GREENSBORO, NC – The North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) said the High School Football Playoffs will take place in Western North Carolina this weekend despite the wildfires.
The association held a conference call on Thursday and issued a statement on the current decision. Athletic leaders consulted with the National Weather Service and local emergency management officials and school leaders.
The National Weather Service said the forecast calls for winds that will help disperse some of the smoke where games are being held.
The NCHSAA said they will continue to monitor the situation with schools hosting games in affected areas.
Eleven Triad high school teams will travel to Western North Carolina on Friday for football playoff games.
Ten of those teams will play in areas affected by raging wildfires.
The NCHSAA released the following statement:
"With widespread wildfires and smoke in several areas of Western North Carolina, many of you have inquired about the football playoffs scheduled to begin on Friday night across the state. All games are still on as originally scheduled. After consulting with experts at the National Weather Service as well as local emergency management officials and local school personnel at affected member schools, the decision to proceed as planned was affirmed. The forecast calls for winds that experts say will help disperse some of the smoke in the area tomorrow.
NCHSAA Football Playoffs
Unless noted, all kickoffs are at 7:30 p.m.
Friday’s games
4-AA
No. 5 NORTH DAVIDSON (7-4) at No. 4 ROBERSON (8-3)
The winner plays: No. 8 Harding (5-6) or No. 1 East Forsyth (10-1).
Last playoff win for Roberson: 2007.
Notes: Homefield advantage for a first-round playoff game has been a given for Roberson in the Mountain Athletic Conference 4-A division. This year, it feels like a just dessert for the biggest turnaround in Buncombe County football. Shrine Bowl lineman DayQuan Watkins lays down blocks for Ty Gossett (2,170 yards and 18 touchdowns with 15 interceptions), who has completed 72 combined passes to Micah Jenkins (41 receptions for 644 yards and four touchdowns) and Barshia Young (31 receptions for 541 yards and six touchdowns). LeJuan Rush (416 yards, eight touchdowns) gains 6.5 yards a carry. Logan Wells (192 tackles), Greg Johnston (113) and Jordan McNeill (93) fortify things on the other side of the ball. North Davidson averages 454.8 yards a game with such playmakers as Joe Butts (2,952 yards and 34 touchdowns with 10 interceptions) and T.J. Boyce (1,482 yards, 13 touchdowns) and Zi Russell (54 receptions for 998 yards and 11 touchdowns).
3-AA
No. 8 CENTRAL CABARRUS (5-6) at No. 1 REYNOLDS (9-2)
The winner plays: No. 5 Erwin (6-5) or No. 4 Sun Valley (8-3).
Last playoff win for Reynolds: 2015.
Notes: Be careful what you wish for. Opposing teams were more than ready to see Rico Dowdle graduate after he scored a WNC-record 63 touchdowns for Reynolds in 2015. Shutting down the Rockets offense isn’t as simple as stopping one player this season. Nathan St. Onge (1,259 passing yards, 936 rushing yards and 25 combined touchdowns) has come into his own at quarterback with Rmani Lynch (36 receptions for 485 yards and five touchdowns), Keyal Talbert (29 receptions for 390 yards and one touchdown) and Kaedin Robinson (25 receptions for 450 yards and seven touchdowns) running routes for him. Talbert (647 yards, eight touchdowns) and Sean Jones (638 yards, nine touchdowns) have lent ground support. Finally, the two-time defending Mountain Athletic Conference 3-A champions have been led in tackles by Frank Torres (123), Conor Sullivan (101) and Charlie Lehman (94). Central Cabarrus is coached by Donnie Kiefer, who resigned from Tuscola in 2012 after going 39-24-1 record in five seasons with the Mountaineers. He was also previously the coach at Andrews.
No. 7 POLK COUNTY (5-6) at No. 2 SURRY CENTRAL (10-1)
The winner plays: No. 6 Lexington (5-5) or No. 3 Hendersonville (8-3).
Last playoff win for Polk County: 2014.
