Well it's that time of year that gets us all excited, and ready for some playoff football...I must admit that I haven't seen every team play, but I have seen several teams play in the West, and have read a lot about the teams in the East, so here's my unbiased view of the playoff pairings and possibilities...
1A West
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It just don't seem the same without Murphy who has been a fixture in the 1A playoffs for several years, but it does open up a lot of different possibilities with the Bulldogs playing in the 1AA playoffs...
The teams with the 4 Byes(Mitchell, MICS, TJCA and Cherokee) are all capable teams of making it to the state finals, but the road will run through Mitchell County which will be a tough and generally cold trip to make this time of year for opponents...The fact that the 4 above teams will get a week to heal and rest up before their 2nd round games, is also an advantage that hasn't been in the 1A playoffs prior to this year, and that can't be discounted either...
I expect Mitchell County to be waiting in the 3rd round for either Robbinsville or MICS....I would love for my Rosman Tigers to surprise the Black Knights and Raptors on their way to Mitchell, but that is really too much to ask for a team that has struggled for most of the season to stop any opponent they've faced....If it is a Robbinsville/MICS 2nd round game, it will be a game of two different styles, and I have seen both teams play....MICS is a very dangerous team if you can't control the QB or RB because both can, and will take it to the house in a hurry....Did not really get to see much from the WRs for the Raptors as the QB didn't have the time to find them at Thomas Jefferson due to the pass rush, and bad snaps from the center who put Graham in a bad position on passing attempts on many occasions that night, but make no mistake, the Raptors Wrs are big and atheletic, and will pose a serious problem for opponents in the playoffs....As for Robbinsville, they are big and tough up front on both sides of the ball, and it's very difficult to run the ball between the tackles against the Black Knights...The Sophomore RB has really come into his own late in the season, and had a breakout game IMO against Cherokee with over 100yds rushing that night, and the QB Bridges has also really improved since the beginning of the season, and has a definite target in Orr who seemingly catches everything thrown his way....It would really be a great matchup if it comes to pass between the Black Knights and Raptors, and both would pose a challenge to Mitchell, but they would also have to stop the twin "Bees" as I will call them in Ben Young and Ben Robinson who both weigh about the same, and both are tough as nails runners...Young also has a great arm, and has several good targets to throw to who know how to catch the ball...It would be a very difficult game for either Robbinsville or MICS in the 3rd round to knock off the Mountaineers who are a veteran team, but nothing is impossible when the 3rd round rolls around...
In the other side of the Bracket, Elkin definitely turned some heads when they knocked off previously unbeaten East Wilkes a couple weeks ago, and it's obvious that the Bucking-Elks are playing their best football at the right time of the year, so I expect them to travel to Thomas Jefferson for the 2nd round....The Gryphons are a senior dominated team who have a very talented QB who is capable of putting the team on his back when healthy, but that is the question?....How healthy is McMullens after the loss at the Union Academy, since he was apparently injured in that game?....Fortunately, he does have two weeks to heal up before his first playoff game....I have not seen Elkin play, but they could pose a serious challenge if Mcmullens is not healthy enough to run the ball which is a strength for the team for sure...The RB Lane is also a tough little runner who is low to the ground, and hard to locate before he is 4 or 5 yards down the field, so that will be a challenge for Elkin in stopping the running efforts of both McMullens and Lane if both are healthy...
Cherokee will be a difficult opponent for either Elkin or Thomas Jefferson as the Braves if healthy are tough to run on, and their offense is tough to defend due to the scambling and throwing ability of Mintz who is a 3 year starter at QB, and has a familiar target at Wr in brother Cade who runs good routes, and catches just about everything that his brother throws to him....The Evans kid if healthy is a big and mobile RB who runs the ball well between the tackles, and does have enough speed to make it tough on the LBers to close on him....
As I stated above, I could easily see any of the 4 top teams in the West advancing to the state title game, and I would not discount Robbinsville with all their Senior leadership and recent playoff success...
1A East
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In the East, North Duplin is the early favorite, and will have home field advantage throughout the playoffs which gives them an advantage along with the play of their QB, and they seem to know how to win the close games as the Caroliina Conference was one of the more competitive 1A conferences in the state this year with the exception of Hobbton who didn't win a game this season...It will be interesing to see which team wins the Southside/Northside-PT first round game, and gets to play the Rebels in the 2nd round...Northside seems to be playing really well right now, so they could be a tough 2nd round matchup for the Rebels, but we will see?....I expect North Duplin to be standing when the Eastern 1A final is played, but who will be their opponent....Northampton has had an incredible and historic season winning their last 10 games, but the Jaguars played in a terrible conference which didn't really challenge them....The 1A school that did challenge them early in the season was Plymouth who just so happens to be in their part of the bracket....The Vikings have been there and done that so to speak as they have played in the last 5 straight 1A Finals, winning twice, so they will not be intimidated one bit....I expect Plymouth to challenge Northampton for the right to play North Duplin, and would not be surprised to see the Vikings in the state title game again, but they or Northampton will have to play their best game of the season to beat North Duplin IMO....
Well folks, that's how I see it, and I welcome comments regarding the upcoming playoffs...
