then there's going to be problems.

I think this could be a much closer game than some expect, but South should win. Regardless, I think it will be a very good indication of how the season is going to go for both teams.

 

 

 

 

 

I think this game will be broadcast here too:

https://stfanclub.com/live/

https://m.facebook.com/Talk104WKCT/
 

For our members who are afraid of ST Fanclub. 

3 minutes ago, DragonFire said:

https://m.facebook.com/Talk104WKCT/
 

For our members who are afraid of ST Fanclub. 

The ST guys are homers but everything else was great. 

1:30 before kick.

South will receive

South will start at on own 30 after kick return.

Veltkamp to Conyers to the 34

martin good run but coming back holding.

So ball back at one 30 2nd and 10

conyers on a sweep for 8 yards.

8 minutes ago, theguru said:

The ST guys are homers but everything else was great. 

Joe is a pro but he knows who butters his bread!