Notes: Don’t get used to it. Uncharacteristically, Polk County struggled to compete with the upper-echelon teams in the Western Highlands Conference this season, losing to Hendersonville, Mitchell and Mountain Heritage all by double digits. The Wolverines can feel good about the future with junior Dillon Overholt at quarterback. He threw his sixth touchdown of the season to Jaymes Wingo in a 52-13 loss at Hendersonville on Nov. 4. Surry Central is the Western Piedmont Conference champion and enters the postseason with a six-game winning streak. The Golden Eagles brought back 18 starters from last year’s 4-7 squad.
2-A
No. 6 LEXINGTON (5-5) at No. 3 HENDERSONVILLE (8-3)
The winner plays: No. 7 Polk County (5-6) or No. 2 Surry Central (10-1).
Last playoff win for Hendersonville: 2015.
Notes: Replacing the top passer in school history is nowhere near as easy as Alex Williford has made it look. Williford took the reins of the Hendersonville offense after Michael Schmidt (6,923 yards) graduated and went on to Air Force. The Bearcats haven’t missed a beat with Williford (2,386 yards and 26 touchdowns with 14 interceptions) slinging the ball around to fellow junior Tykel Landrum (69 receptions for 1,188 yards) as well as seniors Leon Cooks (40 receptions for 775 yards and 11 touchdowns) and Demetrius Smith (25 receptions for 200 yards and two touchdowns). Ty’rese Hunt (688 yards, 12 touchdowns) is only a sophomore. Shaq Rospel (7.6 tackles a game) and Jhon Salguero (7.1) both average more than seven tackles a night. Kicker Drew Eudy has made all seven of his field-goal attempts with a long of 37 yards. Lexington quarterback Saafir Craven (1,649 passing yards, 580 rushing yards and 21 combined touchdowns) is a two-way threat for the Yellow Jackets.
No. 8 MADISON (5-6) at No. 1 REIDSVILLE (11-0)
The winner plays: No. 5 West Stanly (7-4) or No. 4 Mountain Heritage (10-1).
Last playoff win for Madison: 2012.
Notes: First-year coach Ben Rhodarmer and Madison are on the right track. Unfortunately, that track leads to top-seeded Reidsville on Friday. The unbeaten Rams were third in the season’s final Associated Press poll for NCHSAA 2-A. Rhodarmer’s team is back in the state playoffs for first time since 2013 and will try to pull an upset with the varied skill set of senior Colby Edwards (1,868 passing yards, 1,132 rushing yards and 33 combined touchdowns). His favorite receivers have been Dawson Coates (60 receptions for 740 yards and eight touchdowns) and Elan Littrell (50 receptions for 654 yards and two touchdowns). Ty Snelson (550 yards, six touchdowns) is another productive back in the Patriots’ offense. On the other side of the ball, Madison is led by Logan Roberts (10.5 tackles a game), Dakota Surrett (9.3), Keegan Foley (8.7) and Austin Shelton (8.7).
No. 7 WINSTON-SALEM CARVER (5-6) at No. 2 BREVARD (9-2)
The winner plays: No. 6 North Wilkes (7-4) or No. 3 North Rowan (9-2).
Last playoff win for Brevard: 2007.
Notes: Flip the script? Brevard and Tanner Ellenberger (1,811 passing yards, 565 rushing yards and 38 combined touchdowns) were a 2-9 team a year ago. The co-WNC Athletic Conference champions are back in the state playoffs for the first time in three years thanks to Ellenberger as well as Tanner Pettit (926 yards, six touchdowns), Ari Williams (37 receptions for 725 yards and 12 touchdowns) and Jesse Lowery (21 receptions for 264 yards and five touchdowns). The defense has fed off of Ethan Shook (12.5 tackles a game), Pettit (7.9) and Estevian Benjamin (7.2). Carver enters the postseason with a four-game winning streak but lost 34-12 at Asheville High on Sept. 23.
No. 5 ROBBINSVILLE (4-6) at No. 4 WINSTON-SALEM PREP (4-6)
The winner plays: No. 8 South Robeson (2-9) or No. 1 Murphy (10-1).
Last playoff win for Robbinsville: 2015.