Good luck to all the 1A teams and especially those Rosman Tigers...
Roar Tigers Roar!
1A West
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It just don't seem the same without Murphy who has been a fixture in the 1A playoffs for several years, but it does open up a lot of different possibilities with the Bulldogs playing in the 1AA playoffs...
The teams with the 4 Byes(Mitchell, MICS, TJCA and Cherokee) are all capable teams of making it to the state finals, but the road will run through Mitchell County which will be a tough and generally cold trip to make this time of year for opponents...The fact that the 4 above teams will get a week to heal and rest up before their 2nd round games, is also an advantage that hasn't been in the 1A playoffs prior to this year, and that can't be discounted either...
I expect Mitchell County to be waiting in the 3rd round for either Robbinsville or MICS....I would love for my Rosman Tigers to surprise the Black Knights and Raptors on their way to Mitchell, but that is really too much to ask for a team that has struggled for most of the season to stop any opponent they've faced....If it is a Robbinsville/MICS 2nd round game, it will be a game of two different styles, and I have seen both teams play....MICS is a very dangerous team if you can't control the QB or RB because both can, and will take it to the house in a hurry....Did not really get to see much from the WRs for the Raptors as the QB didn't have the time to find them at Thomas Jefferson due to the pass rush, and bad snaps from the center who put Graham in a bad position on passing attempts on many occasions that night, but make no mistake, the Raptors Wrs are big and atheletic, and will pose a serious problem for opponents in the playoffs....As for Robbinsville, they are big and tough up front on both sides of the ball, and it's very difficult to run the ball between the tackles against the Black Knights...The Sophomore RB has really come into his own late in the season, and had a breakout game IMO against Cherokee with over 100yds rushing that night, and the QB Bridges has also really improved since the beginning of the season, and has a definite target in Orr who seemingly catches everything thrown his way....It would really be a great matchup if it comes to pass between the Black Knights and Raptors, and both would pose a challenge to Mitchell, but they would also have to stop the twin "Bees" as I will call them in Ben Young and Ben Robinson who both weigh about the same, and both are tough as nails runners...Young also has a great arm, and has several good targets to throw to who know how to catch the ball...It would be a very difficult game for either Robbinsville or MICS in the 3rd round to knock off the Mountaineers who are a veteran team, but nothing is impossible when the 3rd round rolls around...
In the other side of the Bracket, Elkin definitely turned some heads when they knocked off previously unbeaten East Wilkes a couple weeks ago, and it's obvious that the Bucking-Elks are playing their best football at the right time of the year, so I expect them to travel to Thomas Jefferson for the 2nd round....The Gryphons are a senior dominated team who have a very talented QB who is capable of putting the team on his back when healthy, but that is the question?....How healthy is McMullens after the loss at the Union Academy, since he was apparently injured in that game?....Fortunately, he does have two weeks to heal up before his first playoff game....I have not seen Elkin play, but they could pose a serious challenge if Mcmullens is not healthy enough to run the ball which is a strength for the team for sure...The RB Lane is also a tough little runner who is low to the ground, and hard to locate before he is 4 or 5 yards down the field, so that will be a challenge for Elkin in stopping the running efforts of both McMullens and Lane if both are healthy...
Cherokee will be a difficult opponent for either Elkin or Thomas Jefferson as the Braves if healthy are tough to run on, and their offense is tough to defend due to the scambling and throwing ability of Mintz who is a 3 year starter at QB, and has a familiar target at Wr in brother Cade who runs good routes, and catches just about everything that his brother throws to him....The Evans kid if healthy is a big and mobile RB who runs the ball well between the tackles, and does have enough speed to make it tough on the LBers to close on him....
As I stated above, I could easily see any of the 4 top teams in the West advancing to the state title game, and I would not discount Robbinsville with all their Senior leadership and recent playoff success...
1A East
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In the East, North Duplin is the early favorite, and will have home field advantage throughout the playoffs which gives them an advantage along with the play of their QB, and they seem to know how to win the close games as the Caroliina Conference was one of the more competitive 1A conferences in the state this year with the exception of Hobbton who didn't win a game this season...It will be interesing to see which team wins the Southside/Northside-PT first round game, and gets to play the Rebels in the 2nd round...Northside seems to be playing really well right now, so they could be a tough 2nd round matchup for the Rebels, but we will see?....I expect North Duplin to be standing when the Eastern 1A final is played, but who will be their opponent....Northampton has had an incredible and historic season winning their last 10 games, but the Jaguars played in a terrible conference which didn't really challenge them....The 1A school that did challenge them early in the season was Plymouth who just so happens to be in their part of the bracket....The Vikings have been there and done that so to speak as they have played in the last 5 straight 1A Finals, winning twice, so they will not be intimidated one bit....I expect Plymouth to challenge Northampton for the right to play North Duplin, and would not be surprised to see the Vikings in the state title game again, but they or Northampton will have to play their best game of the season to beat North Duplin IMO....
Well folks, that's how I see it, and I welcome comments regarding the upcoming playoffs...
Good luck to all the 1A teams and especially those Rosman Tigers...
Roar Tigers Roar!
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