This week’s local gridiron matchups feature a trio of home games, a long road trip and a rivalry contest.

GAME OF THE WEEK

Atlantic Shores at Gates County: Gates County is faring well in the midst of what was planned as a rebuilding year.

The Red Barons fell to Bertie High School late in their opening game, then routed Perquimans before suffering another close setback at the hands of Pasquotank County High School in their first road game last week.

This week the Red Barons will return to the friendly confines of Eason’s Crossroads as they welcome a newcomer to their schedule: Atlantic Shores Christian School.

The Seahawks have just one game under their belt this season, a 28-16 setback last Friday at Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot.

The Red Barons and fifth-year skipper Matt Biggy will look to continue their punishing ground attack behind senior DaShawn Stokely and sophomore Brandall Riddick. They will also look to continue to see maturity from freshman quarterback Andrew Wiggins.

The Red Barons will get to host their third game of the 2011 season at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

KIPP-Pride at Bertie: The Falcons are coming off their worst performance of the season last week when they took a road trip to Swansboro only to return with their first loss of the season.

Bertie started the season with a two-point victory at Gates County and then tied at home against Rocky Mount before the loss Friday left them 1-1-1 for the year.

Second-year Head Coach Greg Watford’s team will look to rebound quickly from the loss as they welcome KIPP-Pride to Roy L. Bond Jr. Stadium. The Panthers are 0-2 for the season with losses to Warren County and Pasquotank County High School.

The Falcons continue to look for junior Malcolm Cherry as a key playmaker on offense while the defensive line continues to be a solid force up front.

Nash Central at Hertford County: Nash Central is one of the hottest teams in eastern North Carolina thus far in 2011. The Bulldogs dispensed of perennial 2-A heavyweight Tarboro by 10 points in week one before blowing out Smithfield-Selma a week later. Last week, Nash Central disposed of Roanoke Rapids 24-14.

Hertford County, meanwhile, has a season of mixed results as they work through a rebuilding season. The Bears dropped their opener at South Central before bouncing back to beat Southeast Halifax.

Saturday night, HCHS looked sharp at times against Rocky Mount, but couldn’t stop the Gryphons late as they suffered a 28-22 setback.

The task at hand this week is a tough one as the Bulldogs look to remain unbeaten while Hertford County will need to get things going in their last non-conference outing of the season.

The Bears will look for junior quarterback Dorrien Askew to carry much of the load on offense while senior tailback Aaron Thomas has been a workhorse as well.

Northampton-East at South Creek: As Northampton-East pays a visit to South Creek, neither team has tasted victory in 2011 and both will be looking to get their first “W.”

The Rams wanted desperately to get on the field last week, but the non-conference matchup with cross-county foe Northampton-West didn’t materialize because of school and weather concerns.

After the two-week hiatus, they’ll be facing a South Creek team that is that has only scored 12 points this season in lopsided losses to North Edgecombe and Riverside.

Second-year Head Coach George Privott will rely on quarterback Evans Grant to get the offense moving as they have an opportunity to head into Tar-Roanoke Conference play coming off a key win.

Lawrence at Cary Christian: Lawrence Academy is in the midst of a rebuilding mode and first-year skipper Beau Drake has seen some signs of life from the Warriors.

Despite last week’s setback (50-8), the Warriors trailed by just nine at the end of the first half and played significantly better than in week one.

Time and experience will continue to play into their hands, but the schedule will not. This week the Warriors are on the road at Cary Christian, who topped Parrott Academy 26-7 Friday night.

Northeast at Hobgood: Northeast Academy came close to pulling one out last week, but fell just short to Halifax Academy.

The Eagles get a chance to get that elusive first victory this week when they travel to rival Hobgood Academy. The Eagles got good offensive production a week ago and hope to add to that against one of their longest rivals this week.