Notes: Facts are facts. Two-time defending 1-A Western Regional champion Robbinsville is still that until someone else hoists the trophy next month. The Black Knights will try to make some noise in this postseason with the rushing of Ian Wiggins (658 yards, two touchdowns) and Colby Hemphill (625 yards, seven touchdowns). Robbinsville was without Alex Bridges (668 yards and eight touchdowns with five interceptions) for its last game – 14-0 loss on Nov. 4 at Swain County. Leading tackler Elijah Wachacha (8.1 a game) stood in at quarterback that evening. Winston-Salem Prep has been outscored 267-155 this season and one of its wins was a forfeit (Oct. 21 over North Stokes).
No. 7 ANDREWS (2-9) at No. 2 MOUNTAIN ISLAND CHARTER (8-3)
The winner plays: No. 6 Bishop McGuinness (4-7) or No. 3 Thomas Jefferson (9-2).
Last playoff win for Andrews: 2015.
Notes: All in? Yes. All seven teams in the Smoky Mountain Conference are playoff bound despite it being a down year for the league – only Murphy (10-1) and Cherokee (7-4) have winning records. Andrews won its two games (Rosman and Tellico Plains, Tenn.,) for first-year coach James Phillips by single digits. The Wildcats will obviously be looking for No. 3 behind Matt Barton (413 yards and one touchdown with seven interceptions), Andrew Horton (356 rushing yards) and Cody Mathis (15 receptions for 145 yards). Mountain Island Charter forfeited two wins a week ago due to an ineligible player – 31-13 over Thomas Jefferson on Sept. 2 and 48-20 over Pine Lake Prep on Sept. 16.
No. 6 HAYESVILLE (2-8) at No. 3 ALLEGHANY (5-6)
The winner plays: No. 7 Chatham Central (3-8) or No. 2 Mitchell (10-1).
Last playoff win for Hayesville: 2013.
Notes: No more Smoky Mountain Conference tournament? SMC coaches have bemoaned the fact that there have been so many rematches in the playoffs between their teams in recent years. No team knows that better than Hayesville – the Yellow Jackets have played eight such games since 2010 and this is their first non-SMC opponent since 2009. Sophomore Alan Gillis (987 passing yards, 734 rushing yards and 18 combined touchdowns) has been a bright spot for rookie coach Kenneth Dockery. Payton Krieger (27 receptions for 365 yards and three touchdowns) is the only Hayesville receiver who has played in all 10 of its games. Likewise, Thomas Cothren has made a team-high 69 tackles and started all season long. Devin Boykin has 65. Alleghany’s Tristen Villarruel (1,120 yards, 14 touchdowns) hasn’t played since Oct. 14, leaving Brett Pope (944 yards and six touchdowns with eight interceptions) and the rest of the offense to pick up the slack.
No. 2 CHRIST SCHOOL (10-1) at No. 1 HIGH POINT CHRISTIAN (9-1), 7 p.m.
How they got here: Christ School beat SouthLake Christian by forfeit and Ravenscroft, 34-16; High Point Christian beat North Raleigh Christian, 49-0 and Cannon School, 25-0.
Notes: Christ School coach Mark Moroz is only mildly joking when he says he’d put his defense up against the Carolina Panthers right now. Junior linebacker Seth Griswold (530 career tackles) is averaging a team-high 10.6 a game this fall. Griswold began his career at Roberson and made 162 tackles for the Rams as a junior, 132 as a sophomore and 130 as a freshman. Griswold reclassified with the transfer to an NCISAA school. Some of his teammates are Carson Jones (85 tackles) and Sage Holley (80). Drew Johnson has thrown for a career-high 2,520 yards and 32 touchdowns and four interceptions with the help of Keyvaun Cobb (58 receptions for 710 yards and 10 touchdowns), Jared Letman-Gash (36 receptions for 505 yards and 13 touchdowns), Gabe Blevins (33 receptions for 488 yards and four touchdowns), Kokayi Cobb (23 receptions for 510 yards and one touchdown), Tyler Redmond (21 receptions for 342 yards and five touchdowns) and Kevin Snyder (17 receptions for 146 yards). Christ School has been playing football for 101 years and is 0-for-5 in all-time state championship appearances. High Point Christian and Copeland Petitfils (15.9 tackles per game) have not allowed any points in the NCISAA playoffs. Senior De’shaun Taylor (1,228 yards and 15 touchdowns with six interceptions) is a 1,000-yard passer.
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