It’s sort of like golf: It’s not how you drive, but how you arrive.

Three Rowan County teams plus Kannapolis A.L. Brown and Davie County are aiming for postseason playoff berths and need to play well down the stretch, three October Fridays plus Nov. 5.

Kannapolis’ Wonders, a perennial 3A power and the preseason favorite, lead the South Piedmont Conference at 4-0. Coach Bruce Hardin’s club will be favored in every game down the stretch, but Kannapolis has had trouble with East Rowan, losing to the Mustangs three of the last five years.

The Wonders need to beat Harding tonight, East next week, Northwest Cabarrus on Oct. 29 and big rival Concord on Nov. 5 to finish 11-0 and possibly get the West’s No. 1 seed for the playoffs.Two other teams in the west, South Point and North Davidson, are each 7-0 like the Wonders.

East Rowan and West Rowan are tied for fifth place at 2-2 in the SPC, but coach Jeff Safrit’s East club and coach Scott Young’s West Falcons are very much in the hunt for one of the league’s three playoff spots.

East knows it could win all four remaining games (Northwest Cabarrus tonight, Kannapolis next week, Concord on Oct. 29 and Sun Valley on Nov. 5) and still not make the playoffs. But, with help from other teams, the Mustangs could still squeeze in on a tie-breaker.

Likewise, West can’t lose another game. The Falcons are the most improved team in the area, but a loss at home to Concord tonight would finish off West’s hopes. Games with Piedmont and Sun Valley the next two weeks aren’t expected to be a problem for the Falcons, but a key game closes out the season at home against Central Cabarrus on Nov. 5.

North Rowan, 1-1 and fourth in the 2A Central Carolina Conference, needs to win three of its last four games to get one of the league’s three playoff berths. One of those contests for coach Roger Secreast’s club is Oct. 22 at unbeaten High Point Central. The others are tonight in the Cavaliers’ homecoming game against Lexington, Oct. 29 vs. North Stanly and Nov. 5 at East Davidson. That final game is expected to decide third place, assuming High Point Central and Ledford each win all their games against other league teams.

How important is October for South Rowan’s Raiders? Coach Rick Vanhoy’s club doesn’t play its first 4A Centra Piedmont Conference game until tonight at Davie County. The Raiders didn’t go into the season as a team expected to make the playoffs (two berths available), but a win tonight for South could alter the picture quickly. South’s other league games are at West Forsyth next week, then two straight home games against R.J. Reynolds and Mount Tabor.

Davie County, coached by Doug Illing, took a step toward the playoffs by beating West Forsyth last week. After hosting South tonight, the War Eagles have two crucial games left, at home against R.J. Reynolds on Oct. 22 and at Mount Tabor on Oct. 29. If Davie wins two of its remaining October outings, the War Eagles will be assured of no worse than second place and a playoff berth.

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Last week’s high school prediction record of 8-2 left the season mark at 90-21-2 for a percentage of .805.

This week’s choices:

West’s Falcons? Tonight’s game could prove whether West is as good as the Falcons appeared to be before losing back-to-back games to Northwest and Kannapolis. Concord started slowly this season, but coach E.Z. Smith’s Spiders are in second place in the SPC and battling for their usual playoff berth. West has defeated Concord only once (1987) — West Rowan 14, Concord 10.

One of tonight’s closest battles could be East Rowan at Northwest Cabarrus. The Mustangs won a thriller over the Trojans (28-27) last year at East, so Northwest has revenge on its mind. The Trojans’ defense could be the difference — Northwest Cabarrus 24, East Rowan 17.

Davie County has overcome adversity so far, winning despite an injury to quarterback Drew Ridenhour. It’s homecoming for the War Eagles, who are seeking their fourth win in a row over South, a longtime league rival — Davie 28, South Rowan 14.

Winless Salisbury takes on North Stanly, which has only one victory in a disappointing season. The team that makes the fewest mistakes should win. In a mild upset — Salisbury 22, North Stanly 20.

North Rowan’s passing game should be too much for Lexington, but the Cavaliers can’t get caught looking ahead to High Point Central — North Rowan 30, Lexington 15.

Kannapolis travels to Charlotte to face Harding in an SPC mismatch — Kannapolis 63, Harding 0.

Other picks:

Albemarle over South Stanly, Mooresville over Fred T. Foard, Ledford over East Davidson, Central Cabarrus over Sun Valley and Mount Tabor over West Forsyth.

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