By Sonny Jones
Last Friday’s impressive 49-35 win against Midway should have been enough to earn East Bladen a berth in the upcoming 2-A state football playoffs. Now, the Eagles set their sights on earning an automatic bid.
East Bladen (4-5, 3-2 Southeastern) is No. 18 in the N.C. High School Athletic Association’s 2-A East Rating Percentage Index (RPI) following its victory against the Raiders. There are 32 berths available.
The Eagles can earn the Southeastern Athletic Conference’s No. 2 seed and a guaranteed playoff spot with a win against Clinton (6-2, 4-1 Southeastern) on Friday night. The teams would finish tied in the conference standings with an Eagles’ win, but East Bladen would have the tiebreaker.
Both teams lost to St. Pauls — Clinton by 56-38 and East Bladen by 46-12 — while the Dark Horses beat Fairmont 56-6 and the Eagles lost at Fairmont 20-8. CLINTON 42, EAST BLADEN 28.
Week 10 record: 9-4
Season record: 100-29 (78%)
Postponed/canceled through Week 10: 30
Here’s the rest of the Week 11 picks.
HIGH SCHOOL
MIDWAY 35, FAIRMONT 21: The Raiders should bounce back after losing at East Bladen last Friday. Don’t think Fairmont has enough offense to keep pace.
ST. PAULS 48, RED SPRINGS 13: The unbeaten Bulldogs were tested last Friday at Fairmont, winning 28-18. They should return to their dominant ways in the final game of the regular season.
WHITEVILLE 42, SOUTH COLUMBUS 19: The Waccamaw Conference championship is on the line. The unbeaten Wolfpack should prevail.
PENDER 34, TRASK 8: The Patriots look to improve their 1-A East rankings for the upcoming playoffs.
WEST COLUMBUS 22, EAST COLUMBUS 14: The teams have split their last eight meetings. This one will go to the Vikings at home.
COLLEGE
WAKE FOREST 55, DUKE 20: The Deacons scored 70 points and amassed 638 yards against Army last week, yet only had the ball for 17 minutes.
NOTRE DAME 34, NORTH CAROLINA 21: Back in August, who thought this would be one of the “big” games of the week? Be honest.
N.C. STATE 33, LOUISVILLE 28: Good to see the Wolfpack get its “State’s gonna State” game out of the way against Miami last week. Tough task awaits against the Cardinals, whose three losses have been by a combined 13 points.
EAST CAROLINA 31, SOUTH FLORIDA 24: Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium will be rocking under the lights as the Pirates go for their fourth win, which would match the most wins in a season since 2015.
CAMPBELL 28, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 14: After dropping a pair of home games against the top two teams in the Big South the Camels get back in the win column.
FAYETTEVILLE STATE 49, LIVINGSTONE 7: Another easy victory for the Broncos as they get ready for the CIAA title game Nov. 13.
METHODIST 24, BREVARD 21: Expect the Monarchs to win their homecoming game in a match-up among top teams in USA South.
UNC PEMBROKE 28, WEST LIBERTY 20: The Braves notch their fourth straight win after upsetting Charleston a week ago.
PRO
ATLANTA 24, CAROLINA 13: Remember when the Panthers were 3-0 and looked like a playoff contender? Those were the days, my friend, I thought they’d never end. Unfortunately, they have.
Sonny Jones can be reached at wibbyj@gmail.com.
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