With two weeks of regular season games remaining, very few playoff spots have been clinched; only 2 conf. championships in 2A have been clinched (Mtn Heritage, Ashe), a lot of 1st & 2nd place finishers will be decided this Friday, while many others will still be up in the air until next Friday. Here is a summary of the league by league breakdown of who is in a good spot to the make the playoffs, or at least in the discussion to maybe be on the bubble, and/or which tier (1s, 2s, 3s, Wild Cards) they might be seeded in, "rankings" listed below = Adjusted maxpreps ranking, leagues have 2 auto bids unless otherwise posted)
We Highlands (only 1 auto bid)
-Mountain Heritage has clinched the 2A division, and has a chance to be the #1 overall seed in the small 2A West bracket (still has Madison, Polk)
-Owen is in a great position to contend for a wild card, provided they win at least one of their remaining games (Avery, Madison)
Mtn Six
-There appear to be 3 locks for postseason, regardless of who finishes 1st or 2nd, as Brevard, Pisgah, and Smoky Mtn all have very high rankings
-Brevard controls its own destiny, will finish 1st with wins at Hendersonville & Pisgah, that could be easier said than done though, there is a potential for a 2 or 3 way tie for first
-Smoky Mtn did control its own destiny, until losing to Brevard, still can clinch 2nd outright with wins over East Henderson & Franklin
-Pisgah can force a 3 way tie if they win out and nothing crazy happens
-Hendersonville has a good ranking right now, but needs to win at least one more game to solidify a trip to postseason (play Brevard & East Henderson)
Mtn Valley (only 1 auto bid)
-Ashe has clinched the 2A division, could help seeding with strong finish (play W Wilkes, Starmount)
-Wilkes Central appears to be in a good spot for a wild card with their ranking, need another win or two (play Starmount, E Wilkes)
-North Wilkes could sneak in as one of the last wild cards, cannot afford a loss in final 2 games (play Alleghany, W Wilkes)
We Piedmont
-West Stokes can clinch 1st with one win (play N Forsyth, Forbush)
-North Surry can clinch 2nd with one win (play Atkins, Carver)
-This league could send 0, 1, 2, or 3 wild cards, teams in the mix are Forbush, North Forsyth, and Walkertown, right now N Forsyth has a ranking well outside the top 64, and the "leap frog" rule says if NF finishes 3rd and does not make the playoffs, then the 4th & 5th place finishers cannot make the playoffs regardless of their ranking, big chance of 3 way tie for 3rd, if conf. by-laws use rankings to break tie, then Walkertown is almost a lock, Forbush is in good shape, and NF really needs to win its last two against W Stokes & Surry Ce to have a chance, if it comes down to a random draw, then Walk. & Forb. better hope NF doesn't win the draw
S'western
-Shelby is in a great spot to clinch, and has a chance to be the #1 overall seed, whichever bracket they wind up in (I'm guessing 2AA West), but need to win over E Rutherford & S Point to solidify that
-Burns clinches 2nd with one win (play R-S Ce & non-conf N Gaston), can win conf with win over R-S Ce and 2 Shelby losses
-South Point in great position for wild card with one win, can win conf with 2 wins, plus Shelby loss to E Ruth & Burns loss to R-S Ce
-Chase in great position for wild card, could finish 2nd if they win out (S Pt, R-S Ce) and a bunch of crazy things happen
N'we Foothills
-Hibriten can clinch 1st with one win (play W Iredell, Patton)
-Bunker Hill can clinch 2nd with one win (play Patton, W Caldwell)
-Draughn appears to be a lock for a wild card based on rankings, but would be helpful to win at least 1 of 2 remaining games (W Caldwell, E Burke)
-West Iredell is sitting right on the bubble going into Week 11, need 2 wins (play Hibriten, Foard) to ease mind, still might have a chance with 1-1 finish, relative to other teams around state near the bubble
