By Sonny Jones
Well, well, well, here we are in the first round of the 2-A state football playoffs and both Bladen County teams are participating. Congratulations to both schools, their players, coaches and fans.
Friday, it will be time to play the games. Both Bladen teams will be on the road against higher seeded teams.
No. 20 seed East Bladen (4-6) plays at No. 13 James Kenan (5-3). The Eagles had a 20-year playoff streak snapped during the COVID-reduced spring season when the field was reduced from 64 teams to 32. East Bladen is back, but getting past James Kenan is going to be a tough task. The Tigers’ three losses this season came against Eastern Wayne (8-2), East Duplin (9-1) and last Friday against Wallace-Rose Hill (8-2). East Bladen will need to control the ball like it did against Midway and avoid turnovers. JAMES KENAN 34, EAST BLADEN 22.
No. 31 seed West Bladen (3-5) is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2015. First-year coach Stanley Williams has done a nice job getting the Knights’ program pointed in the right direction. This experience against second-seeded East Duplin may be beneficial in the long run, but it figures to be a long night for the Knights. Still, progress has been made. EAST DUPLIN 48, WEST BLADEN 12.
Week 11 record: 13-2
Season record: 113-31 (78%)
Postponed/canceled through Week 11: 30
Here’s the rest of the Week 12 picks.
HIGH SCHOOL
MIDWAY 36, SOUTH GRANVILLE 27: Going with the upset. The No. 24 Raiders may be the lower seed, but Wyatt Holland and an explosive offense should be able to outscore the No. 9 Vikings.
ST. PAULS 42, GOLDSBORO 8: The unbeaten Bulldogs should easily advance to the second round as they set their sights on a return to the state championship game.
CLINTON 32, HERTFORD COUNTY 24: Looks to be a good first-round matchup. Let’s go with the home team.
WHITEVILLE 50, CAMDEN COUNTY 7: The unbeaten Wolfpack has outscored its opponents 494-77 in nine games. It should stroll to victory in the first round of the playoffs.
WASHINGTON 41, SOUTH COLUMBUS 12: The Stallions have battled COVID restrictions from the beginning and played only seven games, but managed to finish second in the Waccamaw Conference. They run into a buzz saw in the Pam Pack.
NORTH EDGECOMBE 28, EAST COLUMBUS 12: North Edgecombe enters the playoffs on a five-game winning streak after losing its first five games.
WEST COLUMBUS 27, BERTIE 6: Bertie has scored only 54 points in seven games. The Vikings should advance to the second round.
PENDER 32, LEJEUNE 0: Pender beat Lejeune 24-0 in August. Let’s give the Patriots another touchdown against the winless Devil Pups, who have scored only nine points in 10 games this season.
COLLEGE
WAKE FOREST 48, NORTH CAROLINA 45: The inclination is to pick the Tar Heels in a wild one at Kenan Stadium, but if you’ve watched Wake Forest this season you know how good they are. This should be a fun and entertaining game to watch.
PITTSBURGH 42, DUKE 17: The Panthers are coming off a loss to Miami. That doesn’t bode well for Duke, which has been outscored 93-7 in its past two games.
N.C. STATE 28, FLORIDA STATE 17: The Wolfpack better not get caught looking ahead to its game at Wake Forest next week.
EAST CAROLINA 44, TEMPLE 10: It looks like Mike Houston is developing a competitive program in Greenville. A win against the Owls will be ECU’s most wins since 2015 when it won five.
METHODIST 44, GREENSBORO 13: The Monarchs have won the last six and eight of the last nine in the series. They should keep winning against a Greensboro team that is winless this season.
FAYETTEVILLE STATE 34, WINSTON-SALEM STATE 21: The Broncos play their rivals from Winston-Salem in a final tune-up for the CIAA championship against Bowie State on Nov. 13.
JAMES MADISON 36, CAMPBELL 14: The Camels have lost three straight and now face a James Madison team that is 7-1 and ranked No. 3 nationally in FCS.
NOTRE DAME (OHIO) 40, UNC PEMBROKE 21: The Braves put their four-game winning streak on the line against Notre Dame — the school from Ohio, not South Bend. This Notre Dame team is 8-1 and ranked eighth nationally in the latest AFCA NCAA Division II Top 25 poll.
PRO
NEW ENGLAND 27, CAROLINA 20: Who knows what to expect from the Panthers? Christian McCaffrey may return and that will certainly help Carolina. New England is 3-0 on the road this season.
Sonny Jones can be reached at wibbyj@gmail.com.
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