HICKORY (8-3-1) at BURNS (11-1), 7:30 p.m.: In a second-round 3A game, the Red Tornadoes and Bulldogs meet for the first time since 2005 and eighth time overall.
Game No. 112 for John Worley as Hickory’s head coach will provide a multitude of challenges, chief among them trying to slow a Burns offense, led by QB Brandon Littlejohn, that has scored 40 or more points six times.
Burns has won eight straight games since its only loss -- 45-42 to South Point -- and the Bulldogs have outscored their last three foes 149-39.
The Red Tornadoes have won four straight games and rebounded nicely with eight wins after going 16-22 in the previous three years combined.
This season, QB Kyle Johnson has thrown for nearly 1,200 yards for Hickory and RB Shaquan Reid unofficially needs 11 yards against Burns to hit 1,000 for the season. RB Corey Stinson has also added an offensive spark since returning from an injury, rushing for 391 yards in the last four games.
Hickory, 0-3 at Burns and 2-5 against the Bulldogs, will try to snap a six-game losing streak in road playoff games. The Red Tornadoes’ last away postseason victory was at North Surry in the first round of the 1998 playoffs.
Hickory is 17-20-1 in the postseason in the modern era but 5-10-1 on the road.
The last time Hickory lined up against Burns was a 2005 state playoff game at Barger Stadium, won 42-32 by the Bulldogs despite two rushing TDs each by the Red Tornadoes’ Carlos Shade and Austin Johnson.
NEXT: Winner meets Franklin (12-0) or East Henderson (8-3). Franklin gets the home game if it wins. If East Henderson wins, it would travel to Hickory or Burns.
MYERS PARK (8-4) at SOUTH CALDWELL (11-1), 7:30 p.m.: In a second-round 4AA game, the Spartans have multiple incentives to win and advance:
1) No South Caldwell varsity football team has ever won 12 games in a season. The 1977 team won 11, and the 2005 got an 11th win when Crest forfeited a state playoff victory.
2) After beating Lake Norman in Hudson last week, the Spartans are playing back-to-back home postseason games for the first time since beating South Rowan and Brevard at home in 1977.
3) Friday is South Caldwell head coach Butch Carter’s 41st birthday.
4) Now 8-8 all-time in the playoffs, the Spartans have won four of their five home postseason games.
Myers Park arrives with a balanced offense that’s led by QB Ross Jeffries (1,281 passing yards) and small RB Shaquore Harrington (5-foot-6, 167 pounds), who has 150 carries for 915 yards.
The Mustangs are averaging 35.1 points per game and 347 yards of total offense.
There’s no mystery about what South Caldwell, which has thrown 48 times, will do. The Spartans’ 1-2 running punch of Devin Potter and Zac Pollard has been good for a combined 2,695 rushing yards.
Potter’s been a workhorse, unofficially needing 18 carries against the Mustangs to reach 500 for his career (gained 3,135 yards).
Defensively, South Caldwell has had a monster defense against the run (810 yards allowed in 11 games).
NEXT: Winner meets Mallard Creek (11-0) or Ardrey Kell (8-3). If Mallard Creek wins, it would be at home. If Kell wins, it would travel to South Caldwell or be at home against Myers Park.
MAIDEN (8-4) at POLK COUNTY (9-3), 7:30 p.m.: In a 2A rematch of a 2010 first round game, the Blue Devils face the Wolverines for the sixth time.
They were once rivals in the Southern Foothills 1A for four seasons, and Maiden has won three of the five previous meetings.
Last season, Polk County made sure Maiden hit the playoff exit in the first round for the third straight season, winning 52-21 at Polk County.
This time around, the Blue Devils could be a more significant challenge for the Wolverines because they’re better defensively than they were a year ago.
In the state playoffs for the 16th straight season and 21st time in 22 years, Maiden goes into its 81st postseason game (47-33 record) with a great deal of confidence.
Senior QB Matt Johnson, who is approaching 7,500 career yards in total offense, has shown he can hurt a defense either way (1,424 rushing yard, another 1,045 passing).
RB Will Jenkins has been the story of late for Maiden. His sheer numbers tell what kind of impact he’s made: After six games, he had 59 carries for 623 yards; he’s now unofficially at 167 for 1,674 yards.
