As I stared at the screen of the NFHS feed from Southeast Raleigh during those awful 45 minutes last week when Krisjon Clark was on the turf, I was struck at how inconsequential sports become when intersected with a young man’s well-being.
The fact that he’s home and recovering frees us up again to ponder the less important things in life — like high school football.
This season is racing toward a conclusion, with just two regular-season games remaining. Some of our teams are in great spots, others are squarely in the conversation for the postseason while others are either close to, or on the wrong side of, the dreaded bubble.
The little dollar sign next to the HighSchoolOT link for the playoff projections implies that you need a subscription. You really should buy one. Prep coverage is worth saving, and there aren’t a lot of folks left doing that work.
Anyway, on with the show…
Triton at South Johnston (Thursday)
Records: South Johnston 5-3, 3-2 Carolina Pines 6A; Triton 3-5, 2-3
Last time out: South Johnston thumped Western Harnett, 35-0, while Triton was pillaged by Union Pines, 56-0
Massey Rating spread: South Johnston -24.5
Media Watch: Curtis Media Group 102.3 FM, jocofootball.com and NFHS ($)
HighSchool OT playoff projection ($): Triton is the 19 seed in the East; South Johnston is the 14 seed (and fun fact — they’re currently projected to meet in round one).
Breakdown: This Thursday night special features a rivalry game as Triton makes the short trip over from Erwin to take on the surging Trojans. South has three wins on the trot, and in that span, Holt Langston has rushed for 525 yards and seven touchdowns.
The defense has also been playing lights out, allowing just 21 points in those contests (and just 98 in eight games). The Hawks have won two of three, and were playing well until running headfirst into the brick wall known as Union Pines (the soon-to-be crowned conference champions).
Triton leads the series 13-8 in the MaxPreps era, but has dropped two straight. Make it three as South stays hot this week.
Prediction: South Johnston 34, Triton 7
Corinth Holders at Enloe
Records: Corinth Holders 4-4, 2-3 CAP 8A; Enloe 5-3, 3-2
Last time out: Corinth Holders was humbled by Leesville Road, 48-10, while Enloe took its turn getting hammered by unbeaten Millbrook, 49-0.
Massey Rating spread: Enloe -3.5
Media Watch: NFHS ($)
HighSchool OT playoff projection ($): Corinth Holders is the projected first team out of the field; Enloe is the 11 seed
Breakdown: That last line tells the story for the Pirates, who badly needs to find a way to win this game. Four wins isn’t likely to earn Corinth Holders a spot in the 8A field, and this is a far more getable spot than next week’s home date with Millbrook will be.
The Massey line is tighter than I expected, especially with the game happening at Enloe. But both teams handled Athens Drive and Wakefield easily, while both fell to Leesville Road. The difference is Enloe’s 20-14 win over Broughton, back on Sept. 19. One week later, Corinth Holders was shutout in its clash with the Capitals, and that’s the transitive property data point we’re looking at here.
It’s do or die time for the Pirates, and I feel like that message will get across. It’s a vibe game, as I’ll explain on the podcast, and that’s all it is.
Prediction: Corinth Holders 28, Enloe 27
Clayton at Garner
Records: Clayton 6-2, 3-1 Greater Neuse River 7A; Garner 6-2, 3-1
Last time out: Clayton was on its bye, while Garner shrunk South Garner, 29-10.
Massey Rating spread: Garner -.5
HighSchool OT playoff projection ($): Clayton is the 5 seed in the East (bye); Garner is the 3 seed (bye)
Breakdown: Well, it’s time to get down to the meat of the Greater Neuse River 7A, and these two teams are nipping on Cleveland’s heels. Clayton, with its game with Cleveland looming next week, is still holding on to hopes of winning a share of the league title.
Of course, the Comets have to win here first.
The Trojans edged Southeast Raleigh, 28-26, back on Sept. 19, so that’s really the separating factor between these two squads. Clayton has dominated this series in recent years, with three straight wins, but in the MaxPreps era (2004 to present), Garner holds a 15-5 advantage.
I’m just stalling now as I try to pick what I see as a coin flip game. I’ve got to be honest, the Comets have let me down a bit this season. Player for player, they’re as good as anyone, but the sauce hasn’t always come out right (Hoggard and, of course, SE Raleigh).
I can hear the speech from Coach Chadwick though: “Our goals are still there for us. All we have to do is win, and we’ll get our shot at Cleveland. Our shot at the title.”
You get the picture, right? Garner’s good, but this is another vibe pick for me.
Prediction: Clayton 24, Garner 21
Smithfield-Selma at Cleveland
Records: Cleveland 8-0, 4-0 Greater Neuse River 7A; Smithfield-Selma 1-8, 0-5
Last time out: Cleveland’s trip to Southeast Raleigh was much more than the 21-10 score, while Smithfield-Selma fell at Fuquay-Varina, 51-0.
Massey Rating spread: Cleveland -44.5
Media Watch: NFHS ($)
HighSchool OT playoff projection ($): Cleveland is the top seed in the East; SSS is off the board.
Breakdown: This one probably won’t end up on the wall of a museum.
