1A
- Best first-round matchup — (21) Cherokee @ (12) Starmount. This is a fascinating matchup between a team from the famed Smoky Mountain Conference and a team whose only loss came to clear 1A favorite Mount Airy. A Cherokee win here would show us how good the SMC is and a Starmount win here could show us how good Mount Airy.
- Best chance at an upset — (20) Corvian Community @ (13) Draughn. Frankly, I don't see any upsets actually happening in 1A. But if I had to pick one, its this. This Corvian team has some talent on it, but its mostly because I have no idea what to make of Draughn anymore after it was absolutely crushed in the season finale by Mountain Heritage.
- The hardest road — Everyone in the 1A West. Some of these teams would be state championship-caliber in most other years. Mount Airy is just as special as teams can come.
- The easiest road — East 1-seed Tarboro. The Vikings won't break a sweat on their way to another state championship appearance.