Blue Devils face Salisbury; Hibriten, S. Caldwell,
Watauga also open postseason with home games
By CHRIS HOBBS
HobbsDailyReport.com
Seven high school football teams from the Greater Hickory area conferences are headed to the state playoffs next Friday, led by the 25th straight bid by Maiden.
Maiden and West Lincoln advance from the South Fork 2A while Hibriten and Bunker Hill are in from the Northwestern Foothills 2A with Alexander Central, Watauga and South Caldwell earning bids from the Northwestern 3A-4A.
Hibriten (7-0), Maiden (6-0), South Caldwell (3-2) and Watauga (5-1) earned first-round home games, and Watauga is the No. 1 West seed in the 3AA bracket with an opening game in Boone against No. 8 Greensboro Dudley (6-1).
Hibriten gained a No. 3 seed in West 2AA and faces No. 6 Burns (5-2) while Maiden is seeded No. 2 in the same bracket and playing at home against No. 7 Salisbury (5-2).
South Caldwell (3-2) is seeded No. 4 in the West 4A bracket and opens in Hudson against No. 5 Durham Hillside (5-1).
More on the playoff history of the seven schools:
2A
No. 6 West Lincoln: The Rebels open with a road game at No. 3 Mount Pleasant (3-0), and they are in the postseason for the fifth straight season and 11th time in school history.
Those 11 bids have come after getting into the postseason for the first time in school history in 2005 with nine of the 11 coming in the last 11 seasons.
Head coach Darren Ponder is only the second West Lincoln head football coach to guide back-to-back state playoff teams (Tom Sain coached seven Rebels teams to the postseason).
West Lincoln has never played Mount Pleasant in postseason football.
Next: If West Lincoln wins, it will play at No. 2 Mountain Heritage or face No. 7 Forbush in Vale.
No. 8 Bunker Hill: The Bears are in the state playoffs, playing at top-seeded Hendersonville (5-2) and making back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time since Randy Faucette guided them to two in a row in 1999 and 2000.
Bunker Hill has been knocked out in the first round in 11 of its last 12 postseason appearances and has not won a road playoff game since 2013 (over Ashe County).
The Bears’ 20th all-time bid opens against an opponent they’ve never met in the postseason, and they are 6-19 in postseason games all-time.
Next: If Bunker Hill wins, it will play at No. 5 Walkertown or No. 4 Shelby.
2AA
No. 2 Maiden: The Blue Devils’ first-rounder is at home against No. 7 Salisbury and their first battle with the Hornets.
Maiden head coach Will Byrne is guiding the 45th state playoff team in Blue Devils history and now, with five postseason bids, is only the second Maiden head coach with that many.
Previous head coaches Frank Snider and Brian Brown each had four playoff teams. The late Tom Brown had 28 postseason teams at Maiden.
Maiden will chase state playoff win No. 52 (51-42) and is 33-17 in postseason home games.
Next: If Maiden wins, it will play No. 3 Hibriten or No. 6 Burns at Maiden.
No. 3 Hibriten: Hibriten’s 19th straight state playoff bid (23 overall) starts at home with a rematch of last year, just in an earlier round.
Burns beat the Panthers 52-35 in Lenoir a year ago in the second round.
This will be their third postseason battle, as Hibriten won at home 62-28 in a second-round game in 2016.
The Panthers are 34-20 in the state playoffs, which includes winning 28 of 37 of those games played at home.
Next: If Hibriten wins, it wll play at No. 2 Maiden or at home against No. 7 Salisbury.
3AA
No. 1 Watauga: The Pioneers face No. 6 Greensboro Dudley (6-1) in an opening round game.
Watauga has made the postseason 19 times since 1978, when it won a state 3A title.
Head coach Ryan Habich is in his eighth year at Watauga, and the Pioneers have reached postseason play each of those years. They’ve won three straight conference titles.
Next: If Watauga wins, it will play No. 5 Asheville Roberson or No. 4 A.L. Brown in Boone.
No. 7 Alexander Central: The Cougars own their fourth straight postseason appearance (and 20th overall) as they prep to play No. 2 Mount Tabor (7-0) on the road in the first round.
Alexander Central and Mount Tabor have never met in the football postseason.
Cougars head coach Butch Carter’s five straight playoff teams puts him at the top of Alexander Central’s list, surpassing four each by former head coaches Chris Deal and Tom Harper.