Prediction: Cleveland 49, Smithfield-Selma 0
Western Harnett at West Johnston
Records: Western Harnett 3-5, 1-4 Carolina Pines 6A; West Johnston 3-5, 2-3
Last time out: Western Harnett was grounded by South Johnston, 35-0, while West Johnston was shocked by previously winless Southern Lee, 28-23
Massey Rating spread: West Johnston -36.5
Media Watch: NFHS ($)
HighSchool OT playoff projection ($): Western Harnett is the 24 seed in the East; West Johnston is the 20 seed.
Breakdown: I can’t explain last week’s result for West Johnston. A 10-0 lead over an 0-7 team in the first quarter almost always leads to a runaway win. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, it was Southern Lee that did the running — tallying nearly 300 yards on the ground against what had been an excellent defense.
The calendar has no feelings as the weeks tick by, and West Johnston needs to pick up the pieces and bounce back this week. It wasn’t listed as such by our pals at HighSchoolOT, but it’s not terribly far away from that missing the playoff cutline.
The good news is that Western Harnett hasn’t been very good this season. The bad news is that the Eagles are certainly better than Southern Lee.
Picking West Johnston games is proving to be tricky this year, but let’s roll the dice one more time.
Prediction: West Johnston 20, Western Harnett 12
North Lenoir at North Johnston
Records: North Lenoir 1-8, 0-5 Three Rivers 4A; North Johnston 4-4, 1-3
Last time out: North Lenoir fell at home to West Craven, 41-7, while North Johnston enjoyed its bye week.
Massey Rating spread: North Johnston -25.5
Media Watch: NFHS ($)
HighSchool OT playoff projection ($): North Lenoir is the first team out of the field; North Johnston is the 15 seed in the East.
Breakdown: North Lenoir will be plenty motivated, based on its current spot outside the 4A bubble, to get a win in Kenly this week. But the Hawks have been pretty poor in 2025, having scored only 62 points all season.
The Panthers, on the other hand, got to rest up a bit over the bye week. The injury report, if such a thing existed, would be interesting here. Still, there should be enough in the cupboard to get by this week.
Having folks available for next week’s finale at SouthWest Edgecombe has to be in the backs of some minds over there. Wins this week, and next, might result in a home playoff game, rather than a road one.
Prediction: North Johnston 36, North Lenoir 12
James Kenan at Princeton
Records: James Kenan 7-1, 4-0 Swine Valley 2A/3A; Princeton 5-3, 2-2
Last time out: James Kenan walloped C.B. Aycock, 49-21, while Princeton did the same to another Wayne County school, Goldsboro (49-21).
Massey Rating spread: James Kenan -25.5
Media Watch: NFHS ($) and 98.3 FM (Curtis Media, Goldsboro)
HighSchool OT playoff projection ($): Princeton is the 10 seed in the East; James Kenan is the 3 seed (bye).
Breakdown: If you’ve arrived at this paragraph in your reading journey, you’ve been here long enough to know that we lean toward the Johnston County schools whenever possible. You also know that I call it like I see it.
Well, James Kenan is good, y’all.
The Tigers’ lone loss was at Southern Nash by two points, and since a narrow win over East Duplin, they’ve been outscoring folks by an average tally of 53-11. The 42-22 win over Midway is of particular interest, since the Raiders scored 73 on Princeton back in September.
I have a soft spot in my heart for the Bulldogs, but I don’t see it.
Prediction: James Kenan 46, Princeton 36
Roanoke Rapids at American Leadership Academy
Records: Roanoke Rapids 1-7, 0-3 Quad County 2A/3A/4A; ALA 4-4, 0-3
Last time out: Roanoke Rapids lost at Louisburg, 28-14, while ALA took the week off.
Massey Rating spread: Roanoke Rapids -5.5
Media Watch: N/A
HighSchool OT playoff projection ($): American Leadership Academy is the 12 seed in the 2A East; Roanoke Rapids is the 23 seed in the 4A East (the Quad County is a split league among 2A, 3A and 4A teams).
Breakdown: Life in a split conference has its perks, and the fact that American Leadership Academy isn’t sweating the postseason is proof of that fact. That’s not to say that a win over the 4A Yellow Jackets wouldn’t be nice — it certainly would. But it’s not quite as urgent as it is for some of the other Johnston County teams.
Roanoke Rapids’ playoff spot is a bit more tenuous, and it could really use a win to suck the drama out of the rest of the regular season. It’s 1-7 for a reason, though. The Yellow Jackets have been porous on defense, allowing 30 points a night.
The common opponents, Wake Prep and Louisburg, tell a story. Both lost those games, but ALA did so while scoring and allowing more points. Translation: ALA is better offensively, which led to more possessions. Of course, the flipside of that is that ALA is allowing 33 points a game on defense. So, neither team is going to be confused with the ’85 Bears anytime soon.
The Massey number is tight, and this is a true toss up for me. Let’s say that the fact that ALA is coming off a bye, combined with Roanoke Rapids’ weird travel for the 4 p.m. start, leads to a narrow Patriot win.
Prediction: American Leadership Academy 42, Roanoke Rapids 35