The regular season is getting smaller in our rearview mirror as we speed toward round one of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Football playoffs.

Clayton, fresh off its win against Cleveland, will enjoy a first-round bye this week as the No. 3 seed in the 7A bracket. The other team on the field at Nixon-Fowler Stadium last week will take the week off as well, as the Rams nabbed a No. 2 seed (those are done by RPI, not conference finish).

That leaves five Johnston County other teams in the 2A, 3A, 4A and 6A ranks who will all take the green flag on Friday night for round one, hoping to steer their way deeper into November.

OK, enough race puns. Let’s drop the green flag:

Rosewood at american leadership academy

Records: ALA 4-6, Rosewood 2-8

Last week: American Leadership Academy fell at Nash Central, 54-31, while Rosewood nearly upset Princeton, 50-42.

Massey Rating spread: N/A

Media Watch: Smithfield-Selma has a NFHS feed set up, but I don’t know if it will be active

Breakdown: American Leadership Academy will the home team in its first-ever playoff football game, but it won’t be the host. The game is being played at Smithfield-Selma High School’s Charles Tucker Stadium, presumably because of the lighting situation. It’s a lovely venue, and it’s only about six miles from campus.

Rosewood knows the way to Johnston County, having visited Princeton last week. The Eagles had their best offensive output this season, topping the 40 points they posted against Spring Creek on Oct. 3. Aldino Previl will be looking to carry over the mojo from his 160-yard, five-touchdown performance last week.

Speaking of ground games, the Patriots have struggled without all-everything back Anthony Jimenez. He rushed for 304 yards and three scores against Louisburg on Oct. 10, but left that game with an knee injury which has kept him out of the past two games.

I’ve got some feelers out on his health, and I’d like to wait a bit before leaning one way or the other. ALA has been a roller coaster team with him in the lineup, but it hasn’t fared well at all without him.

UPDATE: Sources report that Jimenez’s injury will keep him out of the lineup for the rest of the season. Not great news. Best wishes to him for a speedy receovery.

Prediction: Rosewood 40, American Leadership Academy 34

3a — beddingfield at princeton

Records: Princeton 6-4, Beddingfield 1-9

Last week: Princeton held off Rosewood, 50-42, while Beddingfield fell at home to Greene Central, 55-14

Massey Rating spread: Princeton -30.5

Media Watch: NFHS ($)

Breakdown: Princeton isn’t exactly roaring into the postseason, but a ticket to the dance is a ticket to the dance. Beddingfield is a tailor-made first-round opponent, though, as the Bruins have been shut out five times this season and have only topped 15 points in a game once this season (a 38-0 win over what must a dreadful North Edgecombe squad).

We know what Princeton is at this point: An explosive offense that needs to score a lot to offset a defense that’s prone to giving up big plays.

That’s not going to be an issue this week.

Prediction: Princeton 48, Beddingfield 12

4a — Washington at north johnston

Records: Washington 2-8, North Johnston 5-5

Last week: Washington fell at North Pitt, 31-0, while North Johnston lost on Thursday night, 49-20, to SouthWest Edgecombe.

Massey Rating spread: N/A

Media Watch: NFHS ($)

Breakdown: For some reason, the Massey numbers aren’t finished yet this week. What we do know is, back on Oct. 3, these two teams met in Kenly and the Panthers claimed a 28-14 victory.

North has alternated wins and losses in the four games since while the Pam Pack won the following two (North Lenoir and SW Edgecombe) before losing two straight to end the season.

The Washington win over SWE gives me pause as a transitive property guy, but I’m going to weigh the head-to-head matchup a bit more heavily. A healthy Kaleb Pone goes a long way, too.

Prediction: North Johnston 35, Washington 21

6A — vance county at south johnston

Records: Vance County 2-8, South Johnston 7-3

Last week: The Vipers were defanged by Franklinton, 44-13, while South Johnston ran its winning streak to five with a 35-15 win over West Johnston.

Massey Rating spread: South Johnston -28.5

Media Watch: NFHS ($) and Curtis Media 102.3 FM (jocofootball.com)

Breakdown: Once upon a time, I had a job as the sports editor at the Henderson Daily Dispatch, covering Northern and Southern Vance. To give you an idea of long ago that was, those schools have now been merged into one, and that new school, Vance County, is heading here for a first-round 6A game with a red hot South Johnston squad.

The Vipers have a subpar record, but their schedule (Warren County, Jordan, Rocky Mount and Northeastern, to name a few) was rough.

The common thread for them has been a leaky defense, a unit that’s allowing almost 38 points a night. It’s not the recipe to stop the Trojans, who just happen to averaging 38.2 points per game during their recent winning streak.

Holt Langston is finishing his high school career with a flourish, averaging 169 yards a game over the last five. His fellow senior, Mason Weaver, is standing out on the other side of the ball. His 124 tackles ranks in the top 25 in the state, according to MaxPreps, regardless of classification.

Prediction: South Johnston 38, Vance County 13

6A — West johnston at West Brunswick

Records: West Johnston 4-6, West Brunswick 6-4

Last week: West Johnston dropped a rivalry clash with South Johnston, 35-15, while West Brunswick had a bye week

Massey Rating spread: West Brunswick -26.5

Media Watch: N/A

Breakdown: The Trojans play in the Carolina Coast 6A/7A/8A, which means that they’re the only 6A school in that particular league. A 3-3 mark, then, is more impressive than it otherwise might be.

West Brunswick doesn’t wow you statistically, but they run the football well with Jaquell Davis 639 yards, 11 TD) and quarterback Josiah Borton (481 yards, 5 TD) while playing decent enough defense (about 21 points allowed per game).

Figuring out West Johnston this season has been a little like trying to untangle your Christmas lights — you think it’s possible, but you just can’t seem to get all the knots out.

The offense has been particularly spotty, but since getting the quarterback job back on Sept. 19, Case Holland has been productive in spurts for the Wildcats (1,120 yards, 48.5%, 8 TD, 12 INT). The ground game has been all over the page as well, tallying 322 yards against Western Harnett on Oct. 24 and then -34 against South last week.

I’ve touted the defense all season, and I’ll do it again here. This is a unit that basically carried the team to two of its wins this season, and has the ability to score enough points on its own to keep West Johnston in this game.

That might be the kind of effort that’s required here.

Prediction: West Brunswick 20, West Johnston 13