South Rowan and North Rowan have a common goal tonight. Both football teams want to go
west — to the western half of the state playoffs.South, playing at home, needs a victory
over Mount Tabor to wrap up second place in the Central Piedmont Conference and a berth in
the state 4A playoffs. Even with a loss, South could wind up in a three-way tie and
advance on a drawing.
North, which travels to East
Davidson, has to win. The Cavaliers are tied with East Davidson for third place in the
Central Carolina Conference, and tonight’s winner will be the league’s No. 3
seed for the state 2A playoffs.
North is no stranger to the
playoffs, having reached the 3A or 4A postseason six straight times from 1992 through
1997. The Cavaliers have had nine teams in the state playoffs and 12 in the postseason,
counting the old Western North Carolina High School Activities Association.
South may not have had a lot of
success making the playoffs in the 1990s, but the Raiders were the county’s most
successful in a span of 12 years. Eleven South teams made either the WNCHSAA or state
playoffs from 1975 through 1986. South has had 13 playoff teams, more than any current
county school, with 11 of them competing in the state playoffs.
Salisbury has had six playoff
appearances since a merger of Boyden and Price. Both Boyden and Price had their share of
playoff teams before the merger.
South, North, East Rowan and West
Rowan weren’t eligible for state playoffs until 1977, when the old WNCHSAA was
disbanded.
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Last week’s high school
prediction record of 11-0 improved the overall record to 118-26-2 for a percentage of
.815. The best picks of the week were South Rowan over R.J. Reynolds and Concord over East
Rowan by an almost perfect score. The Spiders won 17-7, whileI picked it 17-8, expecting a
2-point conversion for some reason.
This week’s choices:
Coach Rick Vanhoy’s South
Raiders will be trying to accomplish a feat that no team has been able to do: beat every
Forsyth County team on the schedule. South had a chance to give up when it was 1-7.
Instead, the Raiders decided to play their best football of the season. I’m a
believer — South Rowan 14, Mount Tabor 8.
East Davidson, on paper, appears
to have a slight edge over North Rowan, but the Cavaliers had a lot of success with their
passing game against the Golden Eagles last year. The Cavs’ defense could be the key
— North Rowan 28, East Davidson 22.
East Rowan closes out its season
with a homecoming game against Sun Valley, which has played well against some
SouthPiedmont Conference teams and poorly against others. East is going for a winning
record — East Rowan 34, Sun Valley 6.
West Rowan can defeat Central
Cabarrus and tie for third place in the SPC, but the Falcons are out of the playoffs,
assuming Northwest Cabarrus will easily beat Piedmont. West’s Falcons can still post
a solid 8-3 mark — West Rowan 20, Central Cabarrus 17.
Kannapolis A.L. Brown takes on
arch-rival Concord in what could be a tough contest for the unbeaten Wonders, who have
been hurt by recent injuries. Kannapolis should still have enough to hold off the Spiders
and win the SPC crown — Kannapolis 14, Concord 7.
North Stanly’s Comets close
out a disappointing season at Lexington. Each team has only two victories. The Comets have
the speed to beat the Yellow Jackets — North Stanly 30, Lexington 21.
Other choices: High Point Central
overLedford for the CCC title, Northwest Cabarrus over Piedmont, Vance over Harding, West
Forsyth over R.J. Reynolds, Albemarle over East Montgomery, and Mooresville over East
Lincoln.
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Ed Dupree is senior sports writer
of the Post. |
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