PIEDMONT TRIAD, N.C. (WGHP) — The first round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Football Championship took place over the weekend.
These are all the schools in the Piedmont Triad area that advanced to the second round of the playoffs:
- 1A
- Mount Airy Granite Bears, 11-0, No. 1 seed in West Region
- Defeated No. 32 seed Thomas Jefferson Gryphons 68-0
- Will play No. 16 seed Mountain Island Raptors on Friday at 7 p.m.
- Defeated No. 32 seed Thomas Jefferson Gryphons 68-0
- Eastern Randolph Wildcats, 11-0, No. 4 seed in West Region
- Defeated No. 29 seed Swain County Maroon Devils 49-0
- Will play No. 13 seed Cherokee Braves on Friday at 7 p.m.
- Defeated No. 29 seed Swain County Maroon Devils 49-0
- East Wilkes Cardinals, 9-2, No. 10 seed in West Region
- Defeated No. 23 seed Albermarle Bulldogs 49-28
- Will play No. 7 seed North Rowan on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
- Defeated No. 23 seed Albermarle Bulldogs 49-28
- Mount Airy Granite Bears, 11-0, No. 1 seed in West Region
- 2A
- Reidsville Rams, 11-0, No. 1 seed in West Region
- Defeated No. 32 seed R-S Central Hilltoppers 56-22
- Will play No. 17 seed East Rutheford on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
- Defeated No. 32 seed R-S Central Hilltoppers 56-22
- Walkertown Wolfpack, 8-3, No. 12 seed in West Region
- Defeated No. 21 seed Surry Central Golden Eagles 47-23
- Will play No. 5 seed Salisbury Hornets on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
- Defeated No. 21 seed Surry Central Golden Eagles 47-23
- Randleman Tigers, 9-2, No. 4 seed in West Region
- Defeated No. 29 seed East Gaston Warriors 30-13
- Will play No. 13 seed Forest Hills Yellow Jackets on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
- Defeated No. 29 seed East Gaston Warriors 30-13
- East Surry Cardinals, 9-2, No. 6 seed in West Region
- Defeated No. 27 seed Southwestern Randolph Cougars 19-7
- Will play No. 11 seed West Stokes Wildcats on Friday at 7 p.m.
- Defeated No. 27 seed Southwestern Randolph Cougars 19-7
- West Stokes Wildcats, 9-2, No. 11 seed in West Region
- Defeated No. 22 seed North Forsyth Vikings 28-10
- Will play No. 6 seed East Surry Cardinals on Friday at 7 p.m.
- Defeated No. 22 seed North Forsyth Vikings 28-10
- Southeastern Alamance Stallions, 11-0, No. 3 seed in East Region
- Defeated No. 30 seed Heide Trask Titans 56-21
- Will play No. 19 seed Kinston Vikings on Friday at 7 p.m.
- Defeated No. 30 seed Heide Trask Titans 56-21
- Reidsville Rams, 11-0, No. 1 seed in West Region
- 3A
- Dudley Panthers, 11-0, No. 5 seed in West Region
- Defeated No. 28 seed Asheboro Blue Comets 55-0
- Will play No. 12 seed A.C. Reynolds Rockets on Friday at 7 p.m.
- Defeated No. 28 seed Asheboro Blue Comets 55-0
- Oak Grove Grizzlies, 10-1, No. 6 seed in West Region
- Defeated No. 27 seed North Iredell Raiders 49-13
- Will play No. 11 seed Crest Chargers on Friday at 7 p.m.
- Defeated No. 27 seed North Iredell Raiders 49-13
- Western Alamance Warriors, 8-3, No. 16 seed in East Region
- Defeated No. 17 seed Vance County Vipers 36-31
- Will play No. 1 seed Havelock Rams on Friday at 7 p.m.
- Defeated No. 17 seed Vance County Vipers 36-31
- Williams Bulldogs, 10-1, No. 5 seed in East Region
- Defeated No. 28 seed East Wake Warriors 49-21
- Will play No. 12 seed Jacksonville Cardinals on Friday at 7 p.m.
- Defeated No. 28 seed East Wake Warriors 49-21
- Dudley Panthers, 11-0, No. 5 seed in West Region
- 4A
- Grimsley Whirlies, 11-0, No. 1 seed in West Region
- Defeated No. 32 seed Western Guilford 63-0
- Will play no. 17 seed Southeast Guilford Falcons on Friday at 7 p.m.
- Defeated No. 32 seed Western Guilford 63-0
- Southeast Guilford Falcons, 7-4, No. 17 seed in West Region
- Defeated No. 16 seed Reagan Raiders 46-45
- Will play No. 1 seed Grimsley Whirlies on Friday at 7 p.m.
- Defeated No. 16 seed Reagan Raiders 46-45
- East Forsyth Eagles 11-0, No. 3 seed in West Region
- Defeated No. 30 seed Butler Bulldogs 38-35
- Will play No. 14 seed West Forsyth Titans on Friday at 7 p.m.
