–Pigskin Preview - Week 13 - by Michael Hughes
15 November 2007This week’s Terrific 10
Playoff games of Nov. 16, 2007
1A–#6 Robbinsville @ #3 Lakewood
1AA-#9 Swain County @ # 1 Mt. Airy
-#14 Hendersonville @ # 6 West Montgomery
2A–#5 Lincolnton @ # 4 Brevard
2AA-#5 Pisgah @ #4 Ashe County
-#8 West Henderson @ #1 Shelby
3A–#5 Statesville @ #4 Asheville High
-#10 Franklin @ #2 Anson County
3AA-#14 Parkland @ #6 Roberson
4A–#5 Reynolds @ #4 Purnell Swett
Franklin’s one-pointer over North Buncombe in Weaverville highlighted last week’s opening round game in the NCHSAA postseason. Playoff jitters should be gone this Friday as eight sub-divisions get whittled down with 11 mountain teams involved—all aiming for Big Four country.
Never, never, never give up. The region’s hottest team resides in Bryson City, where No. 9 Swain County (5-7) has a mission in mind. The once 0-7 Maroon Devils face their sternest test after a long bus ride to Mt. Airy (12-0)—the hometown of Andy Griffith—in a 1-AA battle that would rock the state if an upset occurs. The top-seeded Bears’ have won by an average score of 46-6 in 2007. The Northwest champions won 79-0 last week, have a combined 175-9 count in their last three wins, and have scored 45 or more seven times this season. Their closest call was a 34-14 victory over 2-A North Surry back in August. Swain rides home with heads held high, but out of ammunition. Bears, 28-14
In 3-A action, 10th-seed Franklin (7-5) travels to second-seed Anson County (10-2), co-champs of the South Piedmont Conference. The Bearcats’ only losses have been to 4-AA giant Richmond County and annual 3-A contender Concord. The underdog Panthers are on a roll but run out of time in Wadesboro. Bearcats, 28-21
Reynolds (8-3) at Purnell Swett (9-3) is one of four 4 vs. 5 games involving area teams Friday. The 5th-seed Rockets are back in form, having demolished North Davidson after a disappointing loss to Watauga the prior week. The Rams, seeded fourth and runners-up in the Two Rivers Conference, have played a hard schedule, feature an dangerous runner to rival Darius Spencer—senior Marlin Locklear (1,405 yds., 14 TDs)—and are tough to handle in Pembroke (6 wins in their last 7 home games). A gallant effort from the green-and-gold comes up short. Rams, 21-17
One of three Smoky Mountain Conference schools vying for a 1-A title, running Robbinsville (7-5), just showed the region how to win with no air power. The sixth seed’s job gets harder this week at Salemburg Lakewood (8-4), seeded third out of the Super Six. The Leopards’ eight wins were sandwiched between consecutive losses in midseason—three by the league’s upper tier. This bunch is hard to tame at home (4-1 in ’07), but no job gets turned away by Gene Boley’s hard-working crew. Upset Special: Black Knights, 17-14
Another mountain team with new life is Hendersonville (7-5). The Bearcats took out some recent frustrations last week by ending the season for WHC champ Polk County. The 14 seeds reward is facing high-scoring West Montgomery (10-2) in a tough 1-AA tilt in Mt. Gilead. The Warriors, seeded a questionable sixth, were runners-up in the strong Yadkin Valley, topped 80 points twice this season while averaging close to 50 per game, and dealt Murphy a real blow six days ago (54-21). Hendersonville must keep the ball for long stretches to stand a chance. Warriors, 31-21
A big 3-A bout kicks off tomorrow night at Asheville High (9-2). The MAC co-champs, seeded fourth, take on No. 5 Statesville (9-3), the North Piedmont runners-up and possibly the most improved team in the state. Before turning it around in ’07, the Greyhounds had won twice in two years. Since losing at Franklin, Asheville has outscored their last two mountain opponents 104-13. Cougars, 28-17
One of four home games for area schools has No. 5 Lincolnton (8-4) visiting No. 4 Brevard (8-4) in the 2-A brackets. The Southern Piedmont champs made mincemeat of Mitchell last Friday. Like the Blue Devils, they overcame an early four-game losing skid before winning a competitive conference title outright. There is one common opponent: Shelby outlasted Brevard, 7-0, one week after overwhelming the Wolves, 35-13. Both games were in September. Blue Devils, 21-14
The final 4-v.-5 duel has fifth-seed Pisgah (9-3) meeting No. 4 Ashe County (8-4) in West Jefferson. The 2-AA tussle pits the Mountain Valley co-champion Huskies against the potent but unpredictable Black Bears. Pisgah seems to have its offense untracked in time for a late-season run. Black Bears, 27-24
Another WAC team in the 2-AA sub-class is West Henderson (5-6), a latecomer fighting for a better close to an otherwise difficult campaign. The Falcons battled injuries through late summer and are a much better team at this point. West gave eventual state champion Shelby (11-1) all it could handle a year ago in an almost identical situation. Golden Lions, 35-21
No team from the mountain region has been more effective this year than Roberson (10-1), an unreasonably low 6th seed in the 3-AA division. The Rams host Winston-Salem Parkland (6-6) with one item on the checklist: just win baby, and then advance. The Mustangs have scored more points than Roberson against a slate that included four 4-A teams. They also surrendered over four times as many as the stingy MAC co-champs. Defense, defense, and a sound offense win it for the Rams, 28-10.
In other 1-A playoff action, #2 Cherokee (8-3) 31, #10 South Stanley 14
—Michael Hughes
Leave a reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
