The NCHSAA released football playoff pairings on Saturday.
There were no surprises locally as far as who’s in and who’s out or as far as who’s 3A and who’s 3AA.
West Rowan, Carson, North Rowan, A.L. Brown and Davie are in the playoffs that start Friday . All five, as expected, are in the small-school half of their classification.
The season is over for East Rowan, Salisbury and South Rowan.
The marquee game on Friday will be a Carson-West Rowan matchup in Mount Ulla. West (8-3) is seeded sixth in the 3A West bracket, while Carson (7-4) is No. 11.
While West beat the Cougars 28-7 in Mount Ulla in early October, that was a game Carson played without quarterback Owen White, so the rematch should be tighter.
Carson has won three of its last four with a surprising aerial attack. West has dropped two of its last three.
The No. 1 seed in the 3A West bracket is Morganton Freedom, a team that East Rowan stunned in the first round last season.
The other four playoff teams from the SPC are in the 3AA bracket. SPC champ Concord is the No. 1 seed, with Hickory Ridge eighth, Robinson 12th, and Central Cabarrus 13th.
In 2A, North Rowan (5-6) is seeded ninth, and that means a first-round road trip to No. 8 seed Winston-Salem Carver (7-4).
North is in a bracket with two of its CCC opponents.
Lexington, seeded 11th, is at No. 6 Lincolnton. Thomasville, seeded second, hosts No. 15 Polk County.
East Davidson is 2AA. As a No. 15 seed, it will take on No. 2 seed Bunn.
A.L. Brown (9-2) and Davie (5-6) are in a tough 4A bracket.
Davie, seeded 15th after finishing fourth in the CPC, will be traveling to Laurinburg to face No. 2 seed Scotland County, an undefeated squad that is ranked No. 1 in the state’s AP poll.
The Wonders, who finished third in the high-powered MECKA, are seeded 12th. Their first-round game is in Pfafftown against CPC co-champ Reagan.
That game also will be a rematch. Reagan beat the Wonders 50-42 in the first round last season.