Polk County, in the midst of its ninth straight winning season and in the playoffs an even dozen years in a row, is led by RB Cary Littlejohn, QB Alec Philpott and WR Joel Booker.
Littlejohn has rushed 199 times for 1,450 yards and 23 TDs. Philpott has completed 57-of-111 for 1,258 yards with seven TDs and only four interceptions, and Booker has 33 catches for 687 yards and four TDs.
Maiden is 16-15 all-time in away playoff games. The Blue Devils haven’t reached the third round since 2005, have lost four straight road playoff games and last won an away postseason game at Black Mountain Owen in 2007.
NEXT: Winner faces Lincolnton (11-1) or Draughn (9-3). If Lincolnton wins, it gets a home game. If Draughn wins, it would travel to Maiden or Polk County.
BANDYS (9-3) at SMOKY MOUNTAIN (6-6), 7:30 p.m.: The Trojans have a long trip – about 280 miles there and back – to battle Smoky Mountain in a second round 2AA game.
In its 50th postseason game, Bandys chases career win No. 197 for head coach Randy Lowman, who is in his 25th year as the boss and his 14th in the playoffs as a head coach.
After going 3-8 last season, the Trojans are a win away from hitting double digits for the sixth time in 10 years and 11th time in the last 19.
Lowman’s guided eight of his previous teams beyond the second round, and he’ll rely on a much-improved run defense – allowing 103.9 yards per game, down from 256 last season – and a renewed focus on the run offensively.
RB Dominique Young had his 100-yard game streak snapped at six last Friday, but has gained 1,457 yards on 220 carries.
Although their passing game has changed, the Trojans have again passed for more than 1,000 yards. Anthony Toscano has thrown for 862 and David Barrow for 296, so Bandys has thrown for at least 1,000 yards in 16 straight seasons. The previous 15 seasons, it was one QB hitting that mark.
Smoky Mountain is led by RBs Blake Smith and Michael George. They each had more than 100 yards in a first-round home victory over Bunker Hill, the school’s first playoff game in 19 years.
The Mustangs have won four straight, their longest win streak since 2003.
Bandys is going for its 32nd postseason victory and has been a .500 team on the road in the playoffs (11-11) since first making the playoffs in 1970.
NEXT: Winner meets Shelby (7-5) or Chase (9-3). If Shelby wins, it gets a home game. If Chase wins, it would travel to Smoky Mountain or Bandys.
DRAUGHN (9-3) at LINCOLNTON (11-1), 7:30 p.m.: In a season of new experiences for the Wildcats, they go to Memorial Stadium for a second-round 2A game against the state’s top-ranked 2A team.
The quickest comparison to give some perspective to what going into a storied stadium against a storied program really means might be this – it’s the Wildcats’ 35th varsity football game and the 73rd postseason game in the Wolves’ history.
Draughn, in its third year of varsity football, goes for its 14th victory against 21 losses, all under head coach Scott Lambert, and will do so with the same formula it has all year – playing hard every down.
QB Keith Loomis, who could get some consideration for Catawba Valley Athletic 2A player of the year, leads the Wildcats. He has rushed for 1,013 yards and thrown for 710 and is unofficially 78 yards shy of 2,000 in career total offense.
On the other side, there’s a great mix of athletes in another speedy Lincolnton offense.
QB Patrick Rendleman is nursing a quadriceps injury that could limit his playing time. If so, Austin Duncan will step in and play one of the seven positions he has manned for the Wolves this year.
Duncan is from an athletic family. His dad, Greg, was a QB in football and point guard in basketball in the early 1980s at Bandys.
The Wolves’ main go-to guy, though, is RB Dee Littlejohn, who has 1,500 rushing yards and 29 TDs. Michael Cunningham adds nearly 600 rushing yards and 14 scores.
Lincolnton, 39-33 all-time in the state playoffs, is in the postseason for the 12th straight season – all under Scott Cloninger – and the Wolves have won 25 of their last 27 games.
NEXT: Winner plays Maiden (8-4) or Polk County (9-3). If Lincolnton wins, it gets a home game. If Draughn wins, it travels to Maiden or Polk County.
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