- Defeated No. 30 seed Butler Bulldogs 38-35
- West Forsyth Titans, 8-3, No. 14 seed in West Region
- Defeated No. 19 seed Cuthbertson Cavaliers 10-3
- Will play No. 3 seed East Forsyth Eagles on Friday at 7 p.m.
- Defeated No. 19 seed Cuthbertson Cavaliers 10-3
- Northwest Guilford Vikings, 9-2, No. 11 seed in West Region
- Defeated No. 22 seed Olympic Trojans 21-14
- Will play No. 6 seed Mooresville Blue Devils on Friday at 7 p.m.
- Defeated No. 22 seed Olympic Trojans 21-14
- Northern Guilford Nighthawks, 10-1, No. 10 seed in West Region
- Defeated No. 23 seed West Cabarrus Wolverines 21-20
- Will play No. 26 seed Marvin Ridge Mavericks on Friday at 7 p.m.
- Defeated No. 23 seed West Cabarrus Wolverines 21-20
- Grimsley Whirlies, 11-0, No. 1 seed in West Region
These are all of the matchups in the first round that will see Triad teams facing off against one another:
GAME OF THE WEEK
2A: No. 6 East Surry Cardinals (9-2) vs. No. 11 West Stokes Wildcats (9-2)
Friday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. @East Surry High School
East Surry is one of the hottest teams in the state having won eight consecutive games after a 1-2 start to their season.
Six of those wins have been in dominant fashion with margins of victory over 29 points.
They defeated another Triad team in Southwestern Randolph by a score of 19-7 in their first-round contest.
West Stokes also comes into this game red hot winning eight of their last eight contests. Their only loss in that time was to the defending 2A champion and conference rival Reidsville Rams.
West Stokes has stacked some impressive wins the last two weeks with a 14-12 victory over 12-seed Walkertown in their last regular season game. Walkertown also advanced to the second round.
The Wildcats defeated another Triad rival, North Forsyth, 28-10 in the first round.
This game will also be a rematch between the two teams. West Stokes defeated East Surry 26-23 on Sept. 6.
Players to watch
- Troy Watson, East Surry running back
- Ran for 825 yards and 11 touchdowns
- Noah Felts, East Surry running back
- Ran for 758 yards and 12 touchdowns
- Lindann Fleming, West Stokes running back
- Leads team with 1033 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns
- Aydenn Cherry, West Stokes running back/outside linebacker/strong safety
- Leads team with six interceptions
- Second on team with 14 touchdowns
- Second on team with 704 rushing yards
THE BATTLE OF FORSYTH COUNTY
4A: No. 3 East Forsyth Eagles (11-0) vs. No. 14 West Forsyth Titans (8-3)
Friday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. @East Forsyth High School
The 2024 season has been one of dominance for East Forsyth as they’ve steamrolled most of their competition thus far en route to an undefeated season.
However, on Friday they may be facing their toughest test yet in a rematch with their county and conference rival, West Forsyth.
The Titans came closer than any other team did to defeating the Eagles in the regular season losing a 42-48 thriller to East Forsyth on Nov. 1, the last week of the regular season.
In that game, West Forsyth jumped on East Forsyth early taking a 35-21 lead at the half before the Eagles stormed back, outscoring the Titans 27-7 in the second half.
East Forsyth also appeared vulnerable in their first round contest against Butler holding off a late rally to win the game 38-35.
West Forsyth is one of the hottest teams in the state right now, having won six of their last seven games after a 2-2 start. The one loss of course being that thriller against East Forsyth.
Players to watch
- Bryce Baker, East Forsyth quarterback
- JP Gilchrist, East Forsyth wide receiver
- Leads team with 898 yards receiving and 16 touchdowns in 2024
- CJ Blevins, West Forsyth running back
- Leads team with 931 rushing
- Daviel Eldridge, West Forsyth athlete
- Leads team with 11.5 sacks
THE BATTLE OF GUILFORD COUNTY
4A: No. 1 Grimsley Whirlies (11-0) vs. No. 17 Southeast Guilford Falcons (7-4)
Friday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. @Grimsley High School
The undefeated Grimsley Whirlies cruised to a dominant victory over Guilford County and Metro 4A conference rival Western Guilford winning 63-0.
In the second round, Grimsley will have another rematch against a conference and Guilford County opponent, Southern Guilford.
Southern Guilford played in arguably the game of the playoffs thus far against Triad-rival Reagan edging out the Raiders by a final score of 46-45 in their first-round matchup.
Grimsley and Southern Guilford have already played once this season on Sept. 20 with Whirlies emerging victorious over the Falcons by a final score of 49-7.
Players to watch
- Faizon Brandon, Grimsley quarterback
- 5-star recruit committed to Tennesse
- Thrown for 24 touchdowns and 1 interception in 2024
- Bryce Davis, Grimsley defensive lineman
- Recorded 17 sacks in 2024
- 4-star recruit committed to Duke
- DJ Howerton, Grimsley tight end
- 3-star recruit
- Ian Mckinnon, Southeast Guilford running back/linebacker
- Leads team with 16 rushing touchdowns
- Leads team 56 total tackles
You can view the full brackets below:
1A
2A
3A
4A