Triangle prep football teams face a common hurdle Friday in NCHSAA semifinals
Triangle-area teams hoping to grab a spot in next week’s high school state football championships will find their paths blocked by a common hurdle this week – familiar opponents.
Two of the three East Regional finals involving Raleigh-area teams Friday night are rematches of games played March 26 and involve neighborhood rivalries.
The third brings together two teams that met in the playoffs last season.
Friday night’s winners will play for state titles next week.
The 2AA and 3AA finals will be Thursday; the 3A and 4A title games Friday; and the 4AA, 2A, 1AA and 1A next Saturday.
Here’s a look at Triangle-area games for Friday night.
Can it happen again?
Wake Forest was 7-0 all time against neighborhood rival Rolesville until March 26. That’s when the Rams walloped the Cougars 36-3.
On Friday night, the teams have their rematch at Rolesville, in the 4AA East finals.
Rolesville (8-0), ranked second in the News & Observer’s Sweet 16 poll, broke the game open early last month against the No. 4 Cougars (7-1), scoring on big pass plays in the first quarter. Byrum Brown completed an 80-yard touchdown to N.C. State commit Noah Rogers and a 43-yarder to Jadyn Fulton.
Those 36 points were the most allowed by a Wake Forest team in eight years.
But the Cougars, who were 4AA state champs from 2016-18 and are in their fifth straight East final, have been a different team since March 26.
The offense has found its rhythm, behind quarterback Chad Hillman and running back Michael Dipasquale. Wake Forest has averaged 38 points a game since the Rolesville loss.
Rolesville counters with a powerful ground game that can eat up big chunks of time, as the Rams did last week in salting away their 47-30 victory over Hoggard.
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Coverage: NFHS Network.
Same result, please!
Top-ranked Cardinal Gibbons (8-0) probably has a simple request in its 4A East finals matchup Friday night with visiting New Bern (7-1). They’d just like a repeat of the last time these teams met.
It happened last season – on Nov. 29, 2019, actually – in the third round of the playoffs. The Crusaders trounced the Bears 42-7, with running back-receiver Brock Biestek scoring three touchdowns.
Cardinal Gibbons eventually reached the 4A championship game, losing 24-21 to East Forsyth.
Biestek is a senior now, and he’s among the chief targets of sophomore quarterback Conner Clark, who has completed 65 percent of his passes for 1,256 yards and 17 touchdowns this season. New Bern will hope sophomore tackle K.J. Sampson, who has 45 tackles and four sacks this spring, can contain Clark.
New Bern rarely throws the ball, averaging just 30 passing yards a game. Senior running back William Lovick has rushing for 836 yards, and senior Kahmaad Scriven has 424 rushing yards.
The Bears lost their opener, 54-7 to J.H. Rose. Since then, they’ve gone 7-0 and outscored opponents 294-72.
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Coverage: NFHS Network.
Johnston County rematch
Third-ranked Cleveland scored on a 14-yard run by quarterback Skyler Locklear with 34 seconds left on March 26 and edged county rival Clayton 34-27.
On Friday night, the Rams (9-0) host sixth-ranked Clayton (8-1) in the 3AA East finals. The game is a sellout.
Both coaches expect a close game again, but they add that not too much should be made of the teams’ first meeting.
For starters, Cleveland’s standout running back, Omarion Hampton, twisted an ankle in the first half and never returned in that game. He finished with 58 yards, less than one-third of his per-game average this season.
Locklear made up for it, passing for 214 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Nick Roccia.
Cleveland had a tough time containing Clayton running back Dashawn Hinton, who carried for 134 yards in that game and had 171 yards in last week’s victory at West Brunswick.
Cleveland leads the alltime series 6-3 and has won three straight. Clayton’s last victory in the series came in the 2017 playoffs, by a 40-35 count.
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Coverage: Video on NFHS Network. Radio on WYSS-FM, www.countryss.com.
Friday’s schedule
(state championship games will be at either Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill; or Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh)
Class 4AA
Friday’s semifinals
West
Vance (8-1) at Myers Park (9-0), 7
East
Wake Forest (7-1) at Rolesville (8-0), 7
Championship
Saturday, May 8, noon or 5 p.m.
Class 4A
Friday’s semifinals
West
Butler (8-1) at Grimsley (8-0), 7:30
East
New Bern (7-1) at Cardinal Gibbons (8-0), 7
Championship
Friday, May 7, 7 p.m.
Class 3AA
Friday’s semifinals
West
Dudley (8-1) at Mount Tabor (9-0), 7:30
East
Clayton (8-1) at Cleveland (9-0), 7
Championship
Thursday, May 6, 7 p.m.
Class 3A
Friday’s semifinals
West
Monroe (7-2) at Charlotte Catholic (7-1), 7:30
East
Western Alamance (9-0) at Havelock (9-0), 7
Championship
Friday, May 7, 7 p.m.
Class 2AA
Friday’s semifinals
West
Salisbury (7-2) at North Davidson (8-1), 7:30
East
St. Pauls (7-0) at Washington (7-1), 7
Championship
Thursday, May 6, 7 p.m.
Class 2A
Friday’s semifinals
West
Mountain Heritage (6-1) at Hendersonville (7-2), 7:30
East
Northeastern (6-0) at Reidsville (8-0), 7
Championship
Saturday, May 8, at noon or 5 p.m.
Class 1AA
Friday’s semifinals
West
Polk County (6-1) at East Surry (8-1), 7:30
East
Louisburg (6-2) at Tarboro (7-0), 7
Championship
Saturday, May 8, at noon or 5 p.m.
Class 1A
Friday’s semifinals
West
Murphy (8-1) at Robbinsville (9-0), 7:30
East
Pinetown Northside (7-2) at Northampton (3-3), 7
Championship
Saturday, May 8, at noon or 5 p.m.