County’s seven football teams make state playoffs

ASHEBORO — For the first time since Randolph County consisted of seven football-playing high schools, every county team qualified for the NCHSAA state playoffs.

After Wheatmore High School began its existence in 2009, the football-playing schools in the county increased to seven with Providence Grove starting the year prior.

Last year, six of the seven teams qualified with Trinity being the lone school not to make the playoffs. Six teams also qualified back in 2014 with Wheatmore being the only school not to compete in playoff action.

While five of the six teams who qualified last year received first-round byes with Wheatmore earning a first-round road win, only Asheboro, Eastern Randolph and Southwestern Randolph earned first-round byes this season. AHS is the No. 3 seed in the 6-A West, Eastern Randolph the No. 6 seed in the 3-A East and Southwestern Randolph earned the final bye with a No. 8 seed in the 4-A East.

Randleman, Providence Grove, Wheatmore and Trinity will all see first-round action Friday night.

“The big thing is that every school has a youth program and having all those schools with youth football helps at this level,” PG coach Cody Moran said. “Players are learning at a younger age.”

The change in determining playoff teams, especially the changes made two years ago when the state increased to eight classifications and went strictly to an RPI ranking, has allowed more teams to qualify. There are 48 playoff teams in classifications one through seven.

“With playoffs now, it allows more people to get in and gives kids the opportunity to be a part of it that normally wouldn’t,” Moran said. “As long as we make it, we’re going to practice.”

Providence Grove, the No. 11 seed in the 3-A East, will host No. 23 South Lenoir Friday. The winner of that game will play Eastern Randolph in the second round.

Also in the 3-A East, Trinity received the final berth, believed to have been awarded to them after North Moore opted out of the playoffs. The Bulldogs (1-9) are seeded No. 24 and will travel to No. 9 Wallace-Rose Hill.

The Randleman Tigers, who just missed earning a share of the Piedmont Athletic Conference championship after falling to High Point Andrews 26-21 last Thursday, earned the No. 12 seed in the 4-A East and will host No. 21 Cummings Friday night. The Tigers finished 4-6 while the Cavaliers are 1-9.

No. 19 Wheatmore (3-7) will travel to No. 14 East Surry (4-6).