Alexander Central will try to snap a stretch of seven straight first-round losses – going in 4-19 in the postseason – and they have only two state playoff road wins in 15 tries (won at East Surry in the first round in 1983 and at High Point Central in the first round in 2006).
Next: If Alexander Central wins, it will play at No. 6 Asheville or at No. 3 Weddington.
4A
No. 4 South Caldwell: The Spartans — in the state playoffs for the third straight year under head coach Marc Kirkpatrick — start at home against No. 5 Durham Hillside (5-1).
This is South Caldwell’s 17th state playoff bid and its 14th since 2004.
The Spartans haven’t gotten out of the first round since 2015, when they made the third round. That was also the season South Caldwell had its last home postseason win (over A.L. Brown, second round).
Reaching the state 3A final the year the school opened (1977), South Caldwell is 11-15 in the postseason.
Forty-four years ago, Marc Kirkpatrick’s dad – Don (Red) Kirkpatrick – guided a school formed by the consolidation of Granite Falls and Hudson – to the state 3A championship game.
Granite Falls and Hudson were junior-dominated in 1976, and it was a perfect storm as the returnees included Donnie Lynn Kirkpatrick (quarterback and son of Red, brother of Marc) and a lanky wide receiver (Joe Davis).
South Caldwell started those state playoffs by winning 22-6 at North Surry, then nipped visiting South Rowan 8-7. In the third round in Hudson, the Spartans beat Brevard 16-6 to reach the state title game.
South Caldwell played Western Guilford on the road in that championship game and fell 26-20.
The Spartans did not make the state playoffs again until 1994 and did not win another postseason game until a first-round 21-14 victory at South Rowan.
Next: If South Caldwell wins, it will play No. 8 East Forsyth in Hudson or travel to No. 1 Greensboro Grimsley.
FIRST ROUND GAMES FOR AREA SCHOOLS
WEST 2A
No. 6 W. LINCOLN (5-2) at No. 3 Mount Pleasant (7-0), 7 p.m.
No. 8 BUNKER HILL (6-1) at No. 1 Hendersonville (5-2), 7:30 p.m.
WEST 2AA
No. 6 Burns (5-2) at No. 3 HIBRITEN (7-0), 7:30 p.m.
No. 7 Salisbury (5-2) a No. 2 MAIDEN (6-0), 7 p.m.
WEST 3AA
No. 7 ALEXANDER CENTRAL (5-2) at No. 2 Mount Tabor (7-0), time TBA
No. 8 Greensboro Dudley (6-1) at No. 1 WATAUGA (5-1), 7 p.m.
WEST 4A
No. 5 Durham Hillside (5-1) at No. 4 S. CALDWELL (3-2), 7 p.m.
STATEWIDE FIRST ROUND
FOOTBALL PLAYOFF PAIRINGS
1A
EAST
No. 8 Pamlico County (4-2) at No. 1 W. Columbus (2-3)
No. 5 Northside-Pinetown (4-2) at No. 4 Rosewood (6-1)
No. 6 Perquimans (4-1) at No. 3 Bear Grass Charter (3-1)
No. 7 N. Duplin (3-4) at No. 2 Northampton County (1-3)
WEST
No. 8 Andrews (4-2) at No. 1 Elkin (5-1)
No. 5 Thomas Jefferson Academy at No. 4 Murphy (6-1)
No. 6 Christ The King (4-3) at No. 3 Mitchell County (6-0)
No. 7 Winston-Salem Prep (5-2) at No. 2 Robbinsville (7-0)
1AA
EAST
No. 8 Manteo (2-4) at No. 1 Tarboro (5-0)
No. 5 Princeton (7-0) at No. 4 Edenton Holmes (5-0)