S Fork
-North Lincoln has been the class of the conf all year, and clinches 1st with 1 win (play Lincolnton, Bandys)
-Newton-Conover clinches 2nd with one win (play Maiden, East Lincoln)
-East Lincoln, West Lincoln, and Maiden all seem to be safely in the playoffs, especially if they all pick up one more win (EL plays WL & N-C, WL plays EL & LNC, Mai plays N-C & Lincolnton)
-Bandys appears to be on the bubble, and really needs two wins to feel good about chances (play LNC & NL)
Rocky River
-The winner of the Anson/West Stanly game will win the conference, the loser will finish 2nd
-Mt Pleasant could beat Montgomery Ce and WS and still not be a lock, but would be alive
-Forest Hills needs to win at least one of last two to have a good chance (play Legion Collegiate-[RH,SC] & Anson)
Ce Carolina (3 auto bids)
-Oak Grove clinches 1st with 1 win (play Thomasville & E Davidson)
-Salisbury clinches 2nd with win over N Davidson, clinches no lower than 3rd with 1 win (play N Davidson & S Rowan)
-Ledford clinches 3rd with 2 wins (play E Davidson & N Davidson), in good for shape for wild card with 1 win, could clinch 2nd with 2 wins and a N Davidson win over Salisbury
-Thomasville clinches 3rd with 2 wins and a Ledford loss, in good shape for a wild card with 1 win (play Oak Grove & Lexington)
-North Davidson clinches 3rd with 2 wins and a Thomasville loss, almost has to pick up 1 win to have a chance (play Salisbury & Ledford), could clinch 2nd with 2 wins a Thomasville loss
PAC 7
-Winner of Randleman/Eastern Randolph game will win the conference, the loser will finish 2nd
-Providence Grove appears to be in great shape for wild card, would be helpful to win last game (play JM after bye week)
-Either Andrews or Wheatmore could sneak in as one of the last wild cards if certain things fall into place around the state, they play each other, Andrews also plays Trinity, Wheatmore also plays JM)
Mid-State 2A/3A (only 1 autobid, will be a wild card, NOT seeded with tier of 1s)
-Morehead clinches this spot as 2A division winner with one win or one McMichael loss, McMichael clinches this spot with 2 wins and 2 Morehead losses
Mid-State 2A
-Reidsville clinches 1st with 1 win (play Cummings & BY)
-Carrboro clinches 2nd with win over BY
-Could have 3 way tie for 2nd with BY win over Carrboro and Cummings win over Graham (and Cummings loss to Reidsville and BY loss to Reidsville...that would be a mess to sort out)
3 Rivers
-Red Springs clinches 1st with win over St Pauls
-Whiteville clinches 2nd with win over St Pauls, win conf with 2 wins and 2 Red Springs losses
-St Pauls in great spot for wild card, or could win conference with 2 wins (play Whiteville & Red Springs) or clinch 2nd with win over Whiteville
-East Bladen a likely candidate for wild card with win over W Bladen (after bye week)
-Fairmont a likely candidate for wild card, provided E Bladen makes playoffs (leap frog rule), and provided they pick up 1 more win (play E Columbus, Douglas Byrd)
No Carolina (only 1 auto bid)
-South Granville leads and clinches 1st with 1 win (play Webb & Granville Ce)
-Bunn needs to win at least 1, preferably 2 games to be safe for a wild card (play Granville Ce & Roanoke Rapids), would clinch conf with 2 wins and 2 SG losses
-Webb needs to win at least 1, preferably 2 games to be in discussion for a wild card (play S Granville & non-conf Carrboro)
-Roanoke Rapids needs to win 2 games to be in discussion for a wild card (play Warren & Bunn)
-E Central
-Clinton clinches 1st with 1 win (play JK & Midway)
-Wallace-Rose Hill clinches 2nd with 1 win (play E Duplin & JK), wins conf with 2 wins and 2 Clinton losses
-Midway appears to be a lock for a wild card, could force 3 way tie with 2 wins
