NORTH CAROLINA, USA — It's the 3rd of the high school football playoffs--
and the Triad--has made its presence felt---throughout these first two rounds.
We started with a total of 254 teams, now we are down to just 64. As each division has reached its Sweet 16'. 13 Triad schools are still alive and fighting to be named state champions.
Six of those teams call either Guilford or Alamance County home, and today we spoke with coaches from around the Triad, as they continue their quests to to be crowned the 2022 football state champions.
We start with the surprise of the playoffs, the number 23 seed in the 3A west bracket, the Wildcats from Eastern Guilford, and their Head Coach Tony Aguilar ahead of their game with West Henderson.
"Charlotte Mecklenburg and Wake County get all the love because they are the bigger regions. However, the brand of football here in this area, the coaches here are great, and the athletes we have in the Triad are some of the best in the state," said Coach Aguilar.
Eastern Alamance finished the year with a record of 8-2, and found themselves as the number 2 seed in the 3A east bracket.
Northwest Guilford ended the year with the same record. However, they received the number 13 seed-- in the highly competitive 4A west bracket.
Both their head coaches John Kirby, Eastern Alamance, and Kevin Wallace, Northwest Guilford, told me they feel that playing games here in the Triad have prepared their teams for this point in the season.
East Surry, the number 2 seed in the west bracket for the 2A playoffs, won the AA State Championship in 2019 and made it all the way to the final four in the 2A playoffs last year.
East Forsyth also last won a state title in 2019. Last year, they made it to the 4th round where they lost to Hough, their opponent on Friday.
Grimsley won the state title back in 2020 but had a disappointing loss in the second-round last year.
Each of these teams knows what it takes to win it all.