Today, the playoffs announcements were made by the NCHSAA. All four Rockingham County teams earned a spot in the postseason, and this Friday, two of those teams will be on the road, one will have a home playoff game, and one will enjoy a bye week into the second round.
The RPI was determined by 0.4 times win percentage plus 0.4 times opponents’ win percentage plus 0.2 times opponents’ opponents’ win percentage. The top 48 teams as calculated by the RPI in the 3A, 4A, and 5A (the classifications of our county teams) were then lined up by longitude and divided down the middle into East and West. The top 8 seeds on each half received a bye week into the Round of 32, while the other 16 on each half will compete to see who will play against those top 8 teams.
Round one of the playoffs takes place on Friday, round two on November 14th, the East and West quarterfinals on November 21st, the East and West semifinals on November 28th, the East and West title games on December 5th, and the state championships on December 11th, 12th, and 13th.
Without further ado, let’s get to the situations for the Rockingham County teams.
The McMichael Fighting Phoenix achieved a 23 seed on the Western portion of the 3A bracket. They will travel two-and-a-half hours to Cleveland County to take on the winningest football program in North Carolina history, the Shelby Golden Lions. Shelby is 7-3 on the year, good enough to achieve a 10 seed. The winner of this matchup would move on to face the seven seed, East Rutherford, the team that upset Reidsville last year.
The Morehead Panthers earned a 20 seed on the East in the 4A. Their test will be the 13-seeded Carver Yellow Jackets, a team they lost to 28-0 earlier this year. One of these Mid-State teams will be eliminated and one will move on to face 4 Central Davidson in the Round of 32.
The Reidsville Rams were the top of the list for the 4A East, achieving the one seed through their tough schedule and their 8-2 record. This Friday evening, they will enjoy their bye week and find out their opponent for November 14th. That will be decided when 16 Jordan-Matthews and 17 Red Springs go at it in Siler City.
The Rockingham County Cougars will get to stay in Wentworth as they compete with the Dixon Bulldogs. RCHS is the 15 seed on the Eastern portion of the 5A, whereas Dixon is the 18. If Rockingham County garners a win, their next opponent will be the 2 seeded Northeast Guilford Rams.
Around the rest of the Mid-State, the 6-seeded 3A West Walkertown Wolfpack will face the winner of 11 West Wilkes and 22 Wheatmore in round two. Meanwhile, the 21-seeded Bartlett Yancey Buccaneers of the 3A East will head to Wake Prep Academy, with a win over the 12 seed guaranteeing a second round matchup against 5-seeded Martin County.
Here is a quick wrap-up of where each Mid-State team stands heading into round one of the playoffs.
21 Bartlett Yancey (3A East) — at 12 Wake Prep Academy | winner faces 5 Martin County in the Round of 32
13 Carver (4A East) — vs. 20 Morehead | winner faces 4 Central Davidson in the Round of 32
23 McMichael (3A West) — at 10 Shelby | winner faces 7 East Rutherford in the Round of 32
20 Morehead (4A East) — at 13 Carver | winner faces 4 Central Davidson in the Round of 32
1 Reidsville (4A East) — bye week | faces winner of 17 Red Springs at 16 Jordan–Matthews in Round of 32
15 Rockingham County (5A East) — vs. 18 Dixon | winner faces 2 Northeast Guilford in the Round of 32
6 Walkertown (3A West) — bye week | faces winner of 22 Wheatmore at 11 West Wilkes in Round of 32
The Rockingham County Preview edition for round one of the playoffs, released this Thursday, will go more in detail on these matchups. But the Mid-State Conference has the benefit of all seven teams being in the Round of 48, and at least three of those teams advancing to the Round of 32. There’s a lot to look forward to this week if you are a fan of Rockingham County teams.