When the calendar flips to October, things get a little more urgent in high school football. That’s because playoff berths are on the line, and a timely win could mean the difference in basketball season starting for everyone on Oct. 30, rather than some later date in November.
Yes, I know the start date is fixed. Work with me here.
Some local teams helped themselves on Friday night, while others found a few extra holes poked in their playoff balloons. Let’s unpack it all, shall we?
Neuse Six
Princeton 51, Goldsboro 0
Beddingfield 21, North Johnston 0
As you can see, Princeton was in need of a response after losing three in a row, and it found one against the Cougars. North Johnston, meanwhile, was unable to dent the scoreboard against Beddingfield. And that result put the Bruins in a tie for first with Eastern Wayne, while leaving the Panthers sharing space with their county rivals at 1-1 in league play.
Both teams will still have plenty of say in deciding the Neuse Six champion, since Princeton still has to play Beddingfield and North. The winner of the Beddingfield/Eastern Wayne game this week will be in the driver’s seat, though.
It’s worth noting that both Princeton and North are projected to receive playoff bids in the latest High School OT projections. (subscription required)
Quad County 3A
South Johnston 38, Southern Wayne 20
West Johnston 27, Smithfield-Selma 6
Hunt has put its nose in front in the Quad County 3A race, but the race is far from over. South Johnston helped its cause with a big win against Southern Wayne while West Johnston sputtered early before pulling away from Smithfield-Selma.
Our friends from We Journal Great Sports were there, and posted these highlights.
Now, according to our friends at High School OT, South is squarely on the bubble. I’m not sure that’s geometrically possible, but the Trojans are the 30th team in the 32-team field, and would visit Northern Nash in round one if the playoffs started tonight.
West, on the other hand, is the projected 24th team in the field and would visit North Brunswick. Both county schools will have chances to boost their stock between now and Halloween, however.
Greater Neuse 4A
Clayton 49, South Garner 6
Cleveland 52, Willow Spring 7
Fuquay-Varina 24, Corinth Holders 13
You can direct your questions to Western Boulevard in Raleigh, but at the moment, Clayton is projected as the Greater Neuse 4A champion and No. 2 overall seed by the folks at High School OT.
Of course, there is the little matter of the season finale between the Comets and Cleveland. Many, many marbles will be up for grabs in that one.
Before its loss to Fuquay-Varina, Corinth Holders was among the first teams out of the projected bracket. That is no longer the case.