No. 6 Hobbton (2-5) at No. 3 E. Carteret (5-2)
No. 7 Lakewood (2-5) at No. 2 Louisburg (4-2)
WEST
No. 8 Polk County (4-1) at No. 1 N. Stanly (6-0)
No. 5 Community School of Davidson (5-2) at No. 4 N. Rowan (4-2)
No. 6 Mount Airy (4-2) at No. 3 Pine Lake Prep (7-0)
No. 7 N. Moore (4-3) at No. 2 E. Surry (6-1)
2A
EAST
No. 8 SW Onslow (4-1) at No. 1 Reidsville (6-0)
No. 5 Red Springs (4-1) at No. 4 Wallace-Rose Hill (4-3)
No. 6 Kinston (5-1) at No. 3 Elizabeth City Northeastern 4-0)
No. 7 Eastern Randolph (4-1) at No. 2 Clinton (7-0)
WEST
No. 8 Bunker Hill (6-1) at No. 1 Hendersonville (5-2)
No. 5 Walkertown (5-0) at No. 4 Shelby (5-2)
No. 6 W. Lincoln (5-2) at No. 3 Mount Pleasant (7-0)
No. 7 Forbush (6-0) at No. 2 Mountain Heritage (4-1)
2AA
EAST
No. 8 S. Granville (5-2) at No. 1 Washington (5-1)
No. 5 McMichael (2-5) at No. 4 Croatan (6-1)
No. 6 Roanoke Rapids (5-1) at No. 3 SW Edgecombe 5-2)
No. 7 Randleman (7-0) at No. 2 St. Pauls (5-0)
WEST
No. 8 Canton Pisgah (6-1) at No. 1 N. Davidson (6-1)
No. 5 Oak Grove (5-2) at No. 4 Ashe County (7-0)
No. 6 Burns (5-2) at No. 3 Hibriten (7-0)
No. 7 Salisbury (5-2) at No. 2 Maiden (6-0)
3A
EAST
No. 8 Eastern Alamance (5-1) at No. 1 Rocky Mount (6-1)
No. 5 Western Alamance (7-0) at No. 4 Fayetteville Sanford (6-1)
No. 6 Southern Guilford (5-2) at No. 3 Havelock (7-0)
No. 7 W. Carteret (5-2) at No. 2 Pittsboro Northwood (5-2)
WEST
No. 8 W. Rowan (4-2) at No. 1 A.C. Reynolds (6-1)
No. 5 Crest (6-1) at No. 4 Charlotte Catholic (5-1)
No. 6 Concord Robinson (5-2) at No. 3 Kings Mountain (7-0)
No. 7 Monroe (5-2) at No. 2 Statesville (5-1)
3AA
EAST
No. 8 Southern Durham (5-1) at No. 1 Clevelan (7-0)
No. 5 Lee County (7-0) at No. 4 Greenville Rose (6-0)
No. 6 Chapel Hill (5-1) at No. 3 W. Brunswick (5-1)
No. 7 Clayton (6-1) at No. 2 SE Guilford (6-1)
WEST
No. 8 Greensboro Dudley (6-1) at No. 1 Watauga (5-1)
No. 5 Asheville Roberson (6-1) at No. 4 A.L. Brown (6-1)
No. 6 Asheville (5-2) at No. 3 Weddington (6-0)
No. 7 Alexander Central (5-2) at No. 2 Mount Tabor (7-0)
4A
EAST
No. 8 Fayetteville Pine Forest (4-2) at No. 1 Cardinal Gibbons (6-0)
No. 5 Middle Creek (6-1) at No. 4 Richmond County (3-0)
No. 6 Scotland County (4-1) at No. 3 New Bern (5-1)
No. 7 Fayetteville Britt (4-1) at No. 2 Fayetteville South View (6-1)
WEST
No. 8 E. Forsyth (3-3) at No. 1 Greensboro Grimsley (6-0)
No. 5 Durham Hillside (5-1) at No. 4 S. Caldwell (3-2)
No. 6 Butler (6-1) at No. 3 Winston-Salem Glenn (5-1)
No. 7 Hickory Ridge (5-2) at No. 2 Providence (6-1)
4AA
EAST
No. 8 Pinecrest (5-2) at No. 1 Apex Friendship (7-0)
No. 5 Wake Forest (5-1) at No. 4 Raleigh Millbrook (5-2)
No. 6 Raleigh Leesville Road (5-2) at No. 3 Wilmington Hoggard
No. 7 Holly Springs (4-3) at No. 2 Rolesville (6-0)
WEST
No. 8 Green Hope (4-1) at No. 1 Hough (7-0)
No. 5 Vance (6-1) at No. 4 Ardrey Kell 6-1)
No. 6 Olympic (6-1) at No. 3 Panther Creek (7-0)
No. 7 NW Guilford (6-1) at No. 2 Myers Park (7-0)
