Time: 7:30 p.m.
Bracket: 3AA West
Seeds: No. 11 Asheville Clyde Erwin Warriors vs. No. 3 A.L. Brown Wonders
Records: Erwin 8-4; A.L. Brown 10-2
Power ratings: Ken Massey’s system ranks Erwin No. 100 in the state, while the Wonders are 66th
Head coaches: Erwin: Mike Sexton; A.L. Brown: Ron Massey (107-29 at Brown, 192-80-3 overall)
Erwin offense: 31.8 ppg
Erwin defense: 25.5 ppg
Brown offense: 35.4 ppg
Brown defense: 14.9 ppg
Brown vs. winning teams: 3-1n Erwin vs. winning teams: 2-3
Brown at home: 6-1
Erwin on the road: 4-2
Who beat Erwin? Black Mountain Owen (6-6), Pisgah (8-4), A.C. Reynolds (10-2), Asheville (10-1-1)
Series: First meeting
Next week: Winner faces the No. 7 South Point vs. No. 2 Gastonia Forestview winner
Game notes: Erwin finished third in the 4A/3A Mountain Athletic Conference. A.L. Brown won the SPC.
Since Sept. 1, Erwin has lost only to powers A.C. Reynolds and Asheville, and the Warriors battled fiercely in a 28-21 loss to unbeaten Asheville on Nov. 6. Then they won big at Charlotte Catholic last week, an impressive feat.
Erwin has a well-balanced, high-powered offense. Martese Jackson has rushed for 1,925 yards and 25 TDs, while QB Garrett Brown is a high-percentage thrower with 1,498 passing yards.
Brown may have to win a shootout and needs big games from QB Martel Campbell and fullback Antwoine Jordan in support of tailback Travis Riley (1,864 rushing yards).
Erwin has only two playoff wins this century. Wonder tradition could make the difference.
ó Mike London