nTime: 7:30 p.m.
nBracket: 1AA West
nSeeds: No. 9 North Rowan Cavaliers vs. No. 8 Murphy Bulldogs
nRecords: North 5-6; Murphy 7-4
nSeries: First meeting
nMassey ratings: (No. 265) North Rowan vs. (No. 191) Murphy
nHead coaches: Murphy: David Gentry (closing in on 300 wins at the school); North: Tasker Fleming (2nd year, 6-16)
n Murphy offense: 37.7 ppg
n Murphy defense: 13.5 ppg
n North offense: 18.0 ppg
n North defense: 19.0 ppg
n North vs. winning teams: 1-5
n Murphy at home: 5-0
n North on the road: 2-4
n Who beat Murphy? Swain County (7-3), Franklin (9-2) and two Georgia teams
nSeries: First meeting
nNext week: Winner takes on the Albemarle-North Wilkes winner
nGame notes: North has to slow down a team that has put up wild offensive numbers. The Bulldogs have scored 60-plus three times and topped 50 in two other wins. Leaders for the Bulldogs include QB Seth Curtis and running backs Rickey Edwards and Anthony Brown. Tyler Mulligan is the top tackler.
Murphy, located in the Cherokee area, is as deep in the mountains as you can go and still be in North Carolina. Citizens of the small town like to point out they live closer to the capitals of Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, Kentucky and West Virginia than they do to Raleigh.
Murphy is the school that sent Carl Pickens to Tennessee and the NFL.
North is facing an all-day trip. It will count on QB Jesse Rudisell and backs Malik Jones, Cameron Mallett and Vince Shropshire for some points. Javon Hargrave leads North’s defense. Terry Allen had two picks last week. ó Mike London