-East Duplin & Goldsboro appear to be right on the bubble and would help themselves by picking up wins, they play other in last game, this week ED plays WRH, Goldsboro plays Midway, possible they both miss playoffs, possible they both make playoffs, but whoever wins their head to head meeting will probably get in
Ea Plains
-Winner of SW Edgecombe/Beddingfield will finish 1st, loser of that game will finish 2nd
-Nash Central will almost certainly be a wild card, provided they win their last 2 (play N Pitt & N Johnston)
Ea Carolina
-Washington clinches 1st with win over W Craven, great shape for wild card if they stumble and don't finish 1st or 2nd
-West Craven clinches 1st with win over Washington, would otherwise finish 2nd unless they finish in a 2 way for 2nd with N Lenoir
-Ayden-Grifton, Kinston, and North Lenoir all appear to be in good shape for wild card, but Kinston has the lowest ranking right now, they really need a win over North Lenoir to help ranking
Coastal 8
-SW Onslow clinches 1st with 1 win (play Trask & Richlands)
-Croatan clinches 2nd with 1 win (play Pender & E Carteret), could take 1st with 2 wins and 2 SW Onslow losses
-Richlands clinches 1st with 2 wins (play Dixon & SW Onslow) and a SW Onslow loss to Trask and 2 Croatan losses, clinches 2nd with 2 wins and 2 Croatan losses, probably need 2 wins to have a chance at a wild card, might be in the discussion if they finish 1-1 but doubtful
-Dixon is in the mix for a wild card berth if they finish with 2 wins (play Richlands & Trask), impossible for them to finish 1st, could get into a 3 way tie for 2nd if they get 2 wins and some crazy things happen
-N'ea.-Co.
-Potential 3 way tie for 1st between Hertford, Northeastern, Currituck....Currituck almost certainly will be 2AA, Northeastern will almost certainly be small 2A, Hertford will be near the cutline, remember whichever one of them that goes into a bracket by themselves from conf will go in tier of 1s....(if Hertford goes 2AA with Currituck, then Northeastern will be a 1 in small 2A, if Hertford goes small 2A with N'east., then Currituck will be with 1s in 2AA), then head to head matchup will determine who goes as a 1 in the bracket with 2 of them, then other would probably be a wild card, but might go in tier of 2s if they drew 1 or 2 in conference draw
We Highlands (only 1 auto bid)
-Mountain Heritage has clinched the 2A division, and has a chance to be the #1 overall seed in the small 2A West bracket (still has Madison, Polk)
-Owen is in a great position to contend for a wild card, provided they win at least one of their remaining games (Avery, Madison)
Mtn Six
-There appear to be 3 locks for postseason, regardless of who finishes 1st or 2nd, as Brevard, Pisgah, and Smoky Mtn all have very high rankings
-Brevard controls its own destiny, will finish 1st with wins at Hendersonville & Pisgah, that could be easier said than done though, there is a potential for a 2 or 3 way tie for first
-Smoky Mtn did control its own destiny, until losing to Brevard, still can clinch 2nd outright with wins over East Henderson & Franklin
-Pisgah can force a 3 way tie if they win out and nothing crazy happens
-Hendersonville has a good ranking right now, but needs to win at least one more game to solidify a trip to postseason (play Brevard & East Henderson)
Mtn Valley (only 1 auto bid)
-Ashe has clinched the 2A division, could help seeding with strong finish (play W Wilkes, Starmount)
-Wilkes Central appears to be in a good spot for a wild card with their ranking, need another win or two (play Starmount, E Wilkes)
-North Wilkes could sneak in as one of the last wild cards, cannot afford a loss in final 2 games (play Alleghany, W Wilkes)
We Piedmont
-West Stokes can clinch 1st with one win (play N Forsyth, Forbush)
-North Surry can clinch 2nd with one win (play Atkins, Carver)
