Bracket surprises, e.g. Independence at Page?
OK, we've learned to expect anything and everything from the NCHSAA football playoff pairings, so I probably shouldn't have spit up my Cheerios when I saw that Charlotte Independce -- the national power, the school that won more than 100 straight games -- was visiting Page in the first round of the 4-AA playoffs this week.
Still, what a bizarre twist of fate.
Page figured to be the second best team in the Metro 4-A -- at best -- when the 2007 season started. But the Pirates stunned Grimsley and went 5-0 in the conference. After a slow start, they finished 7-4 overall. That didn't earn them a very high overall seed in the playoffs, which is why they're playing a team of Independence's caliber. They're the lowest-seeded conference winner at No. 7 in the West. Grimsley is seeded No. 8.
Kirby Stadium promises to be a fun place to be Friday, as Page will try to recapture some of its old playoff magic against this millenium's biggest in-state power. This is Independence's first road playoff game since 2000.
The Patriots have won state titles the past seven years and had a 109-game winning streak interrupted this September, when they lost to Elder High of Cincinnati, Ohio. They then won eight more games before losing their first in-state game. That came Friday against Matthews Butler, which won the Southwestern 4-A Conference with a 21-20 decision.
Independence coach Tom Knotts had a strange reason for not being on the sideline for that game. He reportedly assaulted an Indendepence fan/JV parent through a chain-link fence Thursday night after the Patriots saw their 70-game JV winning streak snapped. It's possible Knotts will remain suspended this week, which would add another odd twist to the Independence-Page game and -- who knows? -- maybe give the Pirates some sort of edge if Knotts is not calling the plays.
A few more high school football observations ...
OK, it'll be tough to pick Page against Independence, though the Pirates are playing well and the Patriots are, if nothing else, distracted.
Grimsley (10-1) vs Huntersville Hopewell (9-1) will be a big-time first-round matchup. Hopewell has one loss -- it was blown out by West Charlotte -- and the winner of this one likely will travel to top-seeded West Charlotte (10-0) in the second round. Tough draw? You bet.
In 3-AA, you could have Northeast Guilford (9-2, No. 2 seed) playing Dudley (8-3, No. 7) in the second round for the second straight year. Only, this time the Rams would get the game at home.
Southeast Guilford, as an 8-seed, gets Erwin Triton at home but would have to travel to No. 1 Oxford Webb (8-2) in the second round. That wouldn't necessarily be so bad. Webb tied for first in what appears to be a fairly mediocre Mid-State Conference this year. No. 4 seed Eastern Randolph has a decent shot of playing the winner of that game in the third round.
Ragsdale (9-2, No. 3 in the 3-AA west) should handle Parkland (5-6) in the first round, but will then be tested by Asheville Roberson (9-1, 6-seed) and No. 2 Belmont South Point (10-0), which would host.
Western Alamance (11-0, No. 1 3-A east) likely will face county rival Eastern Alamance (9-1, No. 4) in the third round. The Warriors have beaten Eastern once already and, we like their chances of closing out a state title this year. Beware, though of unbeaten Rocky Mount down the road.
How about Eastern Guilford and Southern Guilford meeting for the second straight week? Wasn't the Storm's 28-14 victory on the road Friday convincing enough? I really hate to see conference foes meet in the first round, especially after having just played. This isn't baseball, so I'm not really into a best-of-3 series. I would, however, like to see Southern Guilford get another shot at No. 1 Reidsville (11-0) in the third round. The Rams have proven they're the better team, but I'm not convinced there are many teams in the 2-AA East region field superior to Southern.
In 2-AA, can defending state champ Cummings (6-5, No. 12 seed) make any kind of run after a disappointing regular season?
And let's not forget Thomasville in 1-AA. Apparently, a perfect record wasn't good enough to earn home field throughout the playoffs. The Bulldogs (11-0) will have to go through Mayberry, er, Mount Airy (10-0, No. 1 seed) to get out of the West bracket. Wouldn't put it past them in what has great potential to be a storybook season for Allen Brown & Co.
Lastly, our annual rant about the playoff fields being WAY TOO LARGE: Rounding out the 1-A field this year are a pair of 2-9 teams: Andrews and Princeton. Apparently, Columbia wasn't quite good enough.