-This league could send 0, 1, 2, or 3 wild cards, teams in the mix are Forbush, North Forsyth, and Walkertown, right now N Forsyth has a ranking well outside the top 64, and the "leap frog" rule says if NF finishes 3rd and does not make the playoffs, then the 4th & 5th place finishers cannot make the playoffs regardless of their ranking, big chance of 3 way tie for 3rd, if conf. by-laws use rankings to break tie, then Walkertown is almost a lock, Forbush is in good shape, and NF really needs to win its last two against W Stokes & Surry Ce to have a chance, if it comes down to a random draw, then Walk. & Forb. better hope NF doesn't win the draw
S'western
-Shelby is in a great spot to clinch, and has a chance to be the #1 overall seed, whichever bracket they wind up in (I'm guessing 2AA West), but need to win over E Rutherford & S Point to solidify that
-Burns clinches 2nd with one win (play R-S Ce & non-conf N Gaston), can win conf with win over R-S Ce and 2 Shelby losses
-South Point in great position for wild card with one win, can win conf with 2 wins, plus Shelby loss to E Ruth & Burns loss to R-S Ce
-Chase in great position for wild card, could finish 2nd if they win out (S Pt, R-S Ce) and a bunch of crazy things happen
N'we Foothills
-Hibriten can clinch 1st with one win (play W Iredell, Patton)
-Bunker Hill can clinch 2nd with one win (play Patton, W Caldwell)
-Draughn appears to be a lock for a wild card based on rankings, but would be helpful to win at least 1 of 2 remaining games (W Caldwell, E Burke)
-West Iredell is sitting right on the bubble going into Week 11, need 2 wins (play Hibriten, Foard) to ease mind, still might have a chance with 1-1 finish, relative to other teams around state near the bubble
S Fork
-North Lincoln has been the class of the conf all year, and clinches 1st with 1 win (play Lincolnton, Bandys)
-Newton-Conover clinches 2nd with one win (play Maiden, East Lincoln)
-East Lincoln, West Lincoln, and Maiden all seem to be safely in the playoffs, especially if they all pick up one more win (EL plays WL & N-C, WL plays EL & LNC, Mai plays N-C & Lincolnton)
-Bandys appears to be on the bubble, and really needs two wins to feel good about chances (play LNC & NL)
Rocky River
-The winner of the Anson/West Stanly game will win the conference, the loser will finish 2nd
-Mt Pleasant could beat Montgomery Ce and WS and still not be a lock, but would be alive
-Forest Hills needs to win at least one of last two to have a good chance (play Legion Collegiate-[RH,SC] & Anson)
Ce Carolina (3 auto bids)
-Oak Grove clinches 1st with 1 win (play Thomasville & E Davidson)
-Salisbury clinches 2nd with win over N Davidson, clinches no lower than 3rd with 1 win (play N Davidson & S Rowan)
-Ledford clinches 3rd with 2 wins (play E Davidson & N Davidson), in good for shape for wild card with 1 win, could clinch 2nd with 2 wins and a N Davidson win over Salisbury
-Thomasville clinches 3rd with 2 wins and a Ledford loss, in good shape for a wild card with 1 win (play Oak Grove & Lexington)
-North Davidson clinches 3rd with 2 wins and a Thomasville loss, almost has to pick up 1 win to have a chance (play Salisbury & Ledford), could clinch 2nd with 2 wins a Thomasville loss
PAC 7
-Winner of Randleman/Eastern Randolph game will win the conference, the loser will finish 2nd
-Providence Grove appears to be in great shape for wild card, would be helpful to win last game (play JM after bye week)
-Either Andrews or Wheatmore could sneak in as one of the last wild cards if certain things fall into place around the state, they play each other, Andrews also plays Trinity, Wheatmore also plays JM)
Mid-State 2A/3A (only 1 autobid, will be a wild card, NOT seeded with tier of 1s)
-Morehead clinches this spot as 2A division winner with one win or one McMichael loss, McMichael clinches this spot with 2 wins and 2 Morehead losses
Mid-State 2A
-Reidsville clinches 1st with 1 win (play Cummings & BY)
-Carrboro clinches 2nd with win over BY
-Could have 3 way tie for 2nd with BY win over Carrboro and Cummings win over Graham (and Cummings loss to Reidsville and BY loss to Reidsville...that would be a mess to sort out)
3 Rivers
-Red Springs clinches 1st with win over St Pauls
-Whiteville clinches 2nd with win over St Pauls, win conf with 2 wins and 2 Red Springs losses
-St Pauls in great spot for wild card, or could win conference with 2 wins (play Whiteville & Red Springs) or clinch 2nd with win over Whiteville
-East Bladen a likely candidate for wild card with win over W Bladen (after bye week)
-Fairmont a likely candidate for wild card, provided E Bladen makes playoffs (leap frog rule), and provided they pick up 1 more win (play E Columbus, Douglas Byrd)
No Carolina (only 1 auto bid)
-South Granville leads and clinches 1st with 1 win (play Webb & Granville Ce)
-Bunn needs to win at least 1, preferably 2 games to be safe for a wild card (play Granville Ce & Roanoke Rapids), would clinch conf with 2 wins and 2 SG losses
-Webb needs to win at least 1, preferably 2 games to be in discussion for a wild card (play S Granville & non-conf Carrboro)
-Roanoke Rapids needs to win 2 games to be in discussion for a wild card (play Warren & Bunn)
-E Central
-Clinton clinches 1st with 1 win (play JK & Midway)
-Wallace-Rose Hill clinches 2nd with 1 win (play E Duplin & JK), wins conf with 2 wins and 2 Clinton losses
-Midway appears to be a lock for a wild card, could force 3 way tie with 2 wins
-East Duplin & Goldsboro appear to be right on the bubble and would help themselves by picking up wins, they play other in last game, this week ED plays WRH, Goldsboro plays Midway, possible they both miss playoffs, possible they both make playoffs, but whoever wins their head to head meeting will probably get in
Ea Plains
-Winner of SW Edgecombe/Beddingfield will finish 1st, loser of that game will finish 2nd
-Nash Central will almost certainly be a wild card, provided they win their last 2 (play N Pitt & N Johnston)
Ea Carolina
-Washington clinches 1st with win over W Craven, great shape for wild card if they stumble and don't finish 1st or 2nd
-West Craven clinches 1st with win over Washington, would otherwise finish 2nd unless they finish in a 2 way for 2nd with N Lenoir
-Ayden-Grifton, Kinston, and North Lenoir all appear to be in good shape for wild card, but Kinston has the lowest ranking right now, they really need a win over North Lenoir to help ranking
Coastal 8
-SW Onslow clinches 1st with 1 win (play Trask & Richlands)
-Croatan clinches 2nd with 1 win (play Pender & E Carteret), could take 1st with 2 wins and 2 SW Onslow losses
-Richlands clinches 1st with 2 wins (play Dixon & SW Onslow) and a SW Onslow loss to Trask and 2 Croatan losses, clinches 2nd with 2 wins and 2 Croatan losses, probably need 2 wins to have a chance at a wild card, might be in the discussion if they finish 1-1 but doubtful
-Dixon is in the mix for a wild card berth if they finish with 2 wins (play Richlands & Trask), impossible for them to finish 1st, could get into a 3 way tie for 2nd if they get 2 wins and some crazy things happen
-N'ea.-Co.
-Potential 3 way tie for 1st between Hertford, Northeastern, Currituck....Currituck almost certainly will be 2AA, Northeastern will almost certainly be small 2A, Hertford will be near the cutline, remember whichever one of them that goes into a bracket by themselves from conf will go in tier of 1s....(if Hertford goes 2AA with Currituck, then Northeastern will be a 1 in small 2A, if Hertford goes small 2A with N'east., then Currituck will be with 1s in 2AA), then head to head matchup will determine who goes as a 1 in the bracket with 2 of them, then other would probably be a wild card, but might go in tier of 2s if they drew 1 or 2